One day in the summer of 2013, I go to the hairdresser. The guy who washes my hair asks: “Are you from the US?” I: “No, I’m from Europe.” He: “I see. Americans like to fight. They like to go into war with other countries.” Do you think that this is a popular view of […]
Monthly Archives: April 2014
One day in November 2013, I’m at the supermarket buying fruit. I go to a square counter that is filled with apples. It’s accessible from all four sides. On the opposite side of the counter, a supermarket employee who’s busy unpacking boxes is surrounded by people. A couple standing right next to me point their finger to him. They […]
I’m at the grocery store. When I’m done with choosing the groceries I want to buy, I find a corner with massage chairs where I can sit down and wait for my husband (he went to another store and is the one carrying the backpack to store our groceries in). After a short while, an […]
One Sunday afternoon in February, 2014, my husband and I sit in our living room drinking tea and chatting. My in-laws have gone to the market and we enjoy some alone time. When they come back, we are still sitting on pillows on the floor, drinking tea and talking about this and that. The next […]
In celebration of publishing the 150th blog post on China Elevator Stories today, I’ll take a look at the top 10 posts, posts 101-150: 10. Guest post: “My wife thinks I have a lover” A repair guy talks about his relationship problems with guest poster Marta’s boyfriend. 9. “Are you pregnant?” One of my co-workers asked […]
Today, I’m introducing a new category to my blog. It’s called Cool Stuff China and in it I will describe some of the things or services you can get here that are either special to China or very popular here – or that I personally think are pretty cool. Some of the things or services I […]
One weekend after I find out that I’m pregnant, I go to buy some comfy clothes with a Chinese friend. When we are done with shopping and eat lunch, she says: “You should buy radiation-proof clothes. These are specially made for pregnant women and if you wear such a dress, people will offer you their […]
Last Monday, newly-wed Grace from Texan in Tokyo has published a guest post from me on her blog. Grace writes thoughtful and engaging articles and her blog includes a wide range of topics (that sometimes come in the form of comics) covering life in Japan, long distance relationships and two recent favourites of mine: “My Big, Fat Texas Wedding” and […]
One day at the end of September 2013, Q, a friend who’s living in Shangri-la, has invited me to come with her to her hometown Weixi, which is located on the hills of a fertile valley in Western Yunnan and is a 5-hour-drive across steep mountain roads from Shangri-la. Weixi is a city surrounded by mountains which is […]