July 2011
20 posts
First Day of Chinese Lessons
Today I started Chinese lessons with my new tutor, Li Laoshi (“Teacher Chestnut,” as she described her very unique surname). I’m working with a private tutor for the summer while I wait for classes to start up again at Chongda in the fall. She made me take the national HSK Chinese Proficiency Test! I passed Elementary Chinese, which means I learned something in the last year of...
American Foods I Consume in China I Wouldn't...
For the first couple weeks, I was really good about adventurously eating all kinds of Chinese food, and at every meal. We explored our neighborhood, trying out restaurants to identify places that would (or wouldn’t in some cases) quickly become our go-to places. We were also eating out for nearly every meal, as we slowly acquired household items necessary for cooking anything beyond throwing...
“In practice, a strategic pork reserve has problems. Frozen meat does not keep...”
– China to Release More of Its Pork Reserves - NYTimes.com
Pork reserves!
Things I Miss
As would be expected of any extended foreign experience, I find myself jonesing for the familiar comforts of home. Some are obvious, some are surprising, and some are just plain silly. I’ll admit this post is full of consumeristic pleasures, but I suppose that’s only appropriate as missed elements of My American Life.
Amazon Prime. I signed up for the year of free Amazon Prime that...
“Fuling is not an easy city. Old people rest on the staircases, panting. To carry...”
– River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Peter Hessler
“That was something else I had heard about Fuling: its women had a reputation for...”
– River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Peter Hessler
Cisco Poised to Help China Build Surveillance... →
So it seems we’ve picked an interesting city to live in. It’s been fascinating to follow the development around this story. Cisco responds stating that they declined the surveillance deal, and that any other hardware they provide is standard issue across all markets. The Street has some interesting background on technology supplier histories with China. Either way, the story sheds some...
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Getting Connected
It’s July 3 and as I write, we have just gotten broadband connected in our apartment, after waiting a total of nine days. One of the first errands we did after we found and signed for our place was to visit the China Telecom offices to set up our account, knowing full well it was best to get that slow-moving ball rolling to ensure we got connected as quickly as possible.
Since I study and...
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[Review] River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler My rating: 4 of 5 stars I read this in the days after we settled into our apartment in Chongqing. It was a good timing, because Hessler describes some of the same landscapes and culture in his vivid description of Fuling, not far down the Yangtze river from Chongqing. Some things he described I have been discovering myself as I explore my new...
