An encounter with reverse culture shock

I traveled back to the US for a few weeks this fall and had sincere encounters with reverse culture shock! I’ve been living abroad for over 2 1/2 years now (how time flies!). And it was over a year since I had been back to the US. I’m keeping this post straightforward — so here […]

Another look at Beijing’s Hutongs

It’s been almost a year since I’ve left Beijing and I still think about how the city landscape was in such dramatic change while I was there, as I’m sure it still is. At that time I also met Jonah Kessel (via Twitter), who filmed a series of short videos for Asia Society, the first is titled “A Disappearing World.” […]

华侨 (HuaQiao) vs. 华人 (HuaRen)

When I first arrived here in China, people would ask “where are you from?” or “你是哪国人?” And I’d respond, I’m from the States, 是美国的. Sometimes they were confused, how could an Asian-looking person be from the States? Other times they asked again, “Are you an overseas Chinese?” “华侨啊?” Sometimes they would use “huaqiao” and sometimes […]

before a move to China: part 2

Before moving anywhere, even to the next neighborhood, it’s always a hassle and headache, let alone across the globe! I previously had a few things to say about some common issues and encounters at the beginning like internet access beyond the GFW and personal care products. Here are a few more points to consider, thanks […]

Internet frustrations and some

I got back to Beijing about two weeks ago and it’s been a slew of things to take care of… First things first, did you know that there are two types of internet here in Beijing? No, it’s not dial-up versus DSL. Internet service here is provided by China Unicom, 中国联通, and there are 2 types […]

before a move to China…

In a few days, I’ll be headed back to Beijing once again and during my time in Boston I had an interesting conversation with ID (Industrial Design) friend @jomiz80. Reflecting on my 1st 4 months in Beijing, it was actually a great experience, even with the handful of negative encounters. Surprisingly, this was the first […]

must know Chinese companies

Recently, China surpassed Japan as the world’s 2nd largest economy. A couple months ago I had a discussion with a classmate about our adjustments to living in Beijing. One of the biggest adjustments that seem so simple and natural in our respective home countries is the idea of brands. We know who to trust, what […]

GreenFest Boston

Starting tomorrow is GreenFest at Boston City Hall Plaza, running from August 19-21. Some key take aways from the website are simple: Drink tap water and use reusable containers, recycle, compost, and bike. Boston GreenFest celebrates the many ways we can create a better world by greening our lives and our communities. Among speakers, performers, […]

I love dim sum

Inspired by Luxirare‘s Dim Sum series… I had to give it a shot. But my photo skills just aren’t quite there…. Having a look at my series afterwards, the images don’t even come close in comparison to my inspiration. They just aren’t as interesting as I’d hoped. Perhaps the composition of the photos could be […]

rice: the chinese staple

Did you ever realize that there’s an insane variety of rice products in the Chinese diet?! Rice porridge (congee), dumplings, noodles, and buns are just a handful. Truly a staple, starting with a breakfast food like congee, “flavored with all manner of additions such as salted eggs, pickled vegetables, meat, or seafood,” and rice dishes […]

resting on the streets of Asia

Just the start of a funny collection of photos of nothing I’d see in the States: Beijing, China (courtesy of my classmate Tim. Thank you!) Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 在亚洲的街上休息休息:这几张照片就是开始的系列。真有意思,在美国没见过。

spitting on the street: in the States too

The other day I was by South Station in Boston and saw a fairly young, caucasian man spit on the street. You’d think I’d be used to seeing the spitting and peeing on the street by now, having just spent four months in China, but really it partially grossed me out, partially offended me, and […]

invasion of public space: chinese sausages

Found in Danshui (淡水), a port city north of Taipei, Taiwan: “禁止设摊” (Jin4 zhi3 she4 tan1) translates to “It’s forbidden to set up a vendor’s stand” I suppose as long as you are not directly selling the items from this public space, it’s perfectly acceptable to use the space for storage or display of your vending […]

Chinese currency: 1 currency, mulitple names

With few things in China being black and white, it’s no wonder there’s more than 1 way to address the Chinese Currency: “Renminbi” is the official name of the currency introduced by the Communist People’s Republic of China at the time of its foundation in 1949. It means “the people’s currency”. “Yuan” is the name […]

a trip to the hospital

Back in April, I was sick for a couple weeks and made myself go to the local hospital to get checked out. An interesting experience, with no one speaking English. Suffice to say, I still got prescriptions and have been happy and healthy since. A couple photos from my visit: The public hospital is incredibly […]

guest post: Sally Wu “Bathing at Beida”

My friend Sally, a Master’s in psychology exchange student from Taiwan, is studying at Peking University (Beida) this semester. I’ve been happy to help her with some translations and she’s kind enough to contribute one of her stories here: “北大洗澡記” 每天晚上校園都有不少人手提著塑膠袋或是小提籃,裡面放著盥洗用具,在寒冷的夜晚裡,走向公共浴室洗澡。我則是和室友走向更遠的浴室,因為那裏洗澡的地方有門可以關上。我來到北大最讓我驚訝著的兩件事,第一件事宿舍裡沒有洗澡的地方,第二件事是洗澡的地方沒有門可以關上。我聽我室友說在公共浴室洗澡,大家彼此可以看到對方的裸體。不過後來拿到港澳台學生用的洗澡證,我的心情好許多。因為港澳台辦公室知道台灣、香港和澳門的同學不習慣這樣的洗澡方式。有了這張卡,我們可以被允許進入留學生公寓的浴室,保全人員會先檢察我們的證件才讓我們進去洗澡。 我的大陸朋友說,這樣的洗澡方式都常在北方比較常見,所以南方人到北方求學,常常會很不習慣。不過她說,她們得習慣環境,因為這樣的生活習慣在北方已經很久了,即使跟行政單位反應也是沒有用的。我聽完不能理解為什麼反應是沒有用的,於是我只好點點頭。 “Taking a shower at Beida” Every evening there are many students walking through campus, bringing their plastic […]

Pakistan truck art

Wow. What a colorful and lively culture! In Pakistan, one would rarely see a truck not decorated. Trucks are painted and decorated with many colors and chimes are hung from the trucks to create jingling sounds. The tradition of painting trucks in Pakistan is long and colourful. It started out as a way for truck […]

“jiong”

Maybe the more internet connected know about this, but I’ve just been introduced to a bit of Chinese internet culture… the use of a Chinese character as an emoticon: Jiong(3) 囧 Do you see the face in the character? The character for “Jiong” is nowadays more widely used on the Internet as an ideographic emoticon representing […]

Flickr uploads: a local Hutong

I spent an early morning wandering a local Hutong a couple weeks ago.. Although I wasn’t able to capture it on camera, it was great to watch people start their mornings: brushing their teeth on the streets together, trash collectors starting off their mornings, children walking to school or waiting for the bus, elderly walking […]