Bright sunlight sparkled on the water amidst the bobbing solar panels scattered about the ocean. The Shenzhen skyline faded in the distance as my friend, Carol, and I rode a crowded double-decker bus early in the morning across the bridge to the palm tree-lined coast of Hong Kong (HK). Sounds of Cantonese had washed over…
Category: Travel
Settling into China (Again)
This summer really flew by didn’t it? My last two months and a half were mostly spent traveling to see friends and family and spending time with my husband, Mark, and our little dwarf hamster. We were able to squeeze in a visit to a few places we had been meaning to go to such as…
Xiamen厦门: Barcelona of the East, Garden on the Sea
All year I’ve been bombarded with tales of how amazing Xiamen is – mainly that it’s a gorgeous island with a plethora of great food. After spending a day and half in this city, I can say that they were right! In the short amount of time I was here, Xiamen has become one of…
Of Giant Tulous, Needy New Friends, and Accidental Sugar Daddies Part 2
Yellow shirt guy, seated up front, was a pretty good driver. In many instances, he timed the precise moment another car would’ve caused a head-on collision and swerved, despite his hangover. While Carol and I talked to each other about how “fluffy” the bamboo trees looked compared to those in Zhejiang province, we overheard the…
Of Giant Tulous, Needy New Friends, and Accidental Sugar Daddies Part 1
“No way. Did he just scoot closer and nuzzle my shoulder?!” I thought as I felt a hand rest against my thigh. Oh. Hell. No. For expats living in China, we have something called our “Chinese bucket list” that ranges from the strangely interesting and unexpected to the highly unwanted. Most recently, mine includes how…
12 Quirky Things to Know Before Visiting China
Maybe you’ve watched Disney’s Mulan a few hundred times and have a strong hankering to find your own Shang or to see The Great Wall. Perhaps you’re intrigued by how hard people say the language is or have come to buy “luxury goods” for cheap. Great! It is an awesome land with good food, loads of history and scenic places. But, for whatever reason you visit –it helps to come a little bit prepared to ensure minimal culture shock.
After living in China for nearly five years, I’ve made a list of things I wish people would have told me before I came. I’ve narrowed it down to my top 12 quirks, here.
Shaxicun (沙溪村): The She Minority Village and Dongxi Rock
My favorite kind of days are those bright, warm sunny ones, with a light gentle breeze and clear blue skies as far as the eye can see. This was one of those days as we headed out of Lishui’s Liandu district (the main city center where I live). My 7th grade coworker, Amanda, from the Middle…
End of the Road?
Tsampa. This is the legendary foodstuff that has enabled sherpas, nomads and countless adventurers to navigate and survive Tibet’s often harsh terrain and unpredictable climate. In the mid to late 20th century, the term “Tsampa-eater” became an all-encompassing label to refer to various peoples from the Tibetan area, even though parts of North India, Turkestan…
On the way to Shigatse!
“You let us know, we can find you a bush or something,” Gelek said over his shoulder from the front seat, “restrooms on the way are not so clean and can charge one or two yuan.” “Oh, lovely, thank you,” I muttered, looking out from the window of our van at the vast dry open…
Where the Earth meets the Sky
Morning, American breakfast? I woke up about half an hour before my alarm was to go off at 8am, confused about what time it was since it was still pretty dark outside. I learned later that sunrise doesn’t start until about 8:30am. Looking in the mirror was slightly jarring my first morning in Lhasa. Oh…
Stephwaxpoetic 