China

Cheese in Beijing: Le Fromager to the Rescue

March 8, 2011

in Beijing, Food

March 9th – Update below! Before coming to China, I never thought about cheese being an issue. It’s just always been part of my life, bouts of lactose intolerance not withstanding. As a kid in Colorado I lived close to a dairy, where my mom would buy something called “squeaky” cheese. I don’t know what [...]

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One World, One Dream, Two Years Later

November 23, 2010

in Beijing, Daily Life, Olympics 08

The Bird’s Nest Stadium It’s only been two years, but I finally made it to see Beijing’s Olympic buildings. We weren’t the only ones there, either. The “bird’s nest,” (or the eagle’s nest, as the DH calls it), is a major tourist attraction among the many provincial Chinese visiting the capital city. I imagine it [...]

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Bicycling to Caochangdi

November 14, 2010

in Beijing, Daily Life

This I know: 25 kilometers on my bicycle is enough to produce seriously sore legs and buttocks. I first acquired this knowledge last month after riding said bicycle 25 kilometers from downtown Beijing to a botanical garden on the western edge of the city. (It didn’t really look that far on the map, but it [...]

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Dog Days

November 12, 2010

in Beijing

Yesterday as I was walking down from the subway to my area Carrefour store, I noticed a Chinese man out walking with his dog. I’m a huge dog lover, but logistically it is not the right time for the DH and I to be pet owners. Instead, I admire the growing variety (and sizes) of [...]

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Sounds of the City

September 20, 2010

in Beijing, China, Daily Life

The weather here in Beijing has taken a dramatic turn towards Autumn, and I could not be happier. As the kind of person who breaks a sweat just thinking about leaving her AC controlled-abode and turns beet red at the slightest elevation of temperature, 17-24°C is a dream come true. For the first time since [...]

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Looking Back Five Years

September 14, 2010

in Blogging, China, Moving

Seems all I do these days is navel-gaze! Here’s another post along those lines. I’m participating in a “Get Back to Blogging” event on the SITS website (a site & forum for blogging support) and our first assignment was to repost our very first blog post. Here’s mine. (Actually, my second because the first was [...]

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What Exactly is Real?

September 13, 2010

in China

Begin rant: What is with the use of the phrase the “real China?” I read it all over the place, especially from laowai living in Beijing or Shanghai talking about leaving the big city to visit the “real China.” Umm… I think my Chinese neighbor here in Beijing might be interested to know that he [...]

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Summer in Beijing: Cuandixia

September 6, 2010

in China, Travel

Cuandixia Village It’s just a small village on the old road from Beijing west to Shanxi Province. A place where travelers would stop for a snack or to stay the night. Practically forgotten when the highways changed the western route, Cuandixia has embraced its heritage as a hospitality village to become a hot little tourist [...]

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Oh Yeah, It’s Really Happening

June 3, 2010

in Beijing, Daily Life

I’m really a Beijing resident. I even got a little piece of paper from the local police station saying so. (Okay, it says I’m a temporary resident, but that’s all foreigners really can be here.) I’m here. I’ve got a great apartment. I’ve got an Internet connection. What more do I need? How about a [...]

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Summer Pet Peeve

May 19, 2010

in Daily Life, Linyi

Wide open window without screen You’ve seen this window before. Everyday this past winter I would find this window in this position and I would dutifully shut it. Everyday. Everyday when it was -5°C. (It just didn’t seem efficient to leave all the windows open.) Leaving windows wide open in winter for the perceived “ventilation [...]

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