The Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, is undoubtedly the biggest of all the big holidays in China. It’s like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s all rolled into one gigantic seven-day festival of red lanterns and dumplings. In Shanghai, they celebrate the Chinese New Year by traveling out of the city. This is often the […]
How Shanghai is Celebrating the Chinese New Year Read Post »
The second wave of COVID-19 sort of hit Shanghai by surprise. Thus far, the city had been spared the worst of the pandemic, avoiding the harsh lockdowns seen in Wuhan and elsewhere. Sure, plenty of imported cases trickled in, and the last month saw an uptick in cases in Northern China. But we never thought
Shanghai Gets a Second Wave of COVID-19 Read Post »
I already wrote about why living in China can be annoying, it’s time to write about why living in China is great. About a month after I moved to Shanghai, one of the first non-Chinese people I met asked me how I liked it. I said I liked it, so far. She scoffed and told
Why Living in China is Great Read Post »
You would think that after two years of living in China and studying Chinese almost every day, I’d be pretty good by now. I’m not. I can order food and get the gist of some of the simpler Peppa Pig episodes. But I still can’t understand what my elderly neighbors are shouting at me as
Studying Chinese in China Read Post »
The Power Station of Art and TeamLab:Borderless are conveniently located next to each other on the banks of the Huangpu River. Shanghai is famous for many things, but modern art isn’t really one of them. Modern architecture, sure. Maybe even modern shipping? It is the world’s largest container port, after all.
Art in Shanghai: The Power Station of Art and TeamLab:Borderless Read Post »
Sometimes living overseas can be very lonely. This loneliness is worse during the holidays. This is a blog post about that.
Loneliness, Holidays and Living Overseas Read Post »
A few weeks ago, I went to a Chinese wedding. Different cultures usually deal with big life events differently. Weddings are a big life event. So, I was excited to not only see my coworker get married but also potentially use the wedding to gain some insight into Chinese culture.
Chinese Wedding: Food, Drinks and Red Envelopes Read Post »
Renting an apartment in Shanghai is an adventure. Maybe it isn’t a very fun adventure. Maybe it’s a bit of an annoying, stressful adventure. But, nevertheless, it’s still an adventure. And hey, isn’t adventure what moving halfway around the world’s all about? How Renting an Apartment Works in China Apartment rentals, like many things in
Renting an Apartment in Shanghai Read Post »
On paper, Rosetta Stone seems like the perfect app for learning Chinese. It creates an immersive environment and stimulates how we naturally acquire languages. There is no translation, so you learn the word more deeply. Also, it’s very very expensive, so it must be good right? Well, unfortunately, maybe not so much.
Rosetta Stone sucks for learning Chinese Read Post »
Okay, so even though it wasn’t quite as magical as seeing elephants in the wild, seeing elephants at the Samui Elephant Haven was still pretty magical. We were able to get up close and personal with these weird, giant animals. We got to feed the elephants. Elephants have thick, rubbery skin, covered with stiff bristly
You Can Pet the Elephants at the Samui Elephant Haven Read Post »
