I just want to wish my American readers a Happy Memorial Day. I hope you’re out there enjoying barbequed hot dogs by the swimming pool.
I began supporting Barack Obama back when he was still an underdog to Hillary Clinton in the primaries, so of course I’m delighted that he appears to have captured the nomination. As a Democrat, I’m further delighted that the congressional Republicans are losing once-safe seats in places like Mississippi, Louisiana, and suburban Illinois. This bodes [...]
-Over the past week and a half one of my good friends from college, Jascha Pohl, has been traveling with me in Yunnan a bit before he heads off for some much-needed tropical time in Vietnam. Jascha has been blogging about his trip at his (semi) eponymous site Jascha Pohl Sucks (an inside joke from [...]
While at the rest stop halfway between Dali and Kunming, I found couple wearing t-shirts I could hardly believe. His said: “Falling in love: she is my girlfriend” Hers said: “Falling in love: he is my boyfriend”. All in English. Feeling cheeky, I asked the two for a photo. Evidence here (maybe difficult to make [...]
I just got back from a now-annual pilgrimage to Dali, my favorite of Yunnan’s many tourist towns. In bad weather, Dali is pleasant and relaxing. In good weather, which Jascha and I were lucky enough to have last week, Dali is spectacular. Taking advantage of the ample sunshine, we had an unusually active two days. [...]
The Chinese government’s response to the earthquake has been nothing short of remarkable, especially given the country’s recent history in dealing with major crises. The transparency and efficacy with which Beijing helped coordinate relief efforts and reassured a grieving nation has truly impressed me. Not long ago, China had a reputation for bungling its disaster [...]
Urban China hums with noise, to an extent that even New Yorkers find staggering. There are car horns, loudspeaker announcements, musing blaring from shops, and sidewalk vendors on every block in every city. Then, of course, there are people…lots and lots of people. People jabbering into phones, spitting, shouting, laughing, and jostling for position. Even [...]
I spoke with a Chinese friend yesterday who is frustrated with how slowly the Chinese media reported information about the earthquake, especially in comparison with foreign news agencies like Reuters and AP. To me, though, the Chinese media has acquitted itself rather well this time. Articles I’ve scanned in national dailies (Xinhua, etc.) and Kunming [...]
An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck western China two hours ago, sending tremors felt across the country and in Thailand and Vietnam. Here in Kunming, I felt…nothing. I only found out when a friend working in an office building downtown called to say that she had been evacuated, but that no damage [...]
Via my Facebook feed, I came across an article in the International Herald Tribune by a Chinese-American women whose biracial children were occasionally stared at during a trip to China. From this small sample of anecdotal evidence, the author muses about, in succession, the ethnic homogeneity of Chinese society, the “lack of privacy” in such [...]