CNChina

China

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ChinaChina

Quirks, Cars, and Walls

Well, imagine that! Three weeks have flown by and I’m just now getting to my first blog post. It has been quite the whirlwind getting settled down in Xi'an. I'm not really sure what I expected to find when I came to China, but what I've experienced in these past ... read more

Cali  Livingstone

ChinaChina

Backlong 1: The China Chronicles

Backlog 1: The China Chronicles Part 1: Welcome to China, please put on these pajamas I’m in china and it's been absolutely weird since the moment I entered. But in a good way. I took the subway from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, which is a Special Economic Zone that borders ... read more

Molly Sterns

ChinaChina

The Grocery Store Conundrum

There are too many people in China. It is a fact that the Chinese themselves even seem aware of.  This generally leads to the crowded cities and neighborhoods that exemplify typical life for us urban dwellers.  I am a city person, and I don't worry about the crowds or lack ... read more

Zachary Bennett

ChinaChina

Hong Kong, the Chungking Mansion

Anyone who has spent more than a week in Hong Kong has probably experienced the Chungking Mansion.  It is by no means a "mansion."  It's a mansion's worst nightmare.  The first few floors are filled with African and Sri Lankan vendors selling everything from snacks to dvd players.  The floors ... read more

Tricia Reville

ChinaChina

???? (Game Master)

 When my host father was young, he told me, his favorite hobby was Go.  It’s a game played on a grid with black and white stones, and, like chess, it mimics a battle between two opposing forces.  My father would routinely miss meals and stay up late in order to practice with ... read more

Kevin Keller

ChinaChina

????? (I Get Addicted To Drugs)

 A few days ago I came down with another cold.  Having already given away all my cough drops in times of plenty, I trudged to the supermarket across the street to buy a new packet.  I should have looked up the word for “lozenge” before leaving because once in the pharmacy I ... read more

Kevin Keller

ChinaChina

All Aboard, Abroad

I flew to Beijing to visit John over the long weekend for National Day. He met me at the airport, and swung my single, small duffel bag over his shoulder. When we walked outside into the brisk autumn air, and grabbed a cab. He authoritatively told the taxi driver to ... read more

Melissa Sconyers

ChinaChina

The Juice Man and the Giant Peach

As far as I can tell, the main advantage of living in a metropolis built on a tropical island is the vast availability of inexpensive fresh juice. Guava, pink guava, watermelon, kiwi, orange, mango, passion fruit, and many exotic types are available from a corner store (bottled locally that same ... read more

Melissa Sconyers

ChinaChina

Posturing and Attitude

Buji Jie is effective at wearing down the casual visitor.  It is not the tourist China, it lacks any of the shining classical architecture and gracious hostesses with beaming smiles.  Instead one is assaulted with a cacophony of neon lights and coo calls from spas and bars without windows.  Garbage ... read more

Zachary Bennett

ChinaChina

Making the Most of 'Morning'

Every morning, when I walk past the metal mailboxes and down the steep stairs, the doorman greets me. Well, he IS a doorman, in that he sits by the door, but he is nothing like the uniformed, well-mannered man who manned the door at my apartment in Midtown Manhattan. He's ... read more

Melissa Sconyers

ChinaChina

The Discussion at the Holiday Dinner Table: Obama, Cross-Cultural Politics, and Women's Hair

For Mid-Autumn Festival, my host country counterpart invited me, my sitemate, and two of our friends over to her apartment to celebrate the holiday and enjoy fine Chinese food. Lucy, her English name, is also an English teacher at the college where I work. It turned out to be a ... read more

Victoria Neff

ChinaChina

Never Take The Slow Train

Two weekends ago, all the volunteers in Guizhou province went to the provincial capital Guiyang for a welcoming party with a pirate theme.  During the day before the party, a bunch of us had lunch at a really nice restaurant where we were treated to a meal per someone's VIP ... read more

Victoria Neff

ChinaChina

Bridge Diplomacy

A giant gleaming white tower sits in the middle of Dan Dong, China with piercing neon-green lasers that stretch out into the sky, about sixty km in  all four cardinal directions, and rotate like the multi-spoked steering wheel of an electronica pirate ship. These lasers stretch out over the heads ... read more

Austin Y

ChinaChina

Not Even Naptime is Sacred

Every day at the school, lunch rolls around.  This is marked by a slow leakage of students and teachers off toward their respective cafeterias.  This leak bursts open after the final class bell rings and the walkways become a crowded jam of umbrellas and shuffling feet, a sea of black ... read more

Zachary Bennett

ChinaChina

Living Through a Level 8 Typhoon

Well, I'm all by my lonesome self in Hong Kong now. Just me and seven million other people. Only a few hours after John left to spend a semester studying Chinese in Beijing, I was already living it up, wild and crazy style. Yep. Sans the boyfriend, I even left ... read more

Melissa Sconyers

ChinaChina

The Day I Ate Monkey Brains

I left for lunch late today, which means when I arrived at my usual hole-in-the-wall spot, the same place I eat everyday, the good stuff was already gone. "Today, oat rice!" The woman behind the counter cheerfully exclaimed from behind her face mask, a surgical shade of sea foam green. ... read more

Melissa Sconyers

ChinaChina

A Sticker of Great Importance

In the process of moving to China, a grossly over-simplified version of my to-do list would have looked somewhat like this: Get a job in Hong Kong: Check. Move to Hong Kong: Check. Secure an apartment in Hong Kong: Check. Obtain a Hong Kong employment visa: Not checked. With all ... read more

Melissa Sconyers

ChinaChina

New Teammates

Living in a town where we are the only foreigners besides our teammates makes our relationship to our teammates very important.  We remember when we came to China and our little "home" and how difficult it was to adjust, so we have enjoyed being the ones to help our new ... read more

Daniel Mueller

ChinaChina

If you built the city of Manhattan on the island of Hawaii, you would get Hong Kong.

So, there I was. Standing in the Arrivals Hall of Hong Kong International Airport, after 27 hours of traveling with my boyfriend and our baggage. All 417 pounds of it.  We had just successfully moved ourselves to the other side of the world. Stepping outside into the warm, slightly humid ... read more

Melissa Sconyers

ChinaChina

Returning is NOT the same.

We have lived and taught in our small rural town, experienced most of what we thought was possible and were very comfortable. We knew many people, felt like it was home and then we left for the summer at home in the United States. We cannot share how great that ... read more

Daniel Mueller

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Books

Dive into "River Town"

Amy Adoyzie Lam

11 Mar 2009

China

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Amy Adoyzie Lam

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Peter Hessler's account of his two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in central China is a good introduction for a fresh-faced Western perspective on the rapidly developing superpower. He writes about the cultural nuances of one of the oldest civilizations of the world and its fascination with the West. This book is even more fitting for younger folks, as Hessler was in his mid-20s when was there and offers a recent college grad perspective about who he is and how he's perceived as an American living in a small town by the Yangtze River. He also touches on all the myriad of frustrations and miscommunications that stems from the complexity of culture and language. He still resides in China, so he must have done something right!

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Getting Around

Protect your bike

Natalie Clay

19 Mar 2009

China

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Natalie Clay

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Always lock your bike when riding in the city; it will most certainly be stolen otherwise. Purchase a thick chain, as the thinner chains are easier to cut through.

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Festivals & Events

A day to NOT go to temples

Katrina Klett

24 Jun 2009

China

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Katrina Klett

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There is a time to stay away from China's many beautiful temples: Spring Festival. There are so many people there that you can barely walk. My first week in China, I was taken to a festival and was in no way ready for the sheer volume of beings fighting for a place in line to get to the small snack stands they set up all around the temple grounds. It may sound tempting to see the Chinese population in full force, but trust me--it is a bit overwhelming!

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Culture Shock

Practicing calligraphy can draw a crowd

Katrina Klett

12 May 2009

China

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Katrina Klett

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Several weeks ago, I was lying in the Purple Bamboo Park, working on my calligraphy. I was engrossed in each stroke. When I looked up, I was surprised to find myself surrounded by people. There were young and old, and everyone was shouting advice at me and telling me what was correct and incorrect. One man, cigarette in his lips and fishing rod in his hand, grabbed my brush and actually started doing calligraphy! It's hard to get any work done in public here!

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Must Do

A fun little prank

Katrina Klett

12 May 2009

China

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Katrina Klett

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When in a smaller rural region of China, if you want to draw a crowd, simply stand with a friend and point to any spot on the ground, staring at it intently for three or four minutes. Make puzzled facial expressions and shake your head as if you were looking at something really interesting. Slowly but surely, all the Chinese people in the are will file over to see what the foreigners are looking at, even if it is just a concrete slab. After you have drawn a large enough crowd, turn to them and laugh. You now have lots of people to practice Chinese with!

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Etiquette

Taking your place at the table

Katrina Klett

12 May 2009

China

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Katrina Klett

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The next time you are invited to a large Chinese holiday gathering or dinner party, do not simply sit at the table. Where you sit has significance and you should wait for your host to point you in the right direction. If your host offers you the seat at the head of the table, you should feel honored -- that means you are being given the most important seat. Do you best to practice some Chinese modesty: argue for awhile and offer the seat to everyone else, to show you know you are not worthy. Then, of course, concede and sit down. Pour those around you a drink and toast to everyone. But don't drink too much too fast, you will probably make 30 or so toasts that evening (just ask president Nixon how much the Chinese toast).

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Food

Dinner at 6 -- no exceptions!

Huma Sheikh

26 Aug 2009

China

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Huma Sheikh

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I found that the Chinese were fairly strict about when they ate their lunch and dinner. Lunch was at 11 a.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. I had a hard time finding a restaurant that served dinner after 8 p.m., and I missed dinner a couple of times. Similarly, there was no lunch available after 12:30 p.m. If you don't want to go hungry, set your eating schedule accordingly.

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Film

The World in Beijing

Amy Adoyzie Lam

05 Mar 2009

China

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Amy Adoyzie Lam

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"The World" (Chinese title: "Shijie"), directed and written by Zhang Ke Jia, revolves around the lives of ordinary Chinese folks who work at a theme park that is a miniaturized version of the world with famous international landmark attractions. This films provides a good view into modern China, especially the plight of its common people who migrate to the bustling cities from the countryside to find work and wealth and are usually summarily disappointed. The juxtaposition of the wealth of Beijing and the lifestyle of the working class who keep it up is an amazing contrast to take in. Watch this film before visiting to appreciate the complexity of contemporary life in China.

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Fashion

T-shirts with English phrases that make no sense

Katrina Klett

08 Jun 2009

China

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Katrina Klett

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It's common to find Western sayings, phrases, and characters stitched across Chinese t-shirts. And it's also common for these slogans to make absolutely no sense. There are endless examples of funny and misused English phrases; here is one from a shop in XishuangBana.

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Slang

How do you say "taint" in Chinese?

Amy Adoyzie Lam

22 Apr 2009

China

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Amy Adoyzie Lam

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One day, while debating the correct English term for that mysterious private region sometimes referred to as the "taint," I realized I wanted to know what it's called in Chinese. Luckily, one of my Chinese friends knew: Hui ying (1st tone, 4th tone for those of you who are studying.) Literally translated: in between shadow. I felt like my stock in the Chinese language doubled from learning this word.

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Being an American

Why can't I just look it up?

Anna Schwaber

20 Nov 2009

China

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Anna Schwaber

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When in China, don't freak out when you find websites like Wikipedia blocked. The Golden Shield Project is essentially an Internet firewall using proxy servers that block access to certain websites and content. If you're really stuck, you can always email someone to do the research for you.

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