Category: culture

Workin’ on my walk

As many of you correctly guessed, I will be channeling my inner Heidi Klum this coming Wednesday. After six years of innerly (and let’s be honest, sometimes a bit outwardly) mocking the modeling, I will now be a… Read More

Guesses anyone?

I’m about to test your knowledge of Chinese performances. Next week, at the Christmas “party” for the department, I’m going to be participating in a particular type of act. While this type of act is quite common at Chinese performances,… Read More

Baby it’s cold outside

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I love feminine and flirty winter clothes. Wool skirts, high heeled boots, colorful scarves, cute hats, wool coats. I love that when I don said attire, my students greet… Read More

Sunday Snapshot: Terrified Twins

As the snow swirled furiously outside my window Friday morning, I began to dread the trip to the big city. All I was thinking about was dirty slushy streets, cold wet feet, and the impossibility of catching a… Read More

Big city & Twins

This semester has been up, down and all over the place. Consequently, I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t made a single trip to the big city to visit my Chinese nephews. Yep, the last time I saw them was… Read More

Nightmare before Christmas

With this title, I’m not referring to ghosts of Christmas past or life altering experiences. I’m simply referring to the nightmarish headache that is attempting to send a package from the Chinese post office. I know I’ve said… Read More

From the news

Seniors at our university don’t attend classes. They pay the same tuition as their first three years of college, and even have a few final exams come the end of the semester, but no one is expected to go to… Read More

Naked trees & a repost

Chinese pruning has struck again. This time in a more drastic fashion than ever before. I’ve grown accustomed to seeing small trees, in particular the cherry trees, being yearly cut back to an extent that future growth seems… Read More

Nothing says Thanksgiving…

Nothing says Thanksgiving like pine trees decked with shiny garland and colorful pieces of paper. Yes, I said Thanksgiving. Not Christmas. You won’t find a single tree adorned come Christmas day in these parts. But Thanksgiving? Apparently, it’s… Read More

The Long Underwear Debate

In the Northeast of China, we have now entered the season of mid-Fall, more commonly known as “colder inside than outside” or “to wear or not to wear long johns” or “when is the heat going to be turned on?”… Read More