48 hours. Just 48 hours was all it took to turn the tropical paradise that is the island of Phuket into a head-first vomit trip towards the toilet bowl, violently throwing up everything I had consumed since morning (yogurt with granola, one small…
Escape from Shanghai
I don’t often write impromptu entires like this one. I’ve had another entry in the making for the past week, one that I’ve been carefully crafting — about China’s conveniences, my wheat allergy, taking taxis, and living on my own — but…
How I became trapped on the 27th floor, and other major life decisions
This week, I experienced free-fall. On my way to Baker & Spice for morning yogurt with apricot granola, the elevator in my building collapsed, jolted, and I became entrapped between the 27th and 29th floors of my apartment complex. A thump, a crash,…
Living Fearlessly
The air finally smells of Autumn. Somewhere between the pouring rain (does 72º count as an Autumn chill?), crossing Nanjing West Road and its shimmering boulevards in that dim light that is so reminiscent of October, breaking out my skyblue windbreaker, and steaming hot…
Thoughts on Housekeeping
Writing on the internet is weird, isn’t it? On a purely fundamental level, these posts that I write are for myself – to de-stress, to preserve memories of my life in Shanghai for that time when I finally come home, and…
"Where is the Kombucha?" and other silly questions
A few days ago, I was asked the one question I haven’t been asked much since coming to Shanghai. Why did I come to China? Why am I 9,000 miles away from home, the people I love? (and most importantly from…
Moving on
This weekend, I had quite a difficult conversation while Skyping with my mom. It was difficult in a few ways: the call kept dropping. yes, mom, I’m eating enough, stop making silly jokes about Chinese food. (Is this where I get my awful…
Chocolate, Chess, and the Elmhurst
This weekend I saw a side to Shanghai I hadn’t seen before. It was raw, crumbling, boarded-up, and really quite visceral. Saturday was one of those perfect afternoons where things just seem to go right (except the weather, nothing ever goes…
How do you say ‘kale’ in Chinese?
There’s someone intrinsically romantic about walking past the shimmering fountains and the glittering Hausmannian storefronts of Jingan in my pressed work Oxford shirt and slacks at dusk every night. Yesterday, I stopped by the fountain in front of the Gucci…
Coming home
I am not ready to go home. I don’t think I’ll be ready for a while. And that in itself is kind of frightening. I’ve been having a few internal crises about being here in China. I can feel that I’m already…
The one-day weekend, or how I spent last Sunday between heaven and earth
I only have one weekend day (yes, I complain about this a lot, but it’s true). I’ve been in Shanghai for exactly four weeks, so here, presented in all of its (uncensored) glory, is how I spent my fourth Sunday:…
My life in China in 4 drinks.
I never thought I’d spend so much time each day thinking about drinking water. But I am, I am consumed both by water that I drink (it’s often lukewarm and gross) and water that I don’t drink (8 glasses a day? that’s not gonna happen).