chinese countryside | Speaking of China

On my first funeral in China, and the loss of my first close Chinese family member

June 9, 2014June 8, 2014 Jocelyn Eikenburg 37 Comments China, chinese countryside, Chinese family, Chinese funeral, Chinese grandfather, Chinese grandmother, foreigners in China, funeral in China

When you’re married to a Chinese national, there are the experiences you get to be privilege to — and wish you weren’t. Like a funeral in China.

Articles

The power of a smile in China’s countryside

May 12, 2014September 15, 2014 Jocelyn Eikenburg 35 Comments China, chinese countryside, Chinese culture, Favorites, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

It’s amazing how a simple walk through my husband’s village in rural Zhejiang suddenly opens up unexpected doors and hearts.

Articles

Finding a magical piece of China’s long history in my husband’s backyard

April 14, 2014April 14, 2014 Jocelyn Eikenburg 12 Comments China, chinese countryside, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

It’s one thing to see China’s history in a museum and another to find a 5,000-year-old site right in my husband’s village in China.

Articles

Things I’ve Learned from My Chinese Family: 3 Amazing Wild Edible Plants

April 7, 2014April 6, 2014 Jocelyn Eikenburg 28 Comments bamboo shoots, China, chinese countryside, Chinese family, fiddlehead ferns, Hangzhou, life in China, mugwort, Zhejiang

Three amazing wild edible plants here in Zhejiang, China that have enchanted me and my Chinese family this Spring — and landed on our daily menu at home.

Articles

8 Surprising Things I’ve Learned from Living in China’s Countryside

March 24, 2014April 2, 2014 Jocelyn Eikenburg 49 Comments China, China life, chinese countryside, Chinese family, Chinese husband, Favorites, foreigners in China, life in China

I was raised in the Midwestern US. Yet now I live in China’s countryside with my Chinese husband and his family, where I’ve learned some surprising things.

Articles

To learn dialect or not? When your Chinese family doesn’t speak Mandarin Chinese

February 17, 2014April 2, 2014 Jocelyn Eikenburg 69 Comments China, chinese countryside, Chinese family, Chinese language, Favorites, Mandarin Chinese, Wu Chinese

I invested years of my life studying Mandarin Chinese, only to marry a man whose local dialect is a different language. I wondered, should I learn it?

Articles

On Invitations and the Dinner We Never Expected

January 27, 2014January 26, 2014 Jocelyn Eikenburg 11 Comments China, China life, chinese countryside, Chinese culture, Chinese family, foreigners in China, Hangzhou, life in China, Zhejiang

Though I still equate the word “invitation” with notice, I’m learning to appreciate the beauty in a sudden invite, like my big uncle’s dinner in China.

Articles

Another Friend, Another Divorce in China

January 21, 2013January 21, 2013 Jocelyn Eikenburg 37 Comments China life, chinese countryside, Chinese friend, Chinese men, divorce in china, Hangzhou, Marriage in China, Zhejiang

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

Articles