Top 10 Things I will Miss

As you may have noticed from my previous blog posting, we will be returning to the U.S. following our 2 year language and culture studies in China.  In fact, our departure date is today! While it would be foolish to believe I can anticipate exactly how reverse culture-shock will impact me, there are several things I “think” will be true.  Here’s my best estimate for a Top 10 List of…

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Village New Year Preparation

Ever wonder what life is like in a remote Chinese village?  We had the privilege of visiting a village in the mountains last week.  It was just a few days before the Chinese New Year and the day when most families in the village kill a pig in preparation for the new year.  Our host (George) is from this village and we were invited (along with several other friends) to…

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What is it like living in China? – Part 2

Remember that line “Life is just a bowl of cherries”?  Well, I beg to differ.  Living in China has taught me that “Life is really a bowl of Noodles”! This is the second blog in what may become a mini-series that shares a few thoughts re: the question “What is it like living in China?”  This time, I thought I’d share a few Things I Really Like and a few Things I Find Different.…

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What is it like living in China?

We get this question periodically and I thought it might be fun to share just a few (Top 10) items that have been on my mind the last few weeks.  It’s been just over 6 months since my last blog posting, so it seems about time to post an entry.  Language learning has been my primary focus for the past several months (in addition to soaking up culture) so things have…

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By the Numbers:

How far is it to your nearest Starbucks?  What do you typically pay for your favorite drink at Starbucks? Here’s a breakdown on my Starbucks stats: The Journey: 15 minutes – Walk from apartment to bus 15 minutes – Wait for bus 30-40 minutes – Bus ride to train station 60 minutes – Wait for train 5 hours – Train ride from Dali (Xiaguan) to Kunming There is an 8-9…

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Pecan Pie – A New Global Sourcing Challenge?!

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?  One of my personal favorites is Pecan Pie – Texas style.  However, as we learned from our language helper last night, it might be a long time before we get Pecan Pie in China. Turns out her dictionary (with tens of thousands of Chinese words) did not even have a word for “pecan”.  Our electronic dictionary also failed to find a Chinese word for “pecan”. …

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Hand-Made Noodles!

Have you ever had fresh, hand-made noodles?  Have you ever seen them being made?! Well, as much as I’d love to…I can’t offer you a bowl of noodles, but here’s a great video that shows how noodles are made-to-order, on-the-spot in a small street cafe in Dali Old Town.  As you watch, I hope you’ll be patient and realize that this is the age-old process of turning a lump of…

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