My specs had a tragic accident today. After Sven helped me out at school with a superglue temporary fix, I went to the specs store to get new ones. We get Stick’s contact lens solution at a little glasses shop by our apartment, so I knew where to go, but I hadn’t really looked at […]

My sister Bethie wrote on her own journal about shipboard customs, one of which warms my classicist heart:
On another unrelated note, whenever we had all hand get togethers where we were toasting anything, we would toast, then pour one glass over the side for Neptune, then we’d all drink from our own glasses.
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My student Melissa stopped by yesterday to give me a New Year’s gift… she brought over two gorgeous red rat-shaped papercuts so Stick and I could decorate for the year of the Rat!
When she came in, I noticed she’d gotten her new glasses. At our last lesson, Melissa had just found out she needed glasses, […]

Stick and I went exploring down the Russian street between the Ritan Park Jenny Lou’s and The Place. It’s at the eastern end of Ritan Bei Lu, where it meets Dongdaqiao Lu. The last time I was at The Place, it was all done up for Christmas. I thought it was fairy-light overload then, but […]

I wrote about Christine Ohuruogu for the Beijing Olympics Fan! blog yesterday, and tonight I got an email from the BBC asking if I’d like to talk about it for World Have Your Say. Would I? Of course! BBC radio is, naturally, on London time which meant staying up until 3AM in Beijing, but I […]

Katie’s super-secret shower was yesterday and now I can stop saying “your sho–bachelorette party”. I am the worst person ever when it come to keeping secrets, it was so hard for me not to mention the shower.
Later we went out for Katie’s bachelorette. First we went for drinks and barbeque, and when our first round […]

It’s the beginning of the semester, and I need a new parking pass. At UMass, I go see Marcus but at Local Community College, I end up waiting for a while, trying to catch the attention of one of the employees. When I finally do, she says “Not here, go to the library to pick […]

Since I’ve spent so much time complaining about Chinese food I don’t like, I thought I should devote some time to food I don’t hate.
1) Everything at the Japanese place on Huang Shan Lu. I love this place, I love the waitresses who try to understand my awful Chinese, I love the tempura sauce, I […]

It seems that all expats in China all have something in common. It’s not just our supply of Purell, or our shared lust of bread and cheese, there’s also the group hatred of Da Shan.
Da Shan / Mark Roswell is a Canadian who speaks amazing Mandarin. He’s got a language course, a TV show, and […]

I’m heartbroken that I’ll miss Thanksgiving at home this year. I love every part of the holiday, but especially the food and my family in all our dysfunctional glory.
I love getting home on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Last year was the first time my college-freshman little sister had to come home, too. My mom […]