The lady sitting behind us on the long-distance bus reached over the seats and tapped my shoulder. “Are you going to Jingxi for fun?” Our bus had just made a mid-journey rest stop and we were boarding again after the… Continue Reading →
Here’s all the lovely Chinese words that I throw in my posts. Sometimes things just sounds better in Chinese. Word/phrase Chinese characters Meaning Usage and notes bu fangbian 不妨便 ‘not convenient’ This can also mean ‘awkward’ or ‘socially uncomfortable.’ Frequently… Continue Reading →
Day 7 – Saturday Breakfast Time for a weekend treat. These are “Sticky Pecan Caramel Rolls” from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which is my favorite book/method for making bread overseas. But of course, you guessed it!… Continue Reading →
Day 6 – Friday Breakfast At the supermarket last night, I bought date mash bread, which tastes pretty close to banana bread. We tried this at Walmart in the provincial capital a couple of times, but the bread always had… Continue Reading →
Day 5 – Thursday Breakfast Yes, that is Honey Bunches of Oats. Really, truly, verily. We bought it in the provincial capital for way too much, and were saving it for a special occasion. Or a terribly ordinary morning when… Continue Reading →
Day 4 – Wednesday Breakfast I thought today’s breakfast would finish off the Wonder Bread, but we still have a few slices. Drat. Today we toasted it, fried some eggs and sliced up an apple. Not great, but it’s better… Continue Reading →
Day 3 – Tuesday Breakfast I made a bacon and leek quiche, a honey-lime berry melange topped with almond creme, and a grapefruit spritzer to drink. No, no I didn’t. We had faux Wonder Bread and jelly. Not even any fruit… Continue Reading →
Day 2 – Monday Breakfast Leftover pancakes. I sometimes dread pulling out leftovers, but not leftovers like this. I can just pop them in the oven to heat up, and it feels like convenience food. There was no more whipped… Continue Reading →
With all the nose-picking, loogie-hocking, and public urinating that my Chinese friends and neighbors do, it’s easy to identify habits they have that I find disgusting. It’s been eye-opening for me to discover that we have some habits that disgust… Continue Reading →
We have almost exactly one month until we fly back to China, and today I packed up the first box. I’ve had people asking me for a couple months now if I’ve started packing. Um, you have apparently NOT had… Continue Reading →
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