China
Your Stories From Abroad
China
Springtime In Beijing, And SARS Is In The Air
The billboard near my apartment portrayed a giant fist next to the slogan, “The SARS will surely be conquered by our government under the leadership of the Communist Party of ... read more
by Alison Friedman
26 Feb 2004
China
My Chinese Girlfriend Really Wants to Come to America
"Is there a 50-50 chance?" We are on the bus heading out to the country when Daisy, my Chinese girlfriend, asks me to set odds on the future of our ... read more
by Joe Bookman
28 Jan 2009
China
The Strange Chinese Men Are Taking Away My Furniture
I am fixing oatmeal when I hear a man clearing his throat outside of my apartment. As I pour boiling water over my oats, a waft of unwelcome tobacco smoke ... read more
by Joe Bookman
04 Feb 2009
China
Hello, My Name Is Run Basketball
In class 364, where I teach English to Chinese high school students, one of the first things my students must do is choose an English name. Most select something ordinary ... read more
by Joe Bookman
11 Feb 2009
Brazil
China
Finland
Japan
Netherlands
United Kingdom
TOP 5: Green Initiatives Abroad
In the United States, we like to think of ourselves as innovators. But when it comes to tackling environmental problems ... read more
by Glimpse Staff
21 Apr 2009
China
There's Nothing Like Karaoke On A Saturday Morning
The singing began last spring. One Saturday morning I was startled awake by a low groaning sound and a steady bass that vibrated our floor. I looked at the clock ... read more
by Sara Schaff
27 Apr 2007
China
How I Met A Member Of The Bang-Bang Army
“You need some help?” a voice behind me asked. I did in fact need help moving my new desk from the sidewalk, up the hill, and to my apartment. But ... read more
by Scott Berkland
03 Nov 2004
China
HOW TO: Drink Beer In China
"With good friends, 1,000 glasses isn’t enough." – Chinese saying It’s Friday night, and you’re sitting with your new Chinese buddies in the neighborhood restaurant. There are ... read more
by Steven Schwab
07 Jul 2009
China
Why Living In China Is Making My Hair Fall Out
I am 24 years old and I am losing my hair. My friends and family helped me find out why, and we discovered that, coupled with a limited diet and ... read more
by Sabrina Mondschein
01 Dec 2007
China
I Finally Beat A Six-Year-Old At “Go”
It was my turn to make a move. I stood up from my knee-high, neon yellow chair and walked to the front of the classroom. Standing at the magnetic board ... read more
by Austin Yoder
03 Nov 2009
China
Top 5: Tips For Vegetarians In China
You’re out for a fancy dinner with a group of Chinese friends. On the table in front of you is a Lazy Susan and it spins to reveal tonight ... read more
by Melissa Sconyers
17 Dec 2009
Tips
China
Math in modern Chinese slang
The letter "n," used in math summations, has found its way into the Chinese language to mean "a lot." An example of a common use would be, "wo yi jing ... read more
by Dan Kallman
21 Mar 2009
China
It's okay to carry cigarettes
In China and several other countries, cigarettes are not demonized like they are in the United States. Even if you don't smoke, it's a fairly good idea to ... read more
by Jeremy Hach
12 Feb 2009
China
The World in Beijing
"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 ... read more
by Amy Adoyzie Lam
05 Mar 2009
Blog Posts
China
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
by Cali Livingstone
07 Feb 2010
China
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
by Molly Sterns
04 Jan 2010
China
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
by Zachary Bennett
08 Dec 2009
China
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
by Tricia Reville
03 Dec 2009
China
???? (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
by Kevin Keller
22 Nov 2009
China
????? (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
by Kevin Keller
22 Nov 2009
China
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
by Melissa Sconyers
09 Nov 2009
China
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
by Melissa Sconyers
15 Oct 2009
China
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
by Zachary Bennett
09 Oct 2009
China
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
by Melissa Sconyers
05 Oct 2009
China
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
by Victoria Neff
04 Oct 2009
China
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
by Victoria Neff
03 Oct 2009
China
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
by Austin Y
01 Oct 2009
China
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
by Zachary Bennett
29 Sep 2009
China
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
by Melissa Sconyers
21 Sep 2009
China
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
by Melissa Sconyers
14 Sep 2009
China
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
by Melissa Sconyers
07 Sep 2009
China
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
by Daniel Mueller
05 Sep 2009
China
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
by Melissa Sconyers
31 Aug 2009
China
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
