If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Traveling by cruise ship is not always our favorite way to explore new places. Nothing against the food, flair, and fun onboard, it's just that when i...
Peasants are directly responsible for China's shiny new economy. Lest we forget, it is they -- not the government who steals their land, nor the second-generation snobs residing in the skyscrapers built by them -- who are the true People of this eponymous republic.
She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, feigned collapsing on the ground and then looked up, smiling. She spoke in English. "I'm tired," she said.
How come we didn't realize just how much we would like this city that reminded us of a distant cousin of New York City? Shanghai is bold and gritty, gracious but tough, new and old, which are all key ingredients to making a place work.
If you go to Hong Kong and eat nothing but Chinese food, you are passing up a big bite of the scene. There is much more to the local cuisine than Peking duck and dim sum.
Can't decide whether you'd prefer old world or new world quarters? Don't get your chopsticks in too much of a tangle. This being China, the best Beijing hotels provide a yin and yang of amenities.
There is very little the average China expat enjoys more than complaining and on the top of our list of complaints is all the ways we think China has wronged us.
This summer, I had the priceless experience of living with a Chinese family and truly immersing myself in the local routine. As I immersed myself in Beijing, I experienced quite a few culture shocks.
China is a nation informed by archaic, and often perplexing, notions regarding race. A teeth cleansing product with a name that translates as "Black Man Toothpaste" -- complete with a smiling blackface caricature on the package -- is ubiquitous in Chinese shops.
The scale, the scope, the audacity: The Great Wall is an incredible feat of human will and irrationality.
China, for me, remains a contrast between the old and new. With so much growth so fast -- it reminded me of Chicago 50 years ago, but on steroids.
Since 2009, China has attempted to block dozens of sites that might harbor dissent. Recent visitors had told me to expect Internet restrictions. As a First Amendment researcher, I would see the access restrictions as a bit of a one-way street.
I didn't endure 14-and-a-half hours on a plane from Chicago to eat a fast food burger with fries, so I turned down a side street and wandered till I found an appropriate Chinese-y place to dine.
There is a place whose people have been on a never-ending quest to achieve a concord between life's jagged puzzle pieces. And some believe they have found its secrets.
The court was covered with a layer of dirt, so you didn't so much run down the court as you did skate or ski. Players sometimes refreshed themselves between games with a cigarette.
There are kites shaped like butterflies, swallows, dragonflies and centipedes. There are kites that stretch all the way across the ceiling of the shop and kites that are so small they can fit into a regular size envelope.
