Category Archives: Yantai

Yantai Journals

Oh, hey so I briefly mentioned the Chefoo Concentration Camp when I wrote about exploring Tamsui. There’s an episode of NPR’s This American Life about the diary of a Girl Guide leader who was imprisoned in Chefoo. The story is … Continue reading

Posted in Boston, China, Yantai | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Bing Kafei

I have an electric kettle in my room, so one of the first things I bought was a package of those Nescafe instant coffees. They’re nice, of course, but not even the most optimistic expat could mistake it for brewed, fresh coffee. Fortunately, … Continue reading

Posted in Yangzhou, Yantai | Tagged | Leave a comment

As Cultural Stunts Go

Old China Hand Imagethief, a blogger I followed with dedication during my Yantai and Beijng years, now writes thoughtfully about returning to American life after many years in Asia. As cultural stunts go, China was an epic win. I became … Continue reading

Posted in Beijing, Chapel Hill, Yantai | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Google+ Vs Facebook

From Google vs. Facebook: Should Human Rights Factor in Your Choice of Social Network? on Huffington Post Google Plus, which launched in beta last week, has been Topic One among the “digerati,” who’ve spent much of the week kicking the … Continue reading

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Bu Chai

Tom Lasseter, who replaced Tim Johnson as the China correspondent for McClatchy, mentioned today on his blog that Beijing plans to renovate all the hutongs around the Drum and Bell Towers. Renovation is hardly news in Beijing, where the pre-Olympic … Continue reading

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Silkroad Society

This Joymax press release on multiplayer games, virtual societies, and Asian culture, landed in my inbox the other day: Joymax, an independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment for the global market, today announced the launch of a third “Clean … Continue reading

Posted in Gaming Culture, Yantai | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Waiting

Eight or nine years ago, I worked in a diner while on a, ahem, break from college. The Pioneer Valley is full of similar college-age breakers, finding themselves, forming bands, creating art, getting that awful first novel out of the … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Raleigh, Yantai | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Extreme Shopping

Cooking Mama 3’s shopping game is uncannily like shopping in a Chinese supermarket. Mama sends you out to find 4 pieces of unwrapped, unrefridgerated meat, but as you search the store to fill your reusable carrier bag, you’ve got to avoid oddly familiar store characters — shouting shop assistants in pastel uniform aprons or a girl with a basket of squid, shellfish and other distinctly Yantai seafood — who’ll slow your shopping progress by trapping you into minigames. Higher levels add loose eggs, heads-on fish and mushrooms to your shopping list, and more people to the store. I keep trying for the elusive perfect score, since I imagine it’ll unlock a “Sunday In The Auchan” extreme challenge level. Continue reading

Posted in Raleigh, Yantai | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Liu Gong Island

I have no idea how I went from running to the mailbox each afternoon in hope and expectation, to utterly forgetting to mention this, but… I have a travel piece in the March-April issue of Adventures For The Average Woman. … Continue reading

Posted in Raleigh, Yantai | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Montclair, The Land of Hunan House

Every time I came home from college or from traveling, the first thing I’d want to do in my hometown of Montclair is go eat Hunan House Chinese food. So yesterday, when I flew in from Raleigh to my parents’ … Continue reading

Posted in New Jersey, North Carolina, Yantai | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment