Just a quick reminder that entries posted prior to August 31 can be found at the following address: http://www.outside-in.blog-city.com My blog was there until I got trapped behind the Great Firewall of China. If you are outside of China, then there will be no problem accessing it. if you are in China, then you must […]
A Strange Phone Conversation
My cell phone rang this afteroon. I didn’t recognize the number. The conversation went like this: Hello. Is this Joann? Yes. I’m (Chinese name). My English name is Kitty. Do I know you? Yes, I’m from the Institute of Technology. Where did you meet? Are you Joann? Yes. Do you live with (Chinese name)? No. […]
You’ve Just Come Back
When I rode up to my apartment building on my bycicyle this afternoon, the security guard smiled and greeted me, "You’ve just come back," he said. "I’ve just come back," I replied. That was it. I chuckled and though of how it is such a typical exchange in China. You see, the Chinese language has […]
Combines on the Third Ring
One of the great things about living in China is the unpredictability of things. Quite frankly, you never know what you’re going to see, and just when you think you’ve seen it all, you see something else that makes you do a double-take and ask, "did I really see what I think I just saw?" […]
Bingzi Walla
Forgive me for mixing my languages. Bingzi is a Chinese word for flat bread. Walla is Urdu for "man," as in someone who does something or sells something. When I was growing up in Pakistan, there were all kinds of "wallas" in our life: the fish walla, the meat walla, the vegetable walla, the fruit […]
Ren Shan Ren Hai
Ren shan ren hai is a Chinese 4 character idiom that means "a mountain of people, and an ocean of people." In other words, lots of people. And lots of people is something that this country has! Whenever I’m engaged in a conversation with a Chinese friend (or stranger, such as a taxi driver) about […]
