Speaking of China

Read this collaborative piece on interracial dating and marriages of Western women and Chinese men I did with Susan Chi, Melanie Gao, and Jessica Larson-Wang — for Middle Kingdom Life. It’s called “Western Wives, Chinese Husbands.”
We answer these questions:

Are Chinese men generally attracted to Western women? Are they representative of Chinese men in general?
Is there anything [...]

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How did I spend this Chinese New Year? As a host — along with my Chinese husband, John — for our university’s “Chinese Night” on Feb 13, 2010, here in the mountain West of the US. It’s not CCTV’s Spring Festival Party (perhaps, thankfully so!), but it’ll do.
We had more than 12 programs [...]

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This coming Chinese New Year is the year of the tiger. It’s about being bold and adventurous, and taking risks.
So, I’d like to be a little bold and offer you a gift of my own: a downloadable picture of the Chinese character hu (虎), which means tiger. This is an original, hand-drawn piece done by [...]

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I wrote this piece five years ago, but it still rings true. If you miss the holiday atmosphere in January, after Christmas and New Year’s Eve, then you should be in China.
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It was early afternoon, and the little Luwan Food Store in Shanghai was belching out patrons left and right. We felt the squeeze [...]

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This is another classic post from four years ago, when John and I hit some turbulence in our relationship. Stress, personal issues and cultural differences all exploded together just as the weather began to change. Maybe you’ve been there too?
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In December, a sudden change of weather can really throw you off guard. One day [...]

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Well, while everyone is getting their lists together and checking them twice for Christmas, I’m doing the same — in terms of  improving Speaking of China.
Thanks to the overwhelming support I’ve had so far, I’ve decided to expand this site with an ambitious plan, starting January 4, 2010. Here’s what you’ll be seeing:

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Five days after my wedding ceremony in China, my Chinese mother-in-law sat down with me to do “the talk.” No, it wasn’t that kind of talk. It was about…well…children.
“You have to have a child, and earlier is better,” she said, flashing me a nervous smile.

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I am so far behind on my Christmas preparations, so I’m running another classic entry week, from the original Speaking of China. This is also pretty dark (am I dreaming of a “dark Christmas”?). After living with John for more than two years in Shanghai — and marrying him — I experienced the difficulties of [...]

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I just did a guest post on ExpatHarem about expat identity, through my own identity in China, Ailin:
Ailin sings a fierce karaoke song, loves pink pastel T-shirts, paints squiggly green snakes, and isn’t afraid to argue with a bus driver. I know her well — because Ailin is me, when I’m in China.
I encourage you [...]

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I wrote this piece about five years ago. It’s a dark piece, and came out of a dark time in my life — when I experienced a lot of renovation around the place I lived in Shanghai, and was grappling with what to do with my future. If you’re having some dark days (from weather, [...]

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