…scaring the unsuspecting and suspecting alike. They’re going off in the crowded hutongs right outside the restaurant while I’m eating dinner. BOOM. Or in a series of consecutive small blasts like machine gun fire while I’m watching tennis on TV. I think the world is ending, and then I remember that actually it just means […]
One of the truer stereotypes of the Chinese is that they take their cuisine seriously. While rapid development and modern demands of society are deteriorating their allegiance to good food, it is still generally expected that people know how to — and do — cook. Even though more and more Chinese are eating out, they […]
Really. The whole “China is cheap” myth is one I believed until after about three months of living in China. Now, a small, non-scientific study comparing cost of living in Boston and Hangzhou, a small city just outside of Shanghai, illustrates my point perfectly: While not exactly a scientific study, Wang admits, the exercise reveals that a […]
I’m going home in 3 days! I can’t wrap my head around not having been State-side in more than a year. But alas, I’ll be home for Christmas in one of the most anticipated Christmases in the Yueh family history. My to-do list: Presents. Check! All bought. Money. Check! Converted. (Side note: a shit load of […]
My first two posts in this series talked about things I don’t like about China, so here’s a hodepodge of things I do rather enjoy: Free delivery/Cash on Delivery. These features are excellent. Imagine the convenience of ordering things online coupled with free delivery to your door the next day. If it’s food, then it’s […]
The Chinese don’t get a lot of Western things “right.” For instance, driving and roads, or socialism. This can’t be more true when it comes to Western food. It’s hard to figure out how to mess up spaghetti with tomato sauce, or a ham and cheese sandwich, but they do it. I shall illustrate my […]
It’s official. I am now into my 52nd week of living in Beijing. What a year it’s been! This time last year, I thought this time this year, I’d be packing up, saying good-byes and getting ready for the “real world.” Plans change. I can’t say how much I’ve changed over the past year. Sometimes […]
I can, for all intents and purposes, speak Chinese. It was my first language. I grew up using it. My parents speak to me with it. I sometimes even speak to them with it. And I took four semesters of it during college. But I’m not fluent in it. I can say my name, where […]
Black Friday sales have long since started, and I’m now just wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving! Don’t worry, I hardly forgot about my favorite holiday. The past two weeks, I’ve been running around town getting prepared for the big meal — deciding on dishes, hunting down the ingredients, buying necessary host-wares. It was exhausting, to […]
I got some from Hegel’s Bagels, a new gig by a tall guy named Jordan from New York. They’re delicious, and 80 RMB ($12) for a baker’s dozen and free delivery (at least for me). Bagels are a rarity in China. I guess the Jew refugees from 1930s and 1940s Europe didn’t stick around long enough […]