CHINA
Country Overview:
“Love the food, hate the government”
I arrived in China in May 2013 and left August 2020. I taught English for awhile, did my master’s of politics & foreign policy at Tsinghua University, worked for a year at China Today, and then two years at Xinhua News Agency. I spent most of my time in Beijing, but also traveled to Shanghai, Wuhan, Inner Mongolia, Shenzhen, Panjin, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao, Xi’an, Sanya, Macau, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
New Year at Work
The lanterns went up right around Christmas, so although they were in preparation for Chinese New Year in February, one couldn’t help but think they were there to combat the Western holiday just a bit. Chicken plate on top was from a Mexican restaurant in the hutongs called Pebbles, which isn’t too shabby considering how far from Mexico China is.
Words for 2018
Here are some words I liked from 2018:
Capricious - Determined by chance it whim rather than by necessity
Rube - A person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture
Copacetic - Completely satisfactory
Louche - Disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way.
Cogent - Clear, logical, convincing (of an argument / case)
Remonstrate - To make a forcefully reproachful protest
Indefatigable - Persisting tirelessly
Persiflage - Light and slightly contemptuous mockery or banter
Inimical - Tending to obstruct or harm
Viviparous - Bringing forth live young that have developed inside the body of the parent
Pernicious - Having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way
Bumptious - Self-assertive or proud to an irritating degree
Recalcitrant - Having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline
Incipient - In an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop
Merry Christmas from Beijing!
Christmas in Beijing is really about what you make it. Luckily, I wasn’t the only foreigner who didn’t go home, so there were lots of laughs, good food, and of course, ugly sweaters.
Jingshan Park
This is my favorite spot in Beijing. It’s right in the middle of the city, offering a 360 degree view of how big Beijing actually is. It was cold, so I wasn’t here long, but sometimes it’s nice to be outside and just take a moment to appreciate the city in which you live
Fancy Tuktuk
I’m not sure the kind of look this Tuktuk driver was going for, but I’m guessing he’s pretty satisfied with his work
Blue Go Go
The bike-share wars of 2017 are behind us and now, only three companies are left standing: Mobike (orange), OFO (yellow), and Blue Go Go (pictured above)
Classic Gym Problems
I’ve always believed that very specific rules come about because of an “incident” that require that rule to be made. I only wish I were here the day my gym needed to make this specific warning.
Taobao find of the day
Taobao, China’s version of Amazon that is, with no disrespect, 100 times better than its US counterpart, has some weird stuff on there. Today, I present one of the greatest ugly Christmas sweaters I have ever seen
Winter is here
Don’t let the picture fool you, Beijing is cold. And not the kind of “oh it’s a cold August night” kind of cold. I mean negative temperatures cold, in Celsius though, so don’t be too alarmed.
UFC in Beijing
UFC was something I’d always wanted to see, and thanks to Beijing, I can now cross that off my list as well. It was exciting watching the 12 fights before the main card, and after all the hype, all the exchanged words, it ended in 25 seconds. The knockout was impressive, but for a fight that was scheduled to go five rounds, I would have liked to have seen a bit more.
Thanksgiving
It’s weird not being back in America for Thanksgiving. In Beijing, I know the holiday is approaching, and I know I’ll do something that involves turkey, but I think the biggest difference is the lack of atmosphere. Not a lot of people are talking about it beforehand, there aren’t any window decorations or annoying advertisements talking about “Thanksgiving specials!” I also don’t have an oven in my apartment, so cooking my own Thanksgiving dinner was out of the question. Ended up going out with a friend to a nice Mexican restaurant who did their spin on the classic turkey meal.
Beijing Fall
Maybe whoever swept the leaves like this had OCD, or was super bored; either way, thank you.