Chapter 69: The Bad Luck Kittens
Someone in Shanghai dumped newborn kittens into a garbage can near my office — all over superstition. I wonder when luck was more important than life.
Read moreChapter 68: The Soliciting Shanghai Peddlers
My new community warned “no solicitors” at every gate, but all but turned away the bicycling peddlers, whose sonorous voices announcing wares for sale turned daytime peace into a memory.
Read moreAsk the Yangxifu: Chinese Men and the Marriage Proposal
If your Chinese man likes it, how does he put a ring on it? Jocelyn takes on the topic of creative marriage proposals from Chinese men.
Read moreChapter 67: One Landlord, One Less Deposit
When John and I decide to move in Shanghai — before our lease is up — all understanding gets flushed down the drain by a not-so-understanding landlord.
Read moreChapter 66: Garbage in the Long Peace
John and I may have lived in a Shanghai district called “Long Peace” — but nighttime was anything but peaceful once we discovered the nighttime garbage collection.
Read moreAsk the Yangxifu: Feeling Big in Little China
A Western woman with a normal body size plans to move to China with her Chinese boyfriend, but worries about her body image around thinner Asian women. How can she cope when she moves to China, and is surrounded by many women who are smaller than her?
Read moreTravel China with the Yangxifu: Suzhou’s Wedding Gown Street
Are you engaged? Living in or going to China? Consider a visit to Suzhou’s Wedding Gown Street, where bridal beauty of your dreams is a bargain.
Read moreChapter 65: SARS Propaganda and False Security
As SARS spread across China, SARS propaganda spread over the TV reels on my bus in Shanghai, along with a sense that everything was okay, even if it wasn’t.
Read moreAsk the Yangxifu: How to Avoid Dating Dishonest Chinese Men
A Western woman had her heart broken, when the Chinese man she loved turned out to be married. How can you avoid dishonest Chinese men? Jocelyn offers some advice.
Read moreChapter 64: Living in the Face of SARS
As a friend goes into quarantine, and the virus closes in on John’s hometown in the countryside, I had to learn how to live with the threat of SARS, everyday.
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