China in Africa: Taiwanese American in Cameroon
March 20, 2013
When I decided to buy a one-way ticket to Shanghai, I began researching publications that report on Sino-Africa relations. Social media is an amazing place. A Twitter follower contacted me, and turns out he follows this issues closely and works with the China Africa Project. Recently, the Project came out with an iPhone app, and now I can follow the…
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Lantern Festival at Yuyuan
March 17, 2013
Lantern Festival was a few weeks ago, but the event was such an interesting part of my China experience thus far, I figured writing about it is a better late than never endeavor. Lantern Festival (元宵节) is something that I vaguely remember celebrating as a child. Mostly, my mother would make delicious 汤圆 (glutton rice balls) and we watched some…
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Chocolate Wonderland
February 23, 2013
After the epic poo-eating experience, I encountered another amazing chocolate related event here in Shanghai – the Chocolate Wonderland exhibition. I had read a review about it on TimeOut Shanghai, and had to go witness this for myself. The exhibition is held at an exhibition center near Shanghai Indoor Stadium, and can be best described as a hodgepodge of children’s museum…
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First Prayer at Longhua Temple
February 17, 2013
After a wonderful feast to welcome the Year of Snake, I paid a visit to Longhua Temple just before midnight to pray for good fortunes for the upcoming year. Among devout followers, this first prayer (烧头香) is very important. The taxi dropped us off a few blocks away from the temple due to the heavy traffic. I really had never…
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Year of the Snake Feast!
February 16, 2013
The last time that I spent Chinese New Year in Asia was 15 years ago, so I was awaiting CNY in Shanghai with much anticipation. I’ve always heard about the Great Migration that happens over the holiday. Starting on February 1st, I began to witness an exodus out of Shanghai. The city began to clear. By New Year’s Eve, my…
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The Whoa Factor
January 22, 2013
Shanghai, so far, for all of its daily annoyances, comes with some pretty amazing Whoa Factors. Last week, I walked along Nanjing Road by my subway station, looked up, and saw a giant Sephora. One so big that you literally think, whoaaa where did THAT come from?! When I moved to the area just over two months ago, I vaguely…
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More Than Toilet
January 7, 2013
When thinking of a dessert bar, one typically has an image of a romantic atmosphere with dim lighting, roses and beauty. Yet, when someone told me you can get dessert that ressembles poo served in toilet, the irony and the pure strangeness had me jump on it right away. Upon entering the restaurant, everywhere you turn, you are reminded of everything related…
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New Year Bucket List
January 2, 2013
I was never good with New Year Resolutions, so I stopped making them many years ago. This year, I decided to make a bucket list. I’ve been living in Shanghai for about two months now, and I have noticed that all of my foreign friends are MUCH more knowledgeable of hip and interesting places to go than I do. This…
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2012 Year-in-Review
December 31, 2012
Somehow, I’ve been blogging for over four years, and my favorite year-end tradition is looking back on the year and reflecting the wonderful events that took place. 2012 came and went swiftly. It was a challenging year on a personal level, but the year is ending on a very positive note! January: 2012 began on a rough personal place, and I…
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A Shanghai Christmas
December 30, 2012
Spending holidays abroad is always interesting, especially when you intermix it with different cultures. This year, I spent Christmas in Shanghai with American, Australian, Chinese, and Swiss friends. My Australian couple friends graciously opened up their expat pad to host a lovely Christmas. Thanks to Fields China, we had a full Christmas feast delivered with very little efforts. To add a…
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