"Oh That's Different" No. 8

It's been a busy month, with work trips, visits from Scott's sister and my aunt and uncle, and we're looking to possibly move homes. But here's the latest on Beijing's surprises.

Poor little Nia doesn't seem too happy sporting the sprout trend.

Both men and women like the beansprout craze. 

1. Putting fake sprouts on your head is all the rage right now.

A few weeks ago, we started noticing street vendors selling little sprouts that you could pin on your head. They're all the rage in the city, selling for less than a $1 to pin one -- or multiple ones -- on your head. My aunt heard that the sprout was initially designed for a company, or that it came from cartoon, which my colleague Laurie wrote about earlier this month.

To join the fad, Laurie was kind enough to share one of her numerous sprouts -- picked up along the way for reporting purposes, of course -- with me, so long as I promised to photograph our cats with the trendy hairpiece. Sorry, little Nia.

A Rural Chinese Wedding

Earlier this summer, Scott and I went to our Mandarin teacher's wedding. It was a totally cool experience, with new traditions and cultures -- along with a few things that looked the same.

Us with Hou Laoshi, or "Teacher Hou," inside the home she grew up in.

"Oh That's Different" No. 7

It's summer time in China and there's no better time to observe some new customs:

Office shorts. 

1. Shorts are totally acceptable as office wear in the summer.

Seriously. Silky, cotton, even borderline athletic shorts are seen in my office building. And you don't even have to wear heels with them to dress up the look!

Tea and Tulous in Fujian Province

Bike selfie.

Last month, Scott and I decided to take a weekend trip to see China like we've never seen it before: on the seat of a bike.

Published Pieces

Two items I thought I'd cross post here on my blog. Hope you'll take a gander!

InterNations, a network of guides for expats, interviewed me regarding life in Beijing as an expat and why I started this blog.

Floating down a manmade river at Longqingxia. 

Q&A with InterNations

The Wall Street Journal has a great blog called WSJ Expat, which I write for on occasion. A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece about Hou Jinxia, my Mandarin teacher who has made frequent appearances on this blog. I'll be writing soon about her wedding, which Scott and I are going to this weekend!

My Beijing savior: Hou Jinxia

When Your Language Teacher Becomes Your Therapist

Happy reading!

We Get Visitors!

The famous Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an! 

This spring has been really busy for Scott and me, with many work trips and the visit of Scott's mom and stepdad!

Nancy and Greg hadn't traveled internationally much, but they were great troopers about trying new things and open to a lot of walking in the mid-April heat, which really felt more like July temperatures at times.

"Oh That's Different" No. 6

It's been awhile since I had one of these posts ...

Even if it's busted. 

1. No discount; fix it yourself. Zara was having a ridiculous sale a few weeks ago and I found a lovely top for more than half off. One problem: there was a small tear on the cuff of one arm. Naturally, I asked for a discount, as I would in the U.S. and most likely would've gotten on. Not here. The saleswoman's response: I can't give you a discount -- and you can sew it yourself!