Tag: China

Hey, Shanghai, I missed you, y’know?
December 7, 2017

Hey, Shanghai, I missed you, y’know?

  I wasn’t sure if China wanted me back. The fact that I managed to set the Contagious Disease Carrier detector off at immigration at Pudong Airport was a moment of concern. I had casually strolled through, feeling robust and healthy, albeit tired from having …

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It’s been a while, Shanghai
November 30, 2017

It’s been a while, Shanghai

  Well now. Shanghai. Yo. I’m flying in to Pudong International sometime tomorrow afternoon, after nearly four years away from China. I don’t tend to return to cities or countries I’ve lived in: It’s been nearly ten years since Istanbul and seventeen since Cape Town. …

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What I’m Talking About When I Talk About China
August 21, 2014

What I’m Talking About When I Talk About China

A few weeks ago, I was randomly contacted by someone working for an expat relocation company. He wanted me to write a guide for Suzhou, a city I spent a total of one afternoon in several years ago, interviewing for a temporary job doing localization …

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More Things That Are Ridiculously Easier in Your Own Language: Food!
April 7, 2014

More Things That Are Ridiculously Easier in Your Own Language: Food!

  The other day, we decided to order dinner in from a kebab shop in our neighbourhood here in Leicester. The menu was online, but it wasn’t linked to any of those nifty websites that also let you place your order and pay in advance. …

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Things That Are Absurdly Easy in a Country Where You Speak the Language: Haircuts!
January 28, 2014

Things That Are Absurdly Easy in a Country Where You Speak the Language: Haircuts!

Welcome to the beginning of what will probably be an ongoing new series. I’ve been really, really bad at writing this season. Partly because I’ve been so busy setting up house in a whole ‘nother country (and buying the same freaking things from IKEA that …

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Ch-ch-ch-changes: In Which I Attempt to Talk Coherently About This Past Year
December 31, 2013

Ch-ch-ch-changes: In Which I Attempt to Talk Coherently About This Past Year

  I wrote a paltry 22 posts here in 2013, just under two per month. Some months far quieter than others. Most of them somehow ended up hovering around the thousand word mark, which I’ve been told is way more than people want to process …

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Big Dumplings in Little China
October 20, 2013

Big Dumplings in Little China

It’s hard to write about your homeland.   I’ve spent decades honing my skills at describing places from the perspective of an outsider looking in. It helps to not fully understand what’s going on, or if I actually do know what’s going on, to be …

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Here Be Dragons: Laser Cat Goes to Pudong to Renew Her Visa (Comic Book Edition)
June 14, 2013

Here Be Dragons: Laser Cat Goes to Pudong to Renew Her Visa (Comic Book Edition)

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I’ll Be Lucky to Escape With My Waistline Intact: My Last Month of Eating Everything in Shanghai
June 12, 2013

I’ll Be Lucky to Escape With My Waistline Intact: My Last Month of Eating Everything in Shanghai

    This is going to be a major food porn post. I just realized that after over four years in this city, I’ve really never delved into all things foodie on this blog. Mops, cats, pollution, water monsters, bad maps– sure. Food, not so …

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I’ll See Myself Out: Notes on That Time I Square Danced to Chinese Punk Music in the Park
May 9, 2013

I’ll See Myself Out: Notes on That Time I Square Danced to Chinese Punk Music in the Park

  Back  in the early 1990s, back when I was an untravelled granola crunchy uni student living on an island off the west coast of Canada, I wrote a rather long and rambling term paper on the history of Chinese rock music. At that time, …

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I’ll See Myself Out: Notes on Stuff, Self, Place and Ridiculously Sudden Life Transitions
April 25, 2013

I’ll See Myself Out: Notes on Stuff, Self, Place and Ridiculously Sudden Life Transitions

  I moved most unexpectedly a few months ago, just after my life imploded in Bali. It’s taken me over two months to get all of my things from the old flat. Bit by bit, bag by bag, by taxi and by metro, I’ve hauled …

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I’ll See Myself Out: Notes on Being a Tired Hermit With Possibly Unrealistic Expectations
April 15, 2013

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 trying to convince myself that I was in the right place, doing the right thing, …

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