My adventures have been small for the past few days, compared to Beijing, but there are still adjustments here. I did my laundry. It involved asking the campus convenience store for laundry coins. Jesse helped me figure that one out. You say something like, “she’e bee,” (I can’t find the Read more…
I think I earned some t-shirt slogans while I was in Beijing: I went to Beijing and only cried twice. #PioneerAward I climbed the Great Wall and all I got was this lousy t-shirt (and a lungful of pollution). HERO — “You are not a hero until you climb the Great Read more…
I got to Beijing last night on the train, and I have to say, I wasn’t impressed. (Sorry, Beijing.) The train and train station were crowded beyond belief, the toilets were the squat kind (the stuff of nightmares, believe me), and they ran out of taxis. (How the crap does Read more…
In the outskirts of a town like Kunshan on the campus of a university with academic freedom, it’s easy to forget where I am. I’m in China. Things are different here. I was inadvertently pulled into a discussion about voting while walking and talking the other morning. We were talking Read more…
I finally made it off campus today! We took a group field trip for lunch to Dayu Bay, a little shopping center in walking distance of campus. So I didn’t go far, but I went. We ate at a restaurant called Jim’s Bar and I had a chicken sandwich. It was Read more…
I haven’t been very adventurous yet. In fact, I haven’t left campus. But it turns out you don’t have to leave campus to sample the Weird Foods of China. This morning, I sampled a pumpkin cake. This is a pumpkin cake, approximately palm-sized. I assume the Chinese symbol is accusing Read more…
The pond at the center of Duke Kunshan University is full of life. The most obvious life is, of course, the water lilies. They’re striking and beautiful and go perfectly with the modern white stone and pagoda that surround them. If you look closer, you’ll see some fairly large fish Read more…
“Wo bu mingbai,” means, “I don’t understand,” and I literally do not understand much of what is going on here. I was trying to figure out how to dial out on my room phone, and dialed the operator by mistake. “Ni hao!” she said (which means “hello”), and then a Read more…
My flight from Toronto to Shanghai was “business class,” which basically means they gave me all the things: A lie-flat seat. FLAT flat. Like, all the way back. A mattress pad (srsly?), coverlet, slippers, and a pillow to use on the plane A bottle of water A toiletries kit containing Read more…
Dear Grandma, Happy birthday to you! Hope it’s filled with friends and joy and good food! Enjoyed our visit so much and was so happy to see you both in good spirits and health. Thanks for the nice note! I got it in the mail the other day. I am Read more…