In the two months since we’ve been home, we’ve watched leaves turn from green to yellows and reds to brown before falling off tree branches now covered in icy snow.…
Our bags are on their way to being packed. Our apartment is on its way to being cleaned up and cleared out. Well, as much as it can be. Iggy…
I remember gorging on RJ’s raspberry and strawberry flavored licorice while listening to Neko Case, Alabama Shakes, and a la-la-lotta Neil Young during the final driving days of our New…
I forgot about posting photos for Wordless Wednesday over the last few months. My brain just doesn’t have much room for non-baby stuff these days. But I’ve got more than…
Most museums in Shanghai don’t live up to their potential. Exhibit spaces are often sparsely filled and there’s never enough historical context given (in Chinese or any other language) to…
China churns out a lot of crap. For all the world to buy. And collectively bitch about. Think the “bargains” you love to have but hate on don’t last long?…
We were due for better weather after spending ten days driving, hiking, and camping in mostly rainy and messy conditions on the North Island where there was no doubt it…
Our tickets have been booked. Back to the U.S.of A. we are going. I would say it’s bittersweet because only Baby K and I’ll be leaving but it’s mostly not.…
We didn’t plan for our final tramp (as they say in Kiwi speak) to be the longest or most memorable. But the Hooker Valley Track was both. I wonder why?…
Six weeks after returning from Hawaii we packed our bags to travel once again. We were propelled by the polluted push of China and the palpable pull of New Zealand.…
Iggy received this earlier in the week: “Love these long naps and pollution free days! Almost enough to make me not mind living in China!” From yours truly. I spend…
One big, legal thing prevented us from ticking off the list of places we wanted to check out while vacationing on Oahu. Points of interest that when plotted on Google…
Pie. Blueberry, pecan, peach, apple. I’ll have them anytime, seasonally dependent, of course. I like the homemade kind. None of that gooey, goopy, jellied slop from a can thrown unlovingly…
Do I even remember our trip to Honolulu? It’s a sweaty blur off the top of my head – me sweating on Baby K and her on me. Turns out…
Life is a series of countdowns. Anyone else feel that way? Currently we — okay, I — obsess over the days/weeks/months until we leave China. We’re at 262 days/32 weeks/8…
We don’t get out much these days. This winter has been a drag. The worst — but also last — of our extended stay in China. The pollution has kept…
It really does take a village to raise a child. In our case, an expert/expat village. We’ve received lots of support from friends, neighbors, and coworkers. This post is one…
After spending most of the fall in Shanghai, we swore we’d never return. We’d been there too many times, ate at too many of its restaurants, seen too many of…
Time and time again over the last five plus weeks, I’ve tried to get here to share our good news. But something always comes up. A soiled diaper. A loud…
I have been in Shanghai for over a week. Alone. Sort of. I receive frequent reminders throughout the day — but more often during the night — that I am…
There are perks to making frequent visits to Shanghai for prenatal appointments. Like catching the summer sun’s reflection in the glass facade of the Shanghai Tower, the world’s second-tallest skyscraper.…
Nothing gets my blood boiling like an intrusive oh-so-Chinese email. See, for example, the one below. It was sent from the company that acts as the liaison between us, the…
…for half the stuff we see in China. This photo was captured by a friend on the busy (and I guess hot) streets of Qingdao.
Now that my first kid is on the way, I’m wading further into the murky waters of parenthood. Not willingly. It’s just something that happens, I guess, as soon as…
It’s been a tough week for Myanmar. Many districts have been devastated by severe flooding, including Sagaing, which we visited in the dry month of December just last year. This…
I howled with laughter as I read NPR’s recent story about Shanghai-based reporter Frank Langfitt shopping for used cars. With a title like “Would You Buy a Used Car from…
Shanghai is a city that begs to be walked. There’s so much to take in as you make your way around — the eclectic people, the mix of architectural styles,…
Crickets… …and bunnies on the streets of Shanghai.
I’m sure that my experience of finding out I was pregnant was like most women’s, complete with conflicting emotions that first overwhelm and then, thankfully, get quelled by rational thought.…
We had a reprieve from the hutai last summer, but it’s back with its vibrant hue and putrid stench.
Last month, I quieted my admittedly jaded outlook on the country that’s been my home for two — going on three — years and took in China as my fellow…
Now is not the time to be tired. I have things to do: bags to pack, stuff to clean (including my smelly self), laundry to fold, and presents for a…
When we got married, we took the low-key approach. We eschewed the typical big day, big cost stuff and opted for a wedding that was us. That meant immediate family…
When we touch down on American soil, we go on automatic pilot. We step (almost) right back into our old lives. We slide into cars and drive like it’s no…
One week from today, the Chinese will ring in the lunar new year. Red lanterns can be seen blowing in the wind all around us, from the crumbling apartment buildings…
I pass through a small, quiet village called Gāo Jiā Zhuāng Chūn every so often. It has a main drag that is probably less than a mile long. On lazy days,…
On this dreary, wintery Sunday, I occupied a short chunk of an otherwise lazy morning taking the Wall Street Journal’s Quiz: What Kind of Expat Are You? If you’re an…
I find it amazing that I’ve managed to make it for two years in China without ever getting sick from something I ate. Imagine my surprise when I got knocked…
Our week of cruising on the Irrawaddy River ended in the chill of a dark Saturday morning. By morning, I mean before the break of dawn. It was just going…
We decided to end 2014 with a bang. In other words, we took another big trip. I always think of each vacation as “a trip of a lifetime” even though…
3 RMB gets you one jin (1/2 a kilo or 1 pound) of coal, which you can conveniently buy off the back of trucks in downtown Haiyang. Employees at stores…
Winter suddenly swept in over the weekend with a mighty, frigid bluster that rattled our windows and doors. Yesterday, I watched a swirl of the season’s first snowflakes fly by…
I realized, as I was looking back over recent posts, that I haven’t written much about China lately. There are a couple of reasons for that. It feels like I’ve…
Today the U.S. celebrates Veterans Day in honor of all the men and women who have served in the military. For years the holiday didn’t mean much more to me…
woshoudebuhao 