Fight the Power
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Impractical Shanghai
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I’ll See Myself Out: Notes on That Time I Square Danced to Chinese Punk Music in the Park
09 May 2013 3:07 PM | 5 Comments -
I’ll See Myself Out: Notes on Stuff, Self, Place and Ridiculously Sudden Life Transitions
25 April 2013 11:56 AM | 13 Comments -
I’ll See Myself Out: Notes on Being a Tired Hermit With Possibly Unrealistic Expectations
15 April 2013 12:27 PM | 17 Comments -
I’ll See Myself Out: Attempting Shanghai Nightlife (for Burnt Out Recluses)
19 March 2013 1:36 PM | 18 Comments -
It’s Beginning to Look Not Even Remotely Like Christmas: Faking Festiveness in Shanghai
25 December 2012 4:41 PM | 13 Comments -
Notes on Not Running Away Again: Dealing Sensibly With a Shanghai Winter
30 November 2012 2:25 PM | 18 Comments -
You look very terrible, Miss Mary: Unsolicited Advice for the Laowai
19 November 2012 4:44 PM | 15 Comments -
Managing Your Plague in China: Brief Notes on my Stupid Cold
15 November 2012 1:09 PM | 8 Comments -
Strangled Gasps of Creativity (or Why I’ll Probably Never Be a Published Author)
05 November 2012 10:58 AM | 28 Comments -
The Grass is Always Less Hazardous on the Other Side: I’m Cheating on China in my Head Again
29 October 2012 12:27 PM | 22 Comments
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China Archive
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I’ll See Myself Out: Notes on Being a Tired Hermit With Possibly Unrealistic Expectations
I’ve got approximately two months left in Shanghai. After over four years in this city, most of which were spent trying to feel like it was home and…
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A Totally Impractical Guide to an Out of Body Weekend in Jǐnán
After a few months’ hiatus from my ongoing whirlwind Tour de Chine (the Academic Route), I’m back on the road, hopping trains like a nerdy hobo and wearing butt-shaped…
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A Totally Impractical Guide to a Sudden Jaunt to Liuzhou, Guangxi
Over the past decade or two, I’ve become quite adept at rolling with the punches. Most of my jobs have called for finely tuned improvisational skills and I’ve had plenty…
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A Totally Impractical Guide to 6 Underachieving Nights in Hong Kong and Macau
This is one of those times when I have, in theory, at least 4 blog posts worth of things to write about but haven’t the wherewithal to even try to…
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A Totally Impractical Guide to an Emotionally Stunted Weekend in Hefei
The first time I went to Hefei, the glorious provincial capital of ayi-central Anhui, about 3 or 4 years ago, I stepped off the D-train after four squishy hours onto the platform and…
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A Totally Impractical Guide to an Intellectually Dirty Weekend in Nanjing
I often (well, once every few months, which is technically often in geological terms) get emails from people asking me for advice on what to do in, say, Random Chinese…
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Mapping the Amorphous City: I Attempt to Plot a Walking Tour of Shanghai
One thing I have learned from two years of writing here (and from approximately 30 years of writing in general) is that I can be factual, accurate and interesting-…
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2nd Tier City, 1st Class Hotel: A Totally Impractical Review of Hangzhou Oakwood Residence
As you may know, my Super Secret job with the linguistic CIA sends me all over China to do covert linguistic operations. If I told you more about what I…
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Hey Zhou: A Totally Impractical Guide to Hangzhou and Fuzhou
I’ve been on a bit of a ‘zhou bender in the past month, flitting around the Eastern seaboard of China with two 4-day stints in Hangzhou and one down in…
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Top 4 Tips on How to Traumatize Your Parents When They Come to Visit You
I’d call myself the prodigal daughter except I have yet to return home after my years away in the wilderness. Every year, with irregular clockwork, my kind, brave parents gird…
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Hello, Dalian! A Totally Impractical Guide to That City up by Korea
And by impractical, I really mean it this time. I have absolutely no information that might be of use to you here, unless you get sent up for work at…
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How Not to Travel in China During the October National Holiday
For about a month, our conversations went something like this: “How about Thailand? If we fly in to Phuket, we could catch a ferry to X and go diving for…
