I should never have read this article about a French bakery owner and her US immigration problems. It is a heartwarming story and an affirmation of the power of community, a made for Hollywood tale of visa woe and salvation, but it is also completely heartbreaking for me. I shouldn’t read anything at all about [...]
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That would be the Great Firewall of China to those of you not in the know. Curious thing about Hong Kong, although supposedly sovereign Chinese territory, it exists independently with a gloriously uncensored Internet. For a week I enjoyed unfettered access to all that is good and subversive on the Web, access which I promptly [...]
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How’s the vacation? The sun came out today for like, five minutes, and I immediately burned. I would believe I am actually a vampire if it weren’t for all the mosquitoes eating me alive. Between the rain and the humidity, my mullet has morphed into an afro. In addition, I think I might have contracted [...]
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Sorry folks, not much to blog about. It rained all weekend and I got a haircut, which depending on your definition, may or might not be a mullet. It’s not exactly what I wanted (who wants a mullet?) but I am going to live with it for a while. Although I’m not sure I want [...]
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And no, I’m not talking about George Clinton. It’s getting hotter and hotter in Linyi, and that can only mean one two things: the return of the ankle hose and the funk. Ankle Hose Ankle hose as worn in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square Ankle hose are a mystery to me, an aspect of Chinese fashion I [...]
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This past Sunday found me in my usual spot in McDonald’s, drinking coffee and watching people. I arrived there fairly early, for me, at 0830. In the front of the restaurant, where the really big windows are located, an older man sat reading a newspaper. It was just he and I until a little family joined [...]
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Now that I’ve been positively identified as a female China blogger, I thought I should post something über-feminine and I think shopping qualifies, right? My shopping tale begins last November. I had been invited to attend a wedding in Vienna, Austria and as any woman would, I immediately began to panic over my lack of [...]
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What we have in Linyi instead of bamboo: Linyi Airport, May 2009 I could be anywhere in the world, but these flowers and the arbor reminds me of the antebellum American south. Maybe after a paint job and general sprucing up, couldn’t you see Scarlett relaxing here?
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A recent post in the English-language China blogosphere has prompted me to take a closer look at my behavior as an expat in regards to integrating in the culture and making Chinese friends. Those of you who know me know that I am, among other things, painfully shy. Which probably explains why I have very [...]
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Xinjiang Restaurant BBQ Pit Last Thursday night, the eve before the May 1st holiday, the DH and I ventured over to Linyi’s Xinjiang restaurant for some lamb kebabs. The weather was warm so we were hoping they would have tables set up on the sidewalk, and they did. We had our usual kebabs and naan [...]
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I'm an American expat living on the fringe of Chinese society. Thanks to a lifetime spent moving around, I often feel like an outsider. This blog explores life in Beijing, China, the occasional aviation topic, expat issues, random travel experiences and interesting things I see, read and hear. If you want to know more about my latest hobby, visit Sewing on the Fringe, where I blog about learning to sew in Beijing. And for daily documentation of Beijing's ever changing air quality, visit My Beijing Window.
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