Ready or Not, Here We Squat

So far I’ve only skirted around the topic that is the elephant in the room when talking about adjusting to … More

Learning Chinese, Part 3

Okay, you’ve gotten off the plane, peed in the right restroom, and arrived at the train station. Now it’s time … More

Ok, it’s not called PandaLand. It’s the “Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding”, which boasts one of the highest … More

Maya followed our advice and joined us on the ‘big bus’ this time for a few kuai more (which I … More

The Road to Yuanyang: Part 3 You would think, judging by the expressions on their faces, the good people of … More

The Road to Yuanyang: Part 1 If there is a right way to get to Yuanyang, I did the exact … More

If you want to see the New China, go to the Airport. If you want to see the real China, … More

Be careful what you wish for: I wanted to experience something other than the built-up glitzy shopping mall known as … More

My last day in Shanghai, I took the high-speed rail to Hangzhou, famous for its West Lake region. It was … More

I’m a big believer in hostels. I stayed in them across Europe. I worked at the biggest one in Los … More