The sound of sizzle coming from my kitchen was as foreign to me as local Kūnmíng Huà. I hadn’t cooked in three years. After being a head cook at a faith based community that served three hundred and fifty every day, I hung up my apron for a while. Make that more than a while. I had started every morning […]
Dàbāo 大包 Big Bun
Sacred Pool of Underpants
I had to get off the train. The duck intestines I had in my Chengdu hot pot a day earlier were finally catching up to mine. While the 114 local from to Chengdu to Kunming was an adventure in itself, I picked a stop by chance just to break up the journey. Emeishan. 峨眉山. Or Mt. Emei. Little did I know […]
Cheng-do!
It was not a good day for the squirts. A twenty hour train ride. In China. I know. I’ll spare the details but that’s what I endured to make it the American Consulate in Chengdu, Sichuan, to reclaim my maiden name. While I have flown over China numerous many times, this is the first time I’ve taken in the […]
Last Two Dollars
The only thing more exhausting than visiting 10 countries in five days is visiting one country in thirty. My trip to the USA was stuffed like my suitcase, bursting at the seams, starting in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, a mere 7589 miles from Kunming, China to finalize my divorce. No happy endings, but I do get my maiden name back-and my […]
China Dancing: Then and Now
I was at a local dance competition yesterday at the Aegean Mall , in Kunming, China. Is this China or Chicago? I wonder what kind of dance moves the next generation of Chinese will pass down to their kids? Will it be hip hop in backwards baseball caps or traditional folk dancing with ethnic group headdresses?
Old World Meets High Tech
When I went to a Chinese Wet market today, I stood out. It wasn’t because I was a dà bí zi 大鼻子, big nose American, but because I didn’t use my phone to pay. No one uses cash anymore. The Peanut-butter lady couldn’t make change, so I had to wait until there was another cash carrying shopper. The blue sign […]
K.I.A-cademy Awards
I’ve tried a lot of things to get my 7th grade ESL students to use their vocabulary. These native Chinese speakers would rather memorize the longest sentence in a novel, from William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom (over 1200 words), than lose face mispronouncing a word. And yes, some want to take on that challenge. However, my middle schoolers got excited making […]
Hanoi: Fast and Furious
Hanoi is like that coworker who drank one too many cups of coffee. Chaotic, noisy, highly caffeinated with French frou-frou around the fringes with an old Asian soul. I went to Hanoi to unwind which is was impossible as going to the Willy Wonka Chocolate factory to lose weight. Don’t get me wrong. I love the Hanoi from […]
Any Given Sunday
Guandu Old Town is just a few miles away from where I live in Kunming, but it’s also a million light years back in time. If you go on a Sunday, you’ll witness China’s version of American Idol. Singers of all ages come out with their microphones, amplifiers and Chinese lutes and perform in pavilions. Traditional Chinese ballads are sung. […]
Shades of Orange
She reminded me of my mom, right down to how she could use her belly as an arm rest. Her name, Bergitta, a retired librarian from Sweden who happened to be staying at my home-stay in Luang Prabang. She wasted no time. “Would you like to teach monks how to speak English?” “Excuse me?” I came to this city to […]