For the Caregivers of the English-impaired
When people ask me what languages I know, of course English and Chinese come to mind. French was mandatory till Grade 10, but that doesn’t mean I’d retained any. I … Continue reading
That Chinese Chick Can’t Cook Rice
For my birthday I had a group of friends over to my place for a birthday / leftover X’mas / Chinese New Year hot pot (fondue) dinner. Traditionally in the … Continue reading
The 7×7 Link Award & the Versatile Blogger Award (Part Deux)
In the midst of my Sudafed-induced stupor, I notice these hits to my blog via Kitchen Slattern‘s site. And since I worship the woman to the point where it’s freaking … Continue reading
The Time I Wrote a Love Letter to Myself
In the ’90s, teaching English in Taiwan was as easy as getting piss-ass drunk on cheap beer and mistaking every stranger in the bar for someone you know. The Taiwanese … Continue reading
More a Tweet Than a Post: Happy Chinese New Year!
A few posts back I promised to display my latest Chinese New Year acquisition – the 2012 edition of the Chinese New Year red panty, which my mother sent me … Continue reading
“Help!” (Wanted): The Story of Boogie Wang, Chloe Chu, Pinky Lo & One Kinky Ho
In Hong Kong, recruiting an English-speaking Account Representative is easier than in China, as English is one of the two official languages. The issue I have is with the names … Continue reading
The Versatile Blogger Award
As I turned on my computer the other day, I noticed this comment from blogger, Sharon, of Hyperactive Inefficiency: Heyo, I’ve finally updated that Versatile Blogger Award post, and yes, … Continue reading
Super Susan Speed Dating
After ending a lackluster, long-term relationship early last year, I’ve finally managed to shake off the leftover ennui and get back “onto my horse” and re-join the dating world…Even if … Continue reading
Lies My Superstitious Chinese Mother Told Me & the Longevity Panty
I’m the first-born byproduct of old-world Chinese parents. My Father is nearly twice my age and my Mother is irrational, but has very nice skin. My Mother, like many Chinese … Continue reading
Ode to Alcohol
Just having returned from China, walking into a US liquor store was as close to a religious experience as I was ever going to get: I almost dropped to my … Continue reading
Hallmark Holiday Card Rejects
Given that it’s the holiday season – the time of year when you receive greeting cards from people you haven’t heard from forever, and you don’t really care whether little … Continue reading
Driving Miss Crazy
Unlike Jessica Tandy in “Driving Miss Daisy”, I just can’t get used to the idea of having my own Driver in China. I KNOW that in China, as in many … Continue reading
Teaching My Elderly Chinese Parents the Computer
The other day, my younger sister, Annie, lamented to me over instant messenger, “Mom forwarded me some weird email from one of her Chinese friends about eating all my vegetables … Continue reading
My Favorite Chinese Stereotype: The Chinese Lotus Blossom vs. The Dragon Lady
How many times have you driven behind an erratic driver and thought, “Man, that driver’s got to be Chinese. He/she drives horribly!” – only to feel so guilty immediately afterwards, … Continue reading
Why I’m Still Sarcastically Single Part One: Steak
Recently, the guy I’m dating asked me whether I’d ever mention him in my blog. This got me thinking about dating and why I’m still dating at my age and … Continue reading
Dentally Yours: An Adventure in Chinese Medical Misadventure
Ask anybody who is traveling to a developing country his or her number one fear and it’s usually either: a) getting robbed, maimed or killed (after which he/she would most … Continue reading
Supremely Bizarre Products of All Time
Most people who are reading this blog about China might want to see weird and funny things – like pictures of misspelled street signs, strange foods, or bizarre cultural rituals. … Continue reading
This Post is Kind of Racist
I’m ashamed to admit this, but my parents – well, my Mother – after having lived in Canada since the 1970s, has a problem differentiating one Caucasian from the next. … Continue reading
Drink, Drank, Drunk in China, A Woman’s Perspective
Remember a young and fresh-faced Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, winning a drink-off with some large, boorish guy at the beginning of the movie, … Continue reading
Too Fat for China: Confessions of a Size 4 Chinese-Canadian in China
As I’ve said in a previous post, it’s a well-known fact and an utter phenomenon that Chinese women can eat twice their weight in food and never gain an ounce, … Continue reading
My Ten-point Safety Plan for Surviving in China
I might come off as China-savvy and sassy in my posts, but the fact that I’m not maimed or laying in a pile of water buffalo turd in a place … Continue reading
China’s Customer DISservice
This post has been combined with an original post entitled, “Where do I shop? Is the customer ever right?” dated 2005 ******************************** ul·cer Noun /ˈəlsər/ 1. An open sore on … Continue reading
Lost in Translation – Why I’m Not an Interpreter
My Mother often asks me why I don’t step up and help foreigners translate, as they stammer and gulp their way through the simplest things, like asking where the bathroom … Continue reading
The Tao of Haggling – From Someone Who Hates to Bargain
Sometimes I think i should not have been born Chinese: My ability-to-haggle-gene must have been destroyed when I integrated into Western society… along with my propensity to carry large wads … Continue reading
Of Banks and Sex – Banking in 21st Century China
Written in April 2006, before the happy advent of internet banking After two years of living in China, I’ve finally made my first wire transfer at a bank without help from … Continue reading
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