The air finally smells of Autumn. Somewhere between the pouring rain (does 72ยบ 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…
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…
Fighting loneliness
I may write (mostly) about the silly and the inane, but sometimes life abroad get complicated. I go throughout periods of being so happy about my new life in China. It’s disorienting and enthralling (except for the poison water). But then,…
"Where are you from?" and other hard questions
“Where are you from?” This is such a simple question — one of the basic questions I’ve been getting from every stranger I’ve met in Shanghai (aside from ‘are you a ginger?’ which I’ve been asked twice — two more…
Trains, planes, and the M60
Things I learn at 3:30am: I am not invincible. Biking to the train station with my carry on is, as predicted, an insurmountable task. I call a taxi to my apartment. The operator tells me one will arrive momentarily. Ten…
Mastering the art of light jogging
I hate running. I really do. Running is supposed to be so good for you, but if it is, why is it so goddamn boring? There is no feeling I dread more than starting out a run and realizing that…
Bad Omens
I think I’m slowly (and painfully) coming to terms with the finality of China. In some ways, I’ve known that China was the next logical step for a while. But it was one of those things like ‘oh, I should…
Good Samaritans and the Burrito Cart
Yesterday, the most shameful thing happened — I got mugged on the streets of New York. This didn’t happen the way I expected it to, there were no men in stocking-hose masks (do people still wear those or have they been…