Thicker Than Pea Soup: Beijing Smog
Beijing should be called Smog City Noon, but can you tell? Wangfujiang on a clear day! Its midday in Beijing, but you wouldn’t know it by the shadows. Even though there are no clouds in the sky, the sunlight isn’t bright enough to indicate the time of day. No, I’m…
Read MoreAt Least The Music Is Cheap
Everybody wants to steel you a CD! Better than Tori Amos! VCD! VCD! CD! VCD! Look, look, I have CD! This is what ya’ll hear if you look Western, as I do, and you walk anywhere in Beijing. Unlike Moscow, where they have a specific pirate CD market, it is…
Read MoreBeijing Traffic Is A Complete Nightmare!
Beijing is one giant parking lot at rush hour Time to beat ’em with a stick! Looking at the meter, its been exactly 11 minutes since I fist climbed into this taxi, but we’ve only gone two km, and all of that at a crawl. OK, so you may not…
Read MoreGetting Domestic
Chinese housing isn’t so bad, if you’ve lived in Russia Home Sweet Home My backyard! Today I spent the afternoon getting domestic. Yes, I have a fixed address again, but unfortunately, I can’t pronounce it to save my life! I only know how to get here from the University I’ve…
Read MoreCounting Change in China
I made it across the Chinese border, right into culture shock Pretty, eh? Yes, its China! You can’t imagine the crowds Yes, I’m in China now, and in complete culture shock! I’m not sure what I was expecting, maybe something like an oriental version of Russia, but I like the…
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