From Grits to Chopsticks

As a follow-up to the previous post about our fully furnished apartment, it seems appropriate to mention a few things that that we find to be different in our China apartment vs. our house in America.  Starting in the main bathroom, it’s not unusual to hang the water heater above the toilet: While it provides […]

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In this part of the world, construction crews work around the clock to build massive apartment buildings in record time.  But getting an apartment furnished happens at a completely different pace.  It’s been almost two months since we moved in and we’re finally done getting our house in order.  Here are some photos of the […]

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Some of our graduate students took us out to a goose-soup dinner this week: One of the “special” parts of this meal is to eat the goose head: Even though Susan looks hesitant, she joined in once she got a figured out where to start: The food is always a bit more familiar at home. […]

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Our new apartment has a pretty good view of the surrounding area.  Here are a few of the typical scenes that can be seen from our 11th story porch (click the highlighted words for videos): The frequent crossing of trains (Train Crossing): A funeral procession (Funeral): The grand opening of a new store in our community […]

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Both of our sons are planning to get married in the next seven months, so we’ve been thinking about weddings a lot lately.  With that in mind, our  English Corner tomorrow will focus on wedding traditions (both western and eastern). Interestingly, as we’ve walked along the waterfront at Dianchi Lake (south of our city), we often come across bridal photo sessions […]

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You’ve probably heard a lot about the rapid pace of modernization in China.  Here is a photo of a nearby street where things haven’t changed much in a few decades: When you walk to the end, you step out into the new world of China.  Looking to the right past the pyramid of sugar cane, […]

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Like most westerners, the do-it-yourself spirit is alive and well within us.  That is especially evident when moving into a new place.  Our desire to improve our surroundings drives us to make a “to do” list and get to work.  Here are a few “DIY” projects from the past week. We got a good deal on a […]

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During a past visit to our local zoo, we puzzled over the intended meaning of this sign: It is possible that they are really referring to “word records,” as is evidenced by this hospital name in the north part of our city: If you have an emergency and need quick attention, it may be a mistake to try […]

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We have been living in the same apartment since we came to China in early 2010, but rent escalation finally reached its limit, and we began looking for a new apartment.  Fortunately, a number of new complexes have recently sprung up around our school, and we found an apartment at the end of this street: If your image of […]

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It’s nice when you find a roadside restroom in China: It’s even nicer if you can read Chinese when trying to decide which one to use: One of the significant advantages to Asian toilets – you don’t usually need to clean off the seat: But there are exceptions.  The Starbucks coffee shop has toilet seats, but encourages its patrons to […]

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