China Archives - Page 2 of 5

My Chinese New Year 2016 Gone Wrong

February 9, 2016 rubymary Comments 18 comments

In America, it’s easy to forget that Chinese New Year is even happening. Akin to Christmas in China, no one in America gives a flying crap about a holiday based on an outdated calendar.

My boyfriend was no exception. Although he’s Chinese, he was way more excited about the super bowl.

“Am I allowed to watch super bowl?” he pleaded.

“What about Chinese New Year?” I frowned. “I thought we could make jiao zi (dumplings) together and watch a Chinese movie or something. You know, get in the spirit.” read more

Cost of Living: Los Angeles vs. Shanghai

November 24, 2015 rubymary Comments 21 comments

One of my biggest forms of culture shock upon moving back to the United States was cost of living. It felt like everything in the United States was way, way more expensive than Shanghai.

In my previous post, I calculated and compared the cost of living between Los Angeles and Tokyo, and I found that living in Tokyo could actually save you 10,000 USD per year compared to life in Los Angeles. I’m a huge advocate for living abroad to not only broaden horizons, but to also save money.

So how does life in Shanghai fare when it comes to cutting costs? read more

You Know You’ve Turned Chinese When…

November 9, 2015 rubymary Comments 17 comments

I’ll never be ethnically Chinese. It’s just not going to happen.

Despite this, I feel Chinese (as weird as that sounds). I was so accepted and integrated during my time in China, I felt like one of their own. Sure, my proverbs sucked. Yeah, I couldn’t read all the Chinese characters. Still, I was invited to almost any and every outing, and many of my Chinese friends treated me like family. I hung out with the locals like I was their neighbor, and they treated me as such. Thanks to the kindness and passion of my friends in China, I felt like I truly discovered what it means to live and understand China. read more

That Time I Got Fleas in Shanghai

August 27, 2015 rubymary Comments 30 comments

Life was good. I had just scored my dream job of being an interpreter at a prestigious advertising agency, and I was finally making money after my horrible student experience at Shanghai International Studies University. I was on top of the world.

The first thing I did with my paycheck was put down a deposit and pay three months rent for my “new” apartment in Shanghai. After living in the dorms for six months, I was elated. I could finally have a place to call my own and move back to city center Shanghai. read more

Why Chinese Men Make Great Boyfriends

July 12, 2015 rubymary Comments 16 comments

After discovering the tactics for landing dates in Asia, I had romances all across Asia and my dating life was… well, let’s say diverse.

And from my (very small) pool of dating research at this time, I found that the most satisfactory, fun, and long-lasting dates were with none other than Chinese men.

Now, after many hits and misses in the dating scene, I finally found my perfect match: Richard (and surprise! he’s Chinese!).

Here are some reasons why my boyfriend is simply amazing; and coincidentally, why Chinese men make really darn good boyfriends. read more

Should I Learn Chinese or Japanese?

May 17, 2015 rubymary Comments 127 comments

“Should I learn Japanese or Chinese?”

As a Japanese/Chinese interpreter and translator, it’s a question I get asked a lot.

Those that are crazy or masochistic enough to venture into the realm of Asian languages often stop and pause when it comes to choosing from the two giants of the East Asian languages: Japanese and Mandarin.

Choosing a language is important. Gaining fluency will take you hours, months, and perhaps years of your life. It’s not something to take lightly and, if used for future work purposes, is definitely worth consideration. read more

Grocery Shopping in America vs. China and Japan

April 23, 2015 rubymary Comments 18 comments

Whenever I travel abroad, the first thing I usually do is pop into the local supermarket. While it may sound strange to pass up temples and ruins for a run to the market, the seemingly average grocery store is a gigantic window into the country itself. What people buy in a store–and the food that is offered in the market itself–speaks volumes about a country and its culture.

When I returned to the United States last year, it was no surprise that going to the giant sized American market was one of the big toppers on my lists of reverse culture shock. Even after a year here, stepping into the grocery store still feels like I’m treading into foreign territory. read more

Learning Kung Fu in China: The Real Story

April 6, 2015 rubymary Comments 12 comments

With a few years of tai-chi practice and teaching under his belt, my good friend Cory was convinced that the final step to mastery would be training on Mt. Wudang in China—the birthplace of Tai-Chi itself.

With absolutely no knowledge of the Chinese language and a passion to train in the art of tai-chi in the homeland, Cory traveled to rural China and braved the unknown: Mt. Wudang in Hubei province. Here is his story:

How Did You Originally Get Interested in Tai-Chi and Kungfu? Can you give a very brief history on Tai-chi? read more

You’re not Western Enough: How I Got Kicked Out of My First Shanghai Apartment

January 27, 2015 rubymary Comments 22 comments

“Mary, I published a book about teaching foreigners in China and I wrote almost an entire chapter about you.”

My Chinese teacher from Tsinghua University suddenly e-mailed me with the news, and I was completely caught off guard.

Me? …..In a book?

Impatient, I opened up the attached word file and scanned through the chapters hurriedly.

When I turned to the chapter about me, I realized that she retold one of the bleaker moments during my stay in Shanghai about…

My First Roommate: The Leftover Woman read more

How I Learned to Speak Mandarin in 6 Months

January 12, 2015 rubymary Comments 45 comments

This isn’t a post about how great I am at languages. I’m not like some jerk on the internet claiming to achieve fluency in three months.

This is a post about the blood, sweat and tears I spent to learn Chinese.

I never thought I would learn how to speak Chinese: The tones, the characters, and the proverbs were frustrating. The task of learning Mandarin was daunting and overwhelming–and honestly, there were many moments I thought I was just not meant to learn this language.

Yet somehow, I did it. I learned Chinese in less than a year. read more

The Ruby Ronin

Connecting China, Japan, and the World

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