Tag Archives: family
Immersion Chinese
We may have a new Juice Aunt in Beijing. Juice Aunt is the woman who sold bottled drinks outside my apartment in Yantai. She and various members of her family would be outside my house with their cart, all day, … Continue reading
The Basic Art Of Italian Cooking
The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati is part cookbook and part travel memoir. Between recipes, Maria shares travel adventures, like meeting her now-husband, and misadventures, like the Italian-language student who asked for a shower, instead of a … Continue reading
Belated China Story
This story came up last night, when Stick and I went out with Jay and his family, and I realized I’d never posted it here. One day when Stick was visiting me in China, I was in class, so he … Continue reading
Only In New Jersey
My home state, New Jersey, warns locals not to eat squirrels from the toxic dump. A lead-contaminated squirrel was found in the area two months ago, prompting the agency, along with the state Department of Environmental Protection, to send out … Continue reading
No One Said Arbor Day
Today I asked my students to choose the most important holiday in their home country and tell me how that day is celebrated and why it’s important. I thought this would be an interesting topic that everyone would relate to, … Continue reading
And That’s How I Got My Name
On Sunday, Eric and his family had a Welcome Back party for me. Eric made a huge Bon Voyage sign and then taped “Welcome Back, The Meg!” over it. He seems to think that he’ll be able to get more … Continue reading
January First
I’m not saying I have a nerd family, but I saw this at my aunt’s today.
Born In The USA
It was awesome having Pseudo-Thanksgiving with my Yantai friends. Ron and his wife brought their new baby so in some ways it really was like a family. A crazy dysfunctional family, with a lot of alcohol and trashtalk, but still. … Continue reading
Without Thanksgiving
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 … Continue reading
Dragon Boat Day
(Written on 6/1 but Dragon Boat Day is 5/31 so I’m backdating this) Once there was a Chinese poet called Qu Yuan (??). Depending on who you ask, Qu Yuan either jumped or fell into a river and drowned, and … Continue reading
