A sentence I thought I’d never say: This is the fourth time I’ve gone back to the U.S. in a year and a half. It’s no longer as shocking as it used to be, and maybe that’s a good thing. The first…
On eating dumplings and wrapping tacos
Zandie effortlessly pops the entire clove of garlic into her mouth. It’s Chinese New Year and we’re bao-ing dumplings to celebrate, as per new year’s eve tradition. The garlic clove just finished its swim in a shallow dish of shaoxing wine vinegar,…
How to spend Chinese New Year in Shanghai
I can always get behind traditions involving food. Shanghai is wonderfully quiet during the Chinese New Year. This is a time when most foreigners peace out to seek warmer climates and most Chinese return home to celebrate with their families and be pestered about…
That 'aha' moment
I used to think that the way we can make a new place feel like a home, that is to say, like a familiar place, was by filling it with the things that make us feel at home. For me, that meant…
Why do we stop writing?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot about over the past several weeks. Do we stop writing because we have too many stories to tell or because we have too few? And when we do stop, how do we get ourselves…
Christmas Markets and December in Shanghai
I spent most of my childhood cold.
A Series of Unfortunate Events
If my life were a Nora Ephron movie, this would have been that part where the hunky account executive sweeps me out of the pool, with an afghan conveniently in his arms, leads me to his nearby penthouse, and we have chlorine-scented sex on his couch. But, alas, life is not a rom-com.
I was robbed in the middle of the road, but still got to see Taylor Swift
It’s rained most of this week and the last. And yet Shanghai is still indescribably warm for November, though D and I started turning on the heat in the mornings, because otherwise it’s too hard to get out of bed. Last Thursday,…
"Business" dinners in Shanghai
It’s November 5th and I’m wearing a sleeveless dress. The weather is a balmy 75ºF in Shanghai. To be honest though, I feel accomplished to have been able put on a dress, let alone a weather-appropriate one, this morning, because last night…
When you're away from a home that isn't quite your home
If my life were a movie, right now would be a great time for a montage. This would be the kind of montage (set to a Jay-Z song, naturally) that has cutaways of work days under fluorescent lights, Terminal two of Hongqiao airport,…
Shanghai's Two Seasons
I’m covered in red mosquito bites, which, much like Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte, are the first warning signs that it’s Fall. It’s taken me over a year, but I’m beginning to realize that Shanghai is far enough South to have only two seasons:…
The first signs of Autumn
I’ve been keeping a pot of soon-to-be apple cider company for the past two and a half hours. I’m trying to pretend that it’s fall in Shanghai, even though it’s already October and I wore a tank top outside today. So…