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Dating a Chinese Man (and the unwanted presents that come with it)

Dating a Chinese Man (and the unwanted presents that come with it)

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“How are things with you and your Shanghai man?” I ask J on the phone as I slurp some coffee and munch on toast.”I hear you have dinner with his family every weekend?  Seems like things are getting serious.”

“Mary, I’m going to have a breakdown,” J sighs heavily on the phone. “His mom did something that REALLY bothered me these last few weekends.”

“Oh no,” I set my coffee on the table and leaned in, almost as if J were really sitting across from me.  “Did she say something about you being a foreigner?  Or maybe about your family?” read more

The Shanghai Ronin is Leaving Shanghai

The Shanghai Ronin is Leaving Shanghai

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Taking The Leap

The craziest adventure in my life was not joining the JET Programme and moving to a village in no-man’s-land Japan for two years as the lone foreigner. It was not dropping everything and randomly studying Chinese in Beijing. It wasn’t even venturing through the countryside of China and traveling by bus to the depths of Vietnam alone. No. All of those things, to me, are semi-normal.

The decision to move to Shanghai was the most rash, insane, and completely bewildering change of my life. read more

This life, the next one, and the last. 今生、来生、前生

This life, the next one, and the last. 今生、来生、前生

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Sometimes, you meet people and you know that you were just meant to cross paths somehow.  As soon as you lock eyes and shake hands you know that this was meant to be.  This connection between one human being and another, one heart to the next, souls that intertwine.

My boss Takada-san is exactly one of these people.

I’ve mentioned her a few times on here.  My boss that could rule the world if she pleased, but can’t handle the burden of it all.  A Japanese woman that gave up everything to fight for her rights in a society that wants to keep her at home and tied to the kitchen.  A woman that wanted to be more than just that; she aspired to be a leader, a creator, and most of all a traveler–and she succeeded at it all, but at great cost.  She looks of a woman tired from the relentless pressure and overtime of the Japanese ad agency world.  Despite her experience as being CEO of multiple companies in the past, she continually refuses our headquarter’s offer of taking the position once again.  She’s had enough, and you can tell at her age she just wants to soak in a hot spring or dive in the maldives.  She’s simply tired of changing the world. read more

Racist Japanese Ads?

Racist Japanese Ads?

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Japan’s Version of Being International

I was looking through ad news at work and discovered that ANA airlines got in big trouble about the following ad, and immediately pulled it from the air with an issued apology:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCjxzpSrFP4]

For someone that has lived in Japan for a long amount of time, I’m not surprised at this advertisement in the slightest.  In fact, when I showed it to my boss she said: “Really now, it’s not that bad is it?  It’s controversial enough to take off the air?” read more

The Char Shu Bun Babe

The Char Shu Bun Babe

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Habits. Schedules. Rituals. Sometimes it feels great to have routine in life, and nothing makes you feel warmer and fuzzier than finding out you have one in a foreign country. It helps you realize that yes; unexpectedly, you somehow managed to plant roots in this new place that you somehow home. The city is accepting you not as a foreign object or something that needs to be discarded; but rather, it’s slowly warming up to you and inching in closer and closer like a curious kitten meeting its new master. read more

Asian Guys Like “Stupid” Girls

Asian Guys Like “Stupid” Girls

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*WARNING: I do not think Asian men or women are stupid.  This is a satirical post mixed in with personal opinion, read it with a grain of salt*

I Like Stupid Girls (Chinese Version)

IMG_4171I like to believe that the majority of western men don’t date women for looks alone, and intelligence plays a small role in the selection of a partner.  Personality–most importantly, intelligence–plays a huge role in who we want to date or spend the rest of our lives with.

Not for Asia.

It was about two years ago when my friend got a new girlfriend.  He had been single for quite some time and, despite being 25, had never truly had a girlfriend.  When his friend set him up with a fellow girl from Hunan, he was elated to meet her.  On the first date they hit it off, and by the second date things were starting to get serious.  As his best friends, he wanted us to meet his new girl and give him some very important feedback. read more

The Wind Rises

The Wind Rises

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The movie poster for “The Wind Rises,” the latest and ‘last’ movie from Hayao Miyazaki (I think this is his 3rd ‘last’ movie?) was posted not too long ago.

I LOVE this poster.  Reminds me of Howl’s Moving Castle , yet still has a fresh and new feeling, luring you into yet another world created by the lovely Mr. Miyazaki.  Just from looking at the poster alone, I already know this film will combine the best elements of Studio Ghibli: Fantasy, Romance and the beauty of youth. read more

結婚願望 (The Lust for Marriage)

結婚願望 (The Lust for Marriage)

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I think for women, there’s only one difference when it comes to dating in your early twenties as opposed to your later twenties:

urgency.

Even the most liberal of us start to countdown to 30 and hear the impending doom of the ‘clock ticking’ after we surpass 25.  It’s when we start telling ourselves that we can’t goof around and date losers anymore.  Being in the same band or liking the same indie movies doesn’t constitute as appealing qualifications for boyfriend material anymore.  Instead, women start to look beyond the personality and into the ‘what he can do for you’ category: In other words, salary, job, social status, and age.  The things we used to tell ourselves didn’t matter look far more enticing after 25. read more

Going to Bali Alone (and escaping China)

Going to Bali Alone (and escaping China)

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I’m running away from China and going here:

Bali… here I come

I really need to escape China.  Badly.  And I think anyone that’s lived here longer than a year can 100% agree with me.
Beaches.  Rice Terraces.  No masses of people.  No spitting.  No people shoving me every corner I turn.  Sunshine.  Clean air.  Clean water.  Food without fake meat (aka no fox meat substituted for beef).

Oh yes.  Please.

Getting Out of China First

As I type this I’m in the Hangzhou airport.  Since it’s National Holiday Here （国庆节） I decided to take the safe route and come early.  During National Holiday, the roads are usually plugged up with traffic and the wait to purchase a train ticket can take a few hours.  Although my flight leaves for Bali at 11:00 PM, I decided to get my ass out of Shanghai at 2:30 PM and come to the Hangzhou airport early. read more

What the Japanese Deem Romantic

What the Japanese Deem Romantic

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Japan and the Moon

blogphoto3K and I were walking through the streets of Beijing.  We were with a loud, rowdy mix of foreigners and Chinese, and the feeling of summer was fresh in the air.  The district we just passed through was famous for Sichuan cuisine and outdoor eating.  The whole road was lined with red lanterns and hundreds of tables on the sidewalk, each filled to the brim with steaming hot fish, boiling red pepper hot pot or stir fried vegetables and meat.  The floor was littered in peanut and sunflower seed shells, the official snacks of China.  The street was loud, but in a good way, the way that makes a city feel alive.  Whole. read more