It happened when I picked my brother up from the airport tonight. I arrived a little early and decided to use the ladies' room. After I closed the door to the stall, I got the fright of my life. The toilet flushed suddenly, and without warning. I shrieked, dumping the contents of my purse all over the floor when I instinctively threw my hands in the air to cover my head. Apparently, I am still readjusting to those little American luxuries. In many ways, my life in China was simpler. I didn't own any furniture apart from my digital piano. I [View Full Entry]

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The day we've been waiting for has finally arrived. Election Day, November 4, 2008. I felt so excited the night before that I had trouble sleeping. Like a small child the night before Christmas, I tossed and turned, eagerly checking the bedside clock to count down the hours until I could arise and meet the day. And now....it's here. * HOUR ONE I'm currently sitting court-side, watching the proceedings at my assigned polling station in Wisconsin. I've already voted for my candidate of choice and now have settled down to watch, and wait. For what, I'm not certain. After the scanda [View Full Entry]

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The first indication that I'd returned to the United States came when I opened my computer to write this blog and realized I would have to type in English. That was over two weeks ago. Each day, I summoned the courage to crack open my Macbook, and timidly tap out a letter or two. The past several days have brought colossal victory as my grasp of the Roman alphabet returned and I realized that the meaning of each word was distinguished by pronunciation only and not accompanied by one of four tones. Cue victory music. Everything in the United States is [View Full Entry]

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Beijing has been invaded. It began at the start of the traditional tourist season at the end of May. A couple of hopelessly lost Koreans here, a few scattered Westerners speaking Mandarin with horribly mangled tones there, and a smattering of hopelessly lost elderly Japanese. As the summer arrived and the weather heated up, along with Beijing's interminable humidity, the trickle became a stream, which turned into an all-out flood. Foreigners are descending upon Beijing in droves, reminiscent of a locust swarm. These lecherous parasites have infiltrated the poshest hotels, are hesitant [View Full Entry]

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One of the many perks of living in China is the proximity to other interesting Asian countries. I took advantage of my geographical prowess to jet off to Seoul, Korea this past weekend. A good friend of mine from high school and college, Martha Ja-yon Hong, had just moved back to her hometown of Seoul to do some soul-searching, and I had just finished my semester at Beijing Language and Culture University, so the timing was perfect. I had no idea what to expect, nor was I 100% positive that my student visa would allow me to leave China, but I [View Full Entry]

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The official countdown has begun, both for me and for China. For China, the Olympics will open in Beijing in 44 days; for me, I will be leaving China and moving back to the United States in 35 days. The Olympics will open here in Beijing via a spectacular ceremony on a very auspicious date, August 8, 2008, or 8/8/8 at 8:08 PM. Eight is a very lucky number in Chinese culture. Chinese is a monosyllabic language, utilizing four separate tones to indicate differences in meaning between words with the same pronunciation. The word for "eight" in Chinese is "ba", which [View Full Entry]

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I've recently been tempted to snatch the title of "Windy City" from Chicago, my prospective future home, and relinquish it to Beijing. The period of late spring through early summer in Beijing is notorious for being immensely windy and tends to experience sudden sandstorms. However, on special days, the winds of Beijing are so strong that I have to walk at a 75 degree angle just to keep moving forward. Today started out normally enough: overcast sky, cool morning temperature, everyone going about their business. I went to my 8:30 A.M. class and then stepped onto the subway for the [View Full Entry]

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What I thought was a simple Beijing rumbling has turned into the most devastating natural disaster China has experienced in recent decades. I was sitting at my desk, willing myself to crack open my books and begin studying, when I experienced a sudden onslaught of vertigo. I looked up at the ceiling and noticed my hanging lights noticeably swinging back and forth. When I stood up to get a better look at the lights, I stumbled. I could see the other high rises swaying ever so slightly through the window of my 19th floor apartment. I'd never experienced an earthquake before, [View Full Entry]

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In four short days, I received the worst sunburn of my life, witnessed a baby being flung about the ocean like a pool toy, observed the differences between island and mainland life, basked in the clean air of the least polluted city in China and learned a thing or two about myself. Just call it a typical vacation in China. May 1, International Labor Day, is a national holiday in China. Last year, we were given a week of vacation. In the past that was the norm- a week for National Day in October, a week for Labor Day in May, [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday started out like any ordinary day. The sun was shining, the smog had lifted and everything was turning green. I was on my way to the Dirt Market, one of my favorite locales in Beijing. On the weekends, hundreds of vendors arrive, spreading their wares out on blankets on the ground and within temporary stalls. Products range from hand-painted scrolls to porcelain vases to antique Chinese toys to jade jewelry. The variety of goods is astounding. The best part about the market for me is that it's basically still a local market, meaning I can be immersed in street life, [View Full Entry]

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