So one part of the Christmas tradition that we look forward to every year is the annual battle over the materialistic aspects Christmas has taken on. Sadly, you can’t even avoid it by coming to China. This weeks story of the week is about extravagant Christmas dinners that are becoming fashionable for China’s super rich. I’m so g [...] Keep reading »

Chinese has a few common phrases that are used to mean “foreigner” one is laowai (老外) meaning literally old-outsider, and the other is waiguoren (外国人) meaning outside-country-person. These phrases are both considered neutral. It’s not a good thing or a bad thing, just a fact, and Chinese people enjoy stating the obvious (on a rainy [...] Keep reading »

Thanks to everyone who has checked out the blog so far. This first week had over 150 views, which I will count as a big success. I plan on continuing to update the blog 4-5x a week. If you are enjoying learning about China, and my life there, I hope you will share the blog with someone else. I also hope that you will take advantage of leaving me co [...] Keep reading »

The other day my wife and I were walking through a kind of upscale mall when we heard (in English) “Hey foreigner! Come here! Foreigner buy things!” This isn’t unusual for me. There is a joke in my organization that being a foreigner in China is like being an animal in the zoo (it is for this reason that we honestly do not sit near windows wh [...] Keep reading »

Today at 10am an alarm sounded to remind us of the invasion by the Japanese 73 years ago. In the weeks following the invasion 300,000 Chinese were slaughtered. I was in my office when I heard the alarm, it caused an awful, uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. My bus ride to work takes me past many of the homes and universities that served as re [...] Keep reading »

There are only two types of Chinese banquets. The first kind is just an excuse for the school leaders to eat all of their favorite foods while drinking baijiu (quite possibly the worst alcoholic beverage; 54% alcohol and the rest might be paint thinner). The leaders chat with each other in the local dialect and leave you to try to find a meal’s w [...] Keep reading »

Late August, 2007 When I first arrived in Longzhou, I really had no idea what to expect. I remember that in my mind I was picturing dirt roads, chickens running about, and sweating a lot. The roads turned out to be paved in some places, but my other assumptions were right. I had just met Kyle a few days earlier, and he had told me all about his fir [...] Keep reading »

Each week I’m going to try to choose the one must read news article key for your understanding of all the ways in which China is changing as it adjusts to its new role in world affairs. As a person who reads too many news sites, I can tell you this week was really hard to pick. There was continuing tension in the Koreas, a certain prize being [...] Keep reading »