It seems that every other blogger on the planet is doing an end-of-the-year “Top Ten” list, so why not me? Herewith, then, is the list of my top ten posts of 2012, as measured by WordPress stats:
10. Living Well Where You Don’t Belong (full version)
A collection of lessons I’ve learned over the years about successful cross-cultural living. Many lessons were, of course, the result of cultural mistakes that I made.
9. The Great Moon Cake Exchange
A look at the art if giving and receiving moon cakes during the Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.
A fun slide show of random mops seen on the streets of China. There is no problem that cannot be solved with a bucket and a mop.
7. Flooding in Beijing — What Does it Mean
Some observations on the historic flooding that hit Beijing in July. Think of Beijing is a small state, rather than a large city.
6. Silly Season
A look at life in Beijing in the run-up to the Party Congress meetings in November, and what the authorities did to prevent people from throwing “reactionary leaflets”* out the windows of taxis.
5. A Letter to Language Learners
Some thoughts and ruminations on the privilege of learning a language.
My first installment of funny Chinese bumper stickers.
A few scary photos of Chinese swimmers at a beach in Qingdao. Do not click on this link if you are given to having nightmares!
Some of my fondest memories of growing up in Karachi, Pakistan.
1. How Long Does it Take to Learn Chinese?
Some accused me of spreading discouragement with this post. I see it as helping folks set realistic expectations regarding how long it takes to learn a second language. That’s actually discouragement-prevention!
Which one was your favorite?
Onward to 2013! Happy New Year!
*I wish I could take credit for this term “reactionary leaflets” but I can’t. I picked it up from blogger Imagethief. It was too brilliant to pass up.