My friend told me that her phone beeped last night at around 11; it was a message from a former high school classmate asking whether she could do a translation for her right away.
Ah, the movie theater. Comfortable seats, ice-cold air conditioning and movies! It's the perfect summer get-away.
Being the obsessed gizmo-lover that I am, whenever I visit an Asian city, my top priority is to find and explore the local gadget markets. Let's face it, a greater selection of electronics items are offered this side of the globe because most of them are made in Asia, and top among the production areas is Shenzhen.
Last weekend, I attempted to take visitors from overseas to Longqing Gorge, promising them a day of bungee jumping, rock climbing and karst mountains.
Getting around in a city of 20 million people can be daunting, if not seemingly impossible. It can be even harder if you don't have a car and you're a foreigner, such as myself.
There have been several articles in print and on the Internet that imply that some young people are being forced to leave Beijing as if they were failures. That's nonsense.
Call me a prude if you will, but there is something odd and unnerving about contraception pills being sold over the counter.
For anyone visiting Beijing, a trip to the Great Wall is almost mandatory, and I had not been there.
"Lee" and "May" have been dating for more than five years. Theirs is a comfortable relationship. Familiar routines, shared friends, even perhaps, rent or a mortgage split two ways. But what is not on the table is marriage.
Beijing of late certainly has its modern benefits and, let's be honest, for those willing to uproot themselves to move here led by curiosity, and an impulsively purchased plane ticket, arriving in China's capital isn't as hard as moving to, say, "real China".
Like most people in and outside China, I believe the National Stadium, or Bird's Nest, is a truly stunning structure. It is unique among the world's major sports venues. And I count the day spent viewing track and field events during the 2008 Olympic Games as one of my most memorable China experiences.
Some say it seems as if English's role as the most popular language in the world may be about to wane in favor of Mandarin. The hundreds of thousands of college kids and other language enthusiasts that pour into China every year are not surprising anymore.
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