Category: Expat Living
I just ordered the Steve Jobs bio!
From Chinese Amazon. Like in the U.S., the book (Chinese edition) has already become the No. 1 seller on Amazon here, with the English version at No. 3, ahead of the Oct. 24 release. For those who can’t wait that long, I saw a street vendor selling a bootleg copy (or maybe a leaked real […]
The evolution of a street at lunch time
If I ever had any doubts about the reality of a rapidly developing China, they may be tempered by the explosion of lunch time choices available to me right in front of my office. When I first started working here food carts parked on the sidewalk carried little more than unappetizing pre-prepared he fan, a […]
Signs of life!
At some point last week, I peered into my basil pot and saw that the soil was all dry and had receded. I mean, the soil line was, like, a good inch lower than it was when I first filled the pot. I’m not really sure why. I panicked. I was so busy keeping the […]
Exercising my green thumb
I’m growing basil. Well, I’m TRYING to grow basil. I have a notorious killer green thumb. I bought this basil pot in, like, February, so I hope it’s still growable. Anyway, now you can follow its progress with me! Here it is, at planting time. Maybe I should name it? But I’m going to eat […]
Things I have eaten recently
A few weeks ago, I wished for decent goi cuon, the delicious, wonderfully fresh Vietnamese spring rolls. This is a summer staple in my family, and my mother made me all jealous and homesick when she told me they were making some on their beach holiday with a bunch of family friends. But HA. Enter […]
China is not cheap, part 2
China’s rising cost of living has been dominating the news lately, if not overseas, then definitely domestically. First-half figures just released show that food prices alone jumped more than 11 percent over the first six months last year. When I first came to Beijing, my shao bing jia ji dan was 1.5 kuai; it’s now […]
The day I swam home from work
There was a bout of torrential rain in Beijing last night that started about an hour before work ended. I’m talking super big rain. Rain that caused flash flooding like this: I did not have to wade in water that deep, and actually I wasn’t even going home. I was going all the way across […]
The quest for bun, or how my food cravings can be satisfied in Beijing
I love Vietnamese cuisine, especially in the summer when its refreshing dishes are often served cold. And its use of uncooked dipping sauces for flavoring is a great alternative to the greasiness and saltiness of Beijing fare. (I really love fish sauce!) As of late, anything Vietnamese has been my favorite food. You’d think that, […]
Running errands can be pleasant, after all
I’m on a roll! I’ve just had two consecutive mafan-free (no hassle) experiences with the Chinese bureaucracy. The first, yesterday, was at the post office, mailing your postcards. Over the past year, I’ve gone to the post office to mail something, only to be told that I couldn’t mail it or that it was written […]