How to Deal With Talkative Passengers While Flying at 32,000 Feet
For those of you who claimed to have built life-changing friendships, been engaged or married, or reached an epiphany about red meat on a red-eye from San Francisco to New York, … Continue reading
See Susan Go Camping
I was raised in a campingless household. My Chinese immigrant parents could never understand how our neighbors – with only $240.38 (Canadian) in their bank account (that was US$1.99 in … Continue reading
Of Banks & 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
Hells Bell’s Palsy: The Symptoms of a Chinese Mother
Bell’s palsy “is a form of facial paralysis resulting from a dysfunction of the …facial nerve… causing an inability to control facial muscles on the affected side…It is thought that … Continue reading
The Trainer.
Based on events which occurred in a small town in China in 2005 I first saw the Trainer – and I believe that was his name, as that’s what everyone … Continue reading
The Power of Poo & Other Cross-cultural Conundrums
When people find out that I *live* in China, they always want to know what it’s like. And from the way they ask and the expressions on their faces, I … Continue reading
This Post is Kind of Racist
Originally posted on lostnchina:
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…
How to Succeed at Landing the Chinese Man of Your Nightmares
I know for a sorry fact that, if my Dad were to pass away tomorrow, his greatest regret would not be that 1000+ item Vegas Strip buffet he never tried, … Continue reading
Chinese Chicken Gizzard & Testicle Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for the Uninspirable
You drink this soup I made for you; it will make you stronger and smarter and give you chi. You don’t do what I say, you’ll die a slow and … Continue reading
I’m Not Your Amway-Hooker, Travel-Sexcort, Chinabride, Mother-May-I, Ex-Girlfriend-Stand-In: A Scientific Analysis of Susan’s Dating History
Some of you may be saddened to learn that I’ve broken up with the guy mentioned in Why I’m Still Sarcastically Single Part One: Steak. The relationship lasted a bit … Continue reading
The Day I Tried to Cut Down on My Drinking
I might sound like a big lush lurching through life, but I drink at the most two (ladylike) glasses of wine a day. However, over the holidays – Thanksgiving 2011, … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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