Meeting new people after college is hard. I am slowly starting to find my place in the beautiful crazy mess that is Shanghai and I’m lucky to have both roommates and co-workers who I love spending time with, but it’s meeting people…
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,…
Salted Cheese Tea and other things I've put into my mouth.
One of my favorite parts of the Shanghai experience so far has been seeking the grossest food I can find — and eating it. Salted cheese bubble tea (many things here are mistranslated, so the reality can be much worse) is high on…
Understanding Chinese social etiquette: a primer
It was a 95ºF day and they were serving lukewarm beer. One of the hardest things about being in China (aside from the language, the language is quite hard), has been knowing how to behave around people in public. Yes, the expectations…
"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…
My first Shanghainese meal (and its consequences)
Today, I got my official welcome to China. It involved me, a toilet, and half an hour of continuous vomiting. The good thing is that my general malaise about being in China is gone. I think this country is brilliant…
The Joys of Pearl Milk Tea & Peace and Tranquility
珍珠奶茶 – Pearl Milk Tea (with red bean!) Living abroad feels a lot like being a baby. I’m inordinately proud of the stupidest things for absolutely no good reason. Kind of how people gawk at toddlers for taking a few steps…
Never drink the tap water and 4 other things I learned on my first day in Shanghai
1. I broke the no. 1 rule about visiting China just one day in. I accidentally drank the tap water – a decision I regretted almost immediately. The next few hours were markedly unpleasant, largely because my stomach has much…
My 24-hour United nightmare, or how I finally got to Shanghai
Things that went wrong with my flight to Shanghai Would it be unfair to say everything? I think there was something to my bad omens about Shanghai. Having a shouting match at 3am in Laguardia with the United check-in lady, who…
Frat houses, America, and my downward-facing dog
It feels almost fitting that I will spend my last few days at Yale living in a frat house. So here I am, living out my final two nights in New Haven, sleeping on the fourth floor of ∑AE, which…
My life in two suitcases
I’m going insane trying to pack. When I found out a few weeks ago that United was going to charge me $100 to check in a second bag (seriously, who does that?), I took that as a challenge. Get 22…
maria and macaroni
I miss carbs. Ever since the gastronomical nightmare that was my last trip to China (thinking about all of the unidentifiable things I put into my mouth to appease old Chinese women still makes me cringe), I’ve been trying to…