Another Friend, Another Divorce in China

Posted in Articles on Jan 21st, 2013

“The feelings between my wife and I were not so harmonious. So…we officially divorced.” Our friend Huizhong became another “divorce in China” statistic.

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Of Love, Money and An “Unsettled Relationship” With a Chinese Man

Posted in Articles on Jan 10th, 2011

When I asked my Chinese husband about why he took out a loan to treat me on our first “official date,” the answer — which said a lot about how he viewed love and money — surprised me.

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Sushi is Not Chinese Food: Of China Misunderstandings

Posted in Articles on Jan 3rd, 2011

Sushi is not Chinese food — and it’s not the only way Americans sometimes misunderstand China.

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How I Learned to Read Chinese, Published on Matador

Posted in Articles on Nov 3rd, 2010

Matador just published my article titled “How I Learned to Read Chinese.”

For those of you dying to know about my path to fluency, this piece tracks how I left illiteracy in Chinese behind.

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The China Birthday Enthusiasm Gap

Posted in Articles on Oct 25th, 2010

Happy birthday meant something completely different to John, my Chinese husband. So over time, I discovered a certain China birthday enthusiasm gap.

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“It’s Just a Storm”: The Ebb and Flow of Yangtze River Delta Weather

Posted in Articles on Sep 6th, 2010

I never imagined “harmless” weather could look so horrible — but China’s Yangtze River Delta, where I lived for more than four years, forever changed my perspective on storms, from seemingly severe thunderstorms to typhoons.

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Learning Patience in China

Posted in Articles on Aug 23rd, 2010

One Saturday morning in Spring 2005, about 10 minutes before crawling from bed, I heard it — a screeching sound akin to scratching a blackboard with your fingernails, but magnified more than 100 times over. Yes, just a little good old welding and drilling in the name of redecorating yet another apartment in my neighborhood, [...]

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How China Made My Clothing Cuter

Posted in Articles on Aug 16th, 2010

Before I went to China, I never believed in wearing cute pastels. But after living in the Middle Kingdom, adorable outfits slowly creeped into my wardrobe, and changed forever just how I saw clothing.

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Chapter 76: The Bench on Su Causeway

Posted in Memoirs of a Yangxifu on Jun 23rd, 2010

My Chinese boyfriend John and I went to Su Causeway in Hangzhou not for the view or a walk, but to find the bench where we first kissed, and became a couple.

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Chapter 75: Buying Amway in China

Posted in Memoirs of a Yangxifu on Jun 21st, 2010

My friend Chris had completely bought into Amway as a way of life, when he began working as a sales rep for them. But while I bought Amway vitamins, I wasn’t buying his sales pitch.

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