I found some fresh bok choy in the local grocery store and I was immediately taken back to many a dinner and lunch in restaurants from the north, south, east, and west of China. All these years. I remembered the texture, the flavor of garlic and ginger. Just gentle garlic and ginger and the rich, […]
Relatively. From wanting to update this blog everyday, I am now slipping to updating it just once a week. Sigh. Last Saturday, Ju-Jintsu, a South Korean woman in my class invited all of us for dinner. It was around 5PM when we met. Before that, Yoke had come along with us to this wonderful little […]
Last Saturday, Yoke called us to go “cherry picking, drink tea and play mahjong.” Are there better ways to spend a Saturday? Since I couldn’t think of any, we agreed. It was around 10AM when he came knocking on the door. The day was gloomy with a forecast of rain and we were wondering if […]
That’s a pretty simple title for this post. Sometimes you run out of words, and then you just feel that who needs words anyway? It’s been almost three months since I first arrived here. It’s been an emotional ride most of the time. I came here looking to regain my faith in people, and China […]
Fu Julie has this wonderful streak in her – an innate kindness that is at once heartwarming and life affirming. Having known that Birdy won’t be in Chengdu for her birthday, she invited us, and the whole class along to celebrate Dofu Pi-Eater’s birthday the next weekend we were in town. I couldn’t bear the […]
Most of my friends know I am a vegetarian. However, most of them do not know why I am a vegetarian. It’s something I like to keep to myself, especially as I see no merit in arguing with a meat-lover over the potential benefits of chewing on a cow’s behind or a carrot’s top. To […]
Last week, I came to class, then backed out immediately at seeing an unknown face. Did I enter the right class, I mutter to myself, trying to see the classroom number. Meanwhile, the strange person in pink sitting inside the class, also gets up. “Is it 208?” she asks. I nod, rather flustered, still backing […]
Last Saturday, Fu Julie invited us home to watch South Korean movies. Why is an American who was staying in Cambodia for 4 years, and now in China inviting two Indians to watch a South Korean movie? Globalization, eh? Having had nothing to do that evening, we readily agreed. Fu Julie’s apartment is typical of […]
Tuesday was a holiday here, it being Qing Ming Jie or Tomb Sweeping Day. I was really happy because I was missing Tuesday’s speaking and listening class, which I hate. The teacher for this class, Tang Laoshi, is just an ordinary fluff ball of biases and prejudices. I could take it if she was a […]