When I moved into my new shared apartment on Saturday, I was shocked by how messy the living room was. Honestly, one of the major reasons I chose to live here was because it was super clean when I visited it the previous Monday. I couldn’t figure out what turned my roommate into a slob until I saw our ayi (in Shanghai, we call cleaning … Continue reading Maid for dependence
Have you ever noticed that Chinese people would love to talk to a foreigner in English even though his English is broken or that foreigner can speak fluent Chinese or he’s not from an English speaking country? I just found out there is a term for that which is called English worship syndrome. Chinese education institution is keen on promoting English learning blindly. This foreign … Continue reading Cure the Disease of English Worship
Supermarkets and convenient stores in Shanghai have run out of salt in the last several days as the rumor spreading that a portion of city’s salt that comes from the Sea of Japan would be contaminated by the country’s radiation leaks. The wave not only hit Shanghai, but also across provinces from eastern Zhejiang to southern Guangdong to western Sichuan. In the face of … Continue reading Loss of Credibility Leads to Salt Stripping
When I told my parents and friends that I wanted to be a freelance writer after graduating from university, almost none of them were supportive. There are two types of freelancers in my eyes: those who are forced into freelancing because they are having trouble finding a job, and those who are talented in certain field and enjoy the freedom of working for oneself. I … Continue reading Freelancers Not Free in China
In China, single women over 25 years old are now creatively called shengnu. With exactly the same sound as the Chinese word for saint woman, shengnu actually means leftover women. Last week, I had a chance to talk with 10 attractive and successful unmarried women in this age group. Each had a different reason for not being married, but they all had one thing in … Continue reading Parents Responsible for Shengnu Issue in China
When East Meets West 