I'm an Aussie so why celebrate Thanksgiving?
[2010-11-26 10:49]"So, what will you do for Thanksgiving?", asked one of my students. My mind whirred, as I tried to come up with an answer to something I've never even thought about.
A bus guide to a happy life in the Middle Kingdom
[2010-11-24 09:56]One of my three secrets for Living Happily in China (my newly published book) is to take the public bus. It's incredible what I've learned by using public transportation in 20 years.
Shanghai adventure a dry run for Berlin marathon
[2010-11-23 11:31]My legs are amazing. They may not be much to look at - far too short, rather muscular and prone to a most undesirable smattering of cellulite. But they are obedient. When I decided to take on the challenge of running the 2010 Berlin Marathon in September, my legs were on board with equal enthusiasm and they diligently supported me through the endless hours of pounding the pavement, rain hail or shine, through the steaming summer of Shanghai.
All wound up over a strong gust of wind
[2010-11-18 09:54]Recently in Beijing it's been quite windy, feeling more like spring in some ways.
Transported back in time by the Wall at Badaling
[2010-11-17 13:56]Do you like crowds? Do you dig the feel of getting pasted against cold metal in the Beijing subway in rush-hour traffic?
Young graduates look to surgery for better jobs
[2010-11-16 09:45]Recently I spoke to some of my students about what they wanted to do after they graduate, and what kind of job prospects they thought they had.
Nothing like a stroll through a morning market
[2010-11-11 09:50]Whenever I feel blue, I have found the best cure is to take a stroll in my neighborhood market.
Sharing one dream with my Chinese study buddy
[2010-11-10 09:24]Our lives are as antipodean as our hometowns, but Xue Chen and I had at least one thing in common - we were nervous. Our exams were approaching.
I'm a plumber and I'm OK, I sleep all night and work all day
[2010-11-09 09:36]Ash and muddy footprints covered the floor and the air was filled with the acrid tang of burning plastic.
Cold bites but new habits keep away the chills
[2010-11-04 09:28]I had never seen snow before I was 17, when I went to school for a year in the US Midwest.
Tough lesson in financial wisdom from a Beijing cop
[2010-11-03 09:25]"Do you know what moshou means?" the police officer asked me in Chinese.
I've the keys, but where's the apartment?
[2010-11-02 09:51]When I hear the term, "naked marriage" (luohun), I always get the wrong picture in my head.
