Look ma! I’m Internet-famous! Ok, so not really, and this isn’t quite the piece I talked about earlier (that’ll get published in April), but I’ve been lucky enough to get interviewed by BlogExpat about my time in Shanghai. Check out…
How to drink coffee in China
Like many things in China, the Shanghainese coffee culture is a little.. off. Drinking coffee in China is a rather bizarre experience, and I’m not quite sure whether it lags behind or somehow surpasses its US equivalent (probably the former). Below are some of…
Making things up as I go along
I gotta be honest, sometimes living abroad gets pretty miserable. The good days do absolutely outweigh the bad. For one, China is overwhelmingly convenient. The cabs are ridiculously cheap. There is an unending supply of Korean BBQ. Eating chuanr no longer makes me violently…
Understanding China
At times, I wonder about my ‘legacy’ in China. Now okay, that sounds a bit ridiculous. The last seven (almost eight) months that I’ve spent in Shanghai, my Chinese speaking abilities have rapidly improved (not as significantly as I would have liked them to, but…
Chinese New Year, and other reasons to not get out of bed
Yesterday, I came the closest I’ve come to facing my own mortality since coming to China. Strapped to the back of a scooter cab, clutching the overcoat of the 5’2″ shifu with one hand and my glittery cell-phone case with the other…
How I fell in love
I have never fallen for a place as rapidly or as irrevocably as I have fallen for Hong Kong. This past weekend was electrifying, rapid, exhilarating. And it terrifies me just how much I want to uproot the life I have created in China and move to…
Bags of Beer and Skewers of Squid
Last weekend, for the first time in nearly four months, I saw a sky teeming with stars. Shivering and wrapping myself tighter in my plaid scarf – the one that so closely resembles an afghan – rapidly losing feeling my fingers (and for…
Bags of Beer and Skewers of Squid
Last weekend, for the first time in nearly four months, I saw a sky teeming with stars. Shivering and wrapping myself tighter in my plaid scarf – the one that so closely resembles an afghan – rapidly losing feeling my fingers (and for…
Why we become expats
Encounters with strangers in Shanghai always come with difficult questions. For one, ‘why did you come to China?’ is one that has been asked each time I have met someone new and over time, it’s become more and more of…
Gutter oil, no soy sauce, and other things about Shanghainese street food
It starts at midnight. A ladleflul of oil and the cracked egg are followed immediately by two (heaping) teaspoons of white MSG powder. The street vendor asks me if I want to add chili to my noodles (they come next,…
What it's like to live in Russia
I’ve written about What it’s like to live in China. I’ve also written about The overwhelming devastation of getting Russia. Now, it’s my turn to (try to) figure out what life is like in Russia. —————————————————- The Moscow I remember…
The charm of Moscow in November
Uncoordinated. That’s the only way to describe my 10-hour flight from Shanghai to Moscow. Over the course of ten hours, I spilled water on myself (twice). Most of my (gluten-free) biscuit ended up on my blanket. My slippers (which Aeroflot gives…