On Monday, the friend of one of my students came up to me to tell me that my student would be out because of cramps. “Western women, I don’t think they have these problems,” the friend said. I laughed. “Oh, yes, we do, but we have medication for it,” I said. So on Tuesday, the… [Read More]
Blog
I’m on Pinterest now
I’m not entirely sure how this Pinterest thing works, but I’m on it now. The thing that is so exhausting about social media is having to learn new things all the time that may or may not stick around (Friendster, anyone?) just to make sure I stay in front of readers and editors. If it… [Read More]
Why I Love Barry Manilow
Having come up in the 1970s, I listened to plenty of Barry Manilow, and I have a soft spot for him. A few years ago, I caught him on “Family Guy” and decided that he was absolutely awesome: what a sense of humor! In addition to writing so many great songs! Then, last week I… [Read More]
A Penny I Don’t Like
I’m on the record as being a fan of the penny. But here in China, the closest thing to a penny is the jiao, which is a tenth of a yuan. A yuan is worth about $0.15, so a jiao is worth about $0.015. I don’t like having a wallet stuffed with little bits of… [Read More]
The View From My Window
This is quintessential modern China: lots of people, lots of traffic, lots of construction. And, for course, it is all going on outside my window!
