Tag Archives: living-in-China
Chinaversary: Seven Years in China
As of today, I’ve been in China seven years. I’m officially a 7 Year Laowai. In contemplating what having lived in China for three-quarters of the last decade means to me, I find it interesting that in a lot of ways I feel less sure or informed about this country now than I did in …
Oh, so this is the rainy season…
According to Wikipedia, Haikou’s rainy season falls between May and October, with the most rain in September. We knew moving down here in April that we were essentially moving into heat and wetness. We waited for the rains all summer, not out of excitement but out of curiosity regarding this new and strange climate we were living in.
Nothing came. Day after day we had beautiful blue skies, fluffy white clouds and only short, scattered showers. Getting closer and closer to the end of September and still no rain, we thought maybe we skipped the rainy season this year.
But then a week ago typhoon Nesat hit, and it hasn’t stopped raining since. The 24-hour period from this Tuesday and Wednesday past saw more precipitation fall on the city than ever in recorded history (333mm). So yeah, we’re wet.
Goodbye Suzhou; Hello Hainan
The places I've lived, or will live, in China
After more than four and a half years, we’re leaving Suzhou.
Dalian vs. Suzhou
Despite the combative title, it’s rather tough to A-B the two places I’ve spent the most time with in China. They are both supported and mired by a number of attributes that make them both rather unique places to live. Last week Maggie and I grabbed a flight out of PVG and made our annual …
Living without trust
This is really a topic I’ve been thinking about since back in December/January when our dog Addie died. I wasn’t sure how to put to words my feelings about it and so have shelved it until now. I don’t know that I’m any closer to knowing how to verbalize it, but maybe this post will …
Quality of Life vs. Standard of Living
An e-mail to a friend this morning got me thinking about what it’s like to live in China. By “live”, I don’t mean in the common temporary sense, as a short-term contract teacher or business person might, but rather as someone who has no firm plans on the if and when of their eventual departure. …
The Way We Were
I’ve noticed something recently. I’ve become completely apathetic to my surroundings. My living in China has staled and been replaced with just ‘living’. Sure, I still get pissed off at the “HELLOOOOOs” and the whispered “shhysehsshsheshlaowaishehshsheksdlkjed”, but the truth is, I’ve settled in. The moment I realized this was when I noticed I never bring …
