For Christmas Eve 2013, I prepare a simple Austrian Christmas dish – sausages with sauerkraut and potatoes. While I’m in the kitchen looking for the right spices, I find pure MSG hidden behind other spices. I show it to my husband. He gets angry and starts a fight with his dad. They agreed that we […]
Category Archives: Life in China
I’ll exchange the humid climate of coastal Guangdong for the dry climate of Central Europe tomorrow, but don’t worry – I’ve prepared lots of China-related posts to keep you entertained until I’m back in a few months’ time small talking with locals in China. It’s May 2013. Leaving Shenzhen during its moldiest season is probably not a very good idea. […]
In February 2014, one of my former co-workers who just had a baby girl stops me in my tracks: “Let me see your belly.” After looking at it, she concludes: “It’s really big. You’re wearing quite sexy clothes. You should wear more layers.” She says that on a sunny day with 21°C that reminds me […]
One of my husband’s friends is working as a trainer at a gym. It’s the trainers job to find people they can train. The competition is fierce and more often than not, he doesn’t have anyone to train. If he doesn’t have anyone to train, he earns about 1000 CNY a month (around 120 EUR or […]
After 11 exhausting weeks of early pregnancy, my in-laws arrive in Shenzhen to stay with us for a few months. I love being independent and I’ve always liked living on my own (and with my husband), but I am also a person who’s reluctant to admit that I might need other people’s help, so when […]
One day in the fall of 2013, I listen to two co-workers talking. One is a guy from Northeast China who’s 24, the other one is a woman in her mid-30s who has a 3-year-old child. She tells us how hard it is to find a place in a kindergarten in Shenzhen. The guy says: […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
In today’s guest post I’d like to introduce you to Rosie Zhao. Rosie is an American woman who came to China in 2005. Though only planning to stay for several months, everything changed when she met the Chinese man who would later become her husband. They married in her hometown, Milwaukee, in 2007. She currently […]
July 1975, my mother-in-law is sent to the countryside in what is called the “Up to the mountains and down to the countryside” movement during the Cultural Revolution. She is one of many young adults who are referred to as educated youth (知识青年 zhīshì qīngnián). She didn’t go to university, but it doesn’t take more […]
One day in December 2013 I’m at work. One of my female coworker points at my belly and asks: “How many months are you pregnant?” I: “2.” She (seemingly shocked): “How come your belly is already that big with only 2 months?” I: “That’s because it’s afternoon and I ate a lot today.” On a […]
After getting to know that I’m pregnant and in the time before the first ultrasound, my husband is anxious. The doctor has told us that we have to monitor the progress and that chances are the egg would nest in the wrong place. This and the fact that miscarriages are highest in the first trimester […]
One day in mid-November 2013 my husband and I go to a women’s and children’s hospital. We haven’t been to this hospital before, but after having been sent to do a blood sample every third day, we have decided to change the hospital and this one was recommended to us by a coworker. It’s time […]
In March 2008, just a few months before the start of the Summer Olympics in Beijing and right after protests took place that would later lead to deadly riots in Lhasa, Q, a friend from Northwestern Yunnan gets a call from her mother. Her mother is an ethnic Tibetan while her father is Han-Chinese. Their […]
One day I want to go for lunch. On my way to the restaurant, I walk past a café. I hear somebody call my Chinese name. I think that this is just my imagination playing a trick on me and walk on. But then I hear somebody call my name again. One of my female […]
On yesterday’s 元宵节 (Yuánxiāojié), translated as Chinese Lantern Festival, which falls on the first full moon of the Chinese New Year and marks the end of the new year celebrations in China, my company prepares 汤圆 (Tāngyuán), sweet glutinous rice balls filled with sesame paste. It’s tradition to eat Tangyuan, which come in the shape […]
After getting back the results of the blood works and confirming that I am indeed pregnant, the next time I see the doctor she sends me to do blood works again. And three days after that, again. It’s too soon to do an ultrasound yet. But why does she send me to do blood works […]
After seeing the results of the pregnancy test and telling me that we need to monitor the progress, the doctor tells me: “There are three things you need to avoid: ‘Lifting heavy things, falling down and sharing the same room’*.” I: “I’m sorry?” She: “You can’t sleep with your husband. You might have different ideas […]
One day in mid-October 2013 I go see a Chinese doctor at a TCM hospital. I’ve had some menstrual problems I want to treat, so I go to the gynecological department. The doctor prescribes me a mix of herbs, ear acupuncture and moxibustion. After a week, I feel quite good about the treatment. There’s only […]
6 years ago today, my husband is near Guangzhou railway station. He’s not the only one. It’s the time of Chunyun (春运 chūnyùn), the yearly mass migration that China experiences before the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival. Guangzhou and Beijing are the biggest transport hubs in mainland China and every year in the weeks […]
I have recently started working out and with that I have started craving fruits. Every second day or so, I work out after getting off work and arrive at home really late in the evening. Exhausted from working out, you can often still find me in the kitchen late at night, preparing fresh fruit juice. […]
One day in October 2013, I wait for my husband to get ready for getting off work near the entrance of the company. One of the female coworkers comes up to me. She touches my belly and asks: “Are you pregnant?” I: “No. I’ve been starting to work out and I’ve gained some pounds in […]
“I’ll make you gain weight. 2-4 kilos the first month, 4-6 the second month and 6-8 the third month. Believe me, it will work.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to believe it. But rather that I’ve heard this all too often and it had never worked so far. When I came down with a […]
Today, I’m sharing a photo with you that was taken at about the same time last year. On this day about a year ago, Y and I visited Dafen Oil Painting Village in Shenzhen (大芬油画村 dàfēn yóuhuàcūn). The village has many small shops which sell copies of famous paintings. I can imagine that my grandfather […]
For Christmas Eve, I’d like to share a very special story with you. Here goes: One of my friends has grown up in Yunnan’s remote countryside. She tells me about her older sister’s birth. “23 years ago, my mother gave birth to my older sister. When my sister was born, she didn’t move. Everyone thought […]
In August 2013 I start going to the gym. When I have my first training, my trainer, a guy probably not much older than me, asks me: “Are you married?” He’s fast to go on: “In your culture that question would probably be inappropriate for me to ask, wouldn’t it?” I: “Well, depending on the […]
In celebration of publishing the 100th blog post on China Elevator Stories today, I’ll take a look at the top 10 posts of posts 51-100: 10. “What are you doing to get pregnant?” My co-workers share tips on how to get pregnant one day at dinner. 9. Guest Post: Be Careful What You Teach Your […]
One day we’re treated to dinner by a couple in their 40s. Their family friends – a few other couples around the same age, are also invited. We have dinner at a restaurant and they all congratulate Y and me to our wedding. When we’re in the car with our two hosts, a married couple […]
One day in the summer of 2012 I’m in Shangri-la at a restaurant with two acquaintances. My friend has to work and has asked them to take me around town. They have both worked as police officers in the past. Now, they are working as personal secretaries for a government official. I: “Did you have […]
My new coworker and I have lunch together. She is a woman in her mid-to-late 30s and has a two-year-old child. After she asks me about marrying Y, it’s my turn to ask her. I: “You’re married, aren’t you?” She: “I am.” I: “Have you two been together for quite a while?” She: “We have. […]
What does it mean to be a Highly Sensitive Person (short HSP) living in one of China’s biggest cities? It means that there’s a lot of external stress. Maybe much more external stress than you’d have to cope with back at home. Millions of people, hundred thousands of vehicles, ten thousands of sounds, thousands of […]
I have lunch with my new coworker, a woman in her mid-to-late 30s who has a 2-year-old son. She asks me: “Who takes care of young kids in Austria? In China, it’s often the grandparents who look after the kids, but what is it like in Austria, with people all working?” I: “It’s often the […]
I started writing this blog one year ago. In celebration of China Elevator Stories’ first anniversary and for all of you who haven’t been following this blog right from the beginning, I’d like to share five early conversations with you: “Are you Chinese?”: The very first post on China Elevator Stories and the conversation that […]
Me and my coworkers take a cab. One of them recently became a father for a second time. The driver asks him: “How much does it cost to have a second child in Shenzhen?” Coworker: “220,000 Chinese Yuan (around 27,000 EUR or 40,000 USD).” Driver: “Wow, that’s a considerable sum for a hukou*. We registered […]
One day one of our co-workers treats us to dinner after work. The reason? He recently became a father and it’s tradition in China to treat your friends and co-workers to a nice big meal once your child is 100 days old. When we finish with the food, one female co-worker asks another female co-worker […]
“Canadian.” “German.” “American.” “British.” These are all nationalities I’ve been associated with in Northeast China’s Jilin province. Often, people don’t say it directly, rather they’ll tell their friends: “Look, a German.” I don’t really mind if they say that I’m German, after all, it’s as close as it gets. Even many Chinese who know me […]
This is part 3 of a story of a family dinner. If you haven’t read what happened at the dinner, click here for part 1 (“A family dinner and to raise your glass or not to raise your glass”) and here for part 2 (“A loss of face”). After Y has paid, his mother who […]
When people in Austria ask Y how old he is he’ll say he’s 31. When people in South China ask him about his age, he’ll say he’s 32. And when people in Northeast China ask him, he’ll say 33. So what is true? Does he sometimes lie about his age? Fact is, he doesn’t. All […]
This is part 2 of the story of a family dinner with my husband’s extended family in their hometown Siping in Northeast China. In part 1 (“A family dinner and to raise or not to raise your glass”), daye, my husband’s oldest uncle wants me to raise my glass to him. Will I give in […]
On our last evening in Y’s hometown, Siping, we have dinner at a restaurant with his parents and uncles and aunts from his father’s side. We wait until everyone is in the room and seats are assigned in order of age. The most respected person (which is usually the oldest person in the room or […]
Today I’m featuring a guest post by Sarah, fellow Shenzhen-expat and the face behind the blog Reclaim Your Fearlessnesss that gives tips on how to live the life you want to live and not let others dictate it. I love her blog and have nominated her for the Liebster Award last month (see her answers here). Sarah has grown up […]
Y is different from most Chinese I know. Well, I know, of course he is – to me, right? What I mean is that his eating habits are different from most other Chinese people I know. He loves eating raw vegetables. He had never been to Europe before our wedding, but he still loved eating […]
Today I’m featuring a guest post written by Dan Clarke. Dan has been living in China for more than 6 years, first working as an English teacher and now focusing on writing and coaching, while looking after his daughter as a work-at-home dad. You can read more about him and China on his website Living […]
A few weeks before our wedding my mother-in-law takes a train to Beijing to help us with some of the red tape. Since it is her first time in Beijing, she also decides to visit the great wall. All the while, my fiancé and me are at work in Shenzhen, waiting for her to tell […]
One morning in March 2013 I buy congee at my favorite congee place near the subway stop. The lovely woman selling the congee says: “You know, you and your boyfriend can be lucky that you can be together like this and aren’t married yet. Once you’re married, you’ll have kids and then you’re not free […]
Four years ago, my in-laws bought an apartment in their hometown Siping in Northeast China’s Jilin province. Two years ago, they should have been able to move into their new apartment. But the apartment had not been finished at that time. It’s still not finished now, two years later. When my husband and I walk […]
One day, my in-laws and I are waiting for my husband at the market in his hometown, Siping. I take a picture of a basket with string beans. When one of the women working at the market sees this, she points at a basket with tomatoes she sells and says: “Take a picture of these. […]
In celebration of the 50th blog post on China Elevator Stories, I’ll take a look at the top 10 posts so far: 10. “You can’t like her too much” #10 features a conversation with a doctor who tells Y that he can’t “like me too much”. What does she mean by that? Click the link […]
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