I'm back in Minnesota now, spending the holidays with my mom and family. The big family Christmas dinner was at my mom's place this year, and as we were getting ready for the gang to arrive, my mom realized that she had no salt in the house. So off I went to Walgreens (for reasons […]
She Ate the Wrong Medicine
Last Friday night I was doing some last minute Christmas shopping with some friends at Wantong Market at Fuchengmen. It's one of the markets in Beijing we lovingly call "Stuff Mart." It's 5 floors of stalls selling every bit of dongxi (stuff) that is made under the sun. You want it, they've got it. Cheap! […]
Turkeys on Plymouth Mountain
In order to keep passengers occupied while sitting in long traffic jams, many cab companies have started suppyling an "in-taxi" magazine. It's called "Bai Xing Taxi." A rough translation would be "Taxi for the Common People, but that is really a misnomer since it is full of ads for consumer goods that the common people […]
Stop the Itching!
Over the past few days I have noticed a small rash developing on my legs. By yesterday evening it was a full blown nasty-ugly-splotchy-itchy rash spreading onto my stomach and arms. It's the kind of rash that produces an itch that makes you want to scratch right down to the bone, which is what I […]
Never Too Old
Last night, an elderly gentleman and I got on the elevator in my apartment building at the same time. Seeing that his hands were laden with grocery bags I asked him "which floor?" He looked at me, grinned, and then said in English "Five." I pressed 5. I then asked him if he knew English. […]
Sichuan, Six Months Later
On May 12, 2008, China's Sichuan Province suffered a devastating earthquake that killed almost 90,000 people and left millions homeless. Six months on from that terrible day we don't hear much about Sichuan anymore, but the suffering goes on even as the rebuilding process has begun. The Boston Globe recently ran a moving series of […]
