Well folks, it’s that time of year again. 春节 Chūnjié (Spring Festival), known more commonly as Chinese New Year is coming to a close in Beijing. Which means that I finally have the peace of mind necessary to sit down and write. Well, almost. Tonight is the last legal night for setting off fireworks, which means…
Read MoreTis the season
When I first moved to China (waaaaay back in 2005), there was certainly a fascination with Christmas but not really any widespread celebration. It’s an easily accessible aspect of foreign culture: happy songs, cookies, shiny gold decorations and a man in a red suit. I remember seeing the occasional Christmas display, an odd tree here…
Read MoreOh, the horror!
Giving thanks
Western-style ovens are not common in China. I own a sort of toaster oven on steroids, large enough to accomodate a dozen very strategically placed muffin cups. It is not large enough to handle a chicken, never mind a turkey. So, when questions of Thanksgiving dinner arose, my American friends and I were at a…
Read MoreIt’s time.
This video is so beautiful in its simplicity. I urge you to share it, for the power of the message and the potential for change.
Read MoreOf cabbages and kings
There was terrible traffic. My alarm didn’t go off. The weather really slowed things up. There was a cabbage and fish sale at the grocery store. As far as morning delays go, this is definitely a new one for me. There’s a grocery store in the basement of the building where I work, and when…
Read MoreBroken record
Apologies (again) for my long absence. It hasn’t been for lack of interesting things to share, rather it’s been a combination of work schedule and laziness that has kept me away from you. To make up for the prolonged pause, I’ve migrated the blog over to WordPress (tada!) and made the site its very own…
Read MoreA collection of happy thoughts
Over the past two weeks I’ve been taking mental snapshots, Cam Jansen style. Whenever I hit a patch of stress or exhaustion I like to bring them back to the forefront to remind myself to breathe. Disjointed and strange as they may be, I take comfort in these human moments and thought I would share…
Read MoreGetting back in the swing of the Jing
One of the things I love about Beijing is its ability to provide me with little moments of amusement throughout the day. There will eventually be things that drive me crazy, but as it is at the start of any relationship the quirks are charming rather than infuriating. Take, for example, opening a bank account. While…
Read MoreLike riding a bike
Even though I don’t actually know how to ride a bike (despite being shamefully old for that declaration) the saying still holds true. Being back in Beijing feels natural to me, like I’ve only been away for three months rather than three years. The language skills are returning slightly slower than I would have liked, but…
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Positively Natalie 