August 2011
15 posts
2 tags
Encounters with the Great Firewall of China
So I had my first significant run-in with the Great Firewall (“GFW”) of China last night. Of course, there have been a few hiccups since my arrival in June, but most of them have been the direct result of thoughtlessness (habitually clicking on the Facebook icon in my browser toolbar before activating my VPN) or a step in the not-so-smooth process of getting set up properly with the...
The Mayor of China
As it turns out, foursquare is one of the few social media platforms I use that is not blocked by the government here in China (tumblr is read-only on my phone). I can get my Facebook and Twitter fixes by way of the VPN connection on my laptop, but circumvention is not really practical on my iPhone and I haven’t bothered to figure out a hack. As a result, I’ve actually been spending a...
[Review] The Corpse Walker
The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories: China from the Bottom Up by Liao Yiwu My rating: 3 of 5 stars I was pleased to discover how many of the stories came from Sichuan, Chongqing, and the surrounding areas. At some point, the stories of hardship began to blur together, began to seem repetitive in the ways they had been affected by the political vacillations of mid-century China. The more...
Escaping the Heat
We’re off to Kunming, City of Eternal Spring, to escape the worst of Chongqing’s summer heat (103 F!!). Taking the week off for some relaxation, decompression, exploration, and entertainment in the backpacker’s haven. Looking forward to a nice cocktail and a cafe or two…
Next Frontier for Restless Americans? -... →
It’s been strange to be here in China, away from America while all this debt ceiling and S&P ratings activity is happening at home. We’ve wondered whether we would look back on these moments as the “beginning of the end” and feel thankful we had already begun our process of making peace with the kind of emigre lives this article imagines. Just a thought exercise…
More pictures from July →
A few pictures from in and around Chongqing from the last month. Highlights include pirates, fallen construction cranes, and our new fake Apple store!
David Sedaris: Chicken toenails, anyone? | Eating... →
Guys, don’t worry. It’s really not as bad as David Sedaris makes it out to be.
Beautiful Night in Chongqing
A sliver of the new moon hangs over the visible mountain peak in the purple distance as I watch bats circle and dart across the airspace between tall buildings. It’s August 2, but the air is calm and comfortable enough to make the balcony very inviting. It feels like summer. And it’s starting to feel like home.
