And then back home…

CCTV says there’s been another shooting at Fort Hood. I find a functioning American news source on Chinese internet (firewall) and confirm. I can’t express my anger in gifs or snarky captions. I’ve deleted so many versions of what I want to say. I preface all this by saying that I am writing from a […]

Hot Pot!

The Sichuan specialty cooking style is called “hot pot.” Have you ever had fondue? Maybe visited the Melting Pot at some point? Hot pot is essentially fondue, except instead of cheese or chocolate, you’re given a broth mixed with chili oil, chiles, and other spices. Chili oil seems to go into most dishes here unless […]

The Perfume Road: Part 2

Just got out of the shower to knocking at my door. I don’t know how to say “busy” in Chinese, but looking through the peephole I see the two housekeepers. Since I can’t say “busy” I figure that if they see I’m still in a towel and clearly not ready for conversation they’ll give me […]

The Perfume Road

My call to Dad drops at the same instant there’s a knock at the door. Two of the housekeepers stood there, all smiles. I wondered what I did wrong, or what they did if anything. Perhaps they wanted to apologize for waking me up that morning? No, that wasn’t it. They entered the doorway, and […]

Linguistic Breakfast

I am no longer the only Westerner in the hotel. A family is here – European I guessed from their backpacks and demeanor. From eavesdropping and based on their first sentences in English to the hostess, I though French or perhaps Russian (I know, I know, the languages themselves are very different, and Russia is […]