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One Day in Mandalay
There’s something about the word Mandalay that made me want to go to the city before I knew anything about it. Man-da-lay. The sound of it, the way it rolls off the tongue. I pictured a lazy river...
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Get Lucky in Shanghai: What to Eat for Chinese New Year
Image sourced from my article at cityweekend.com.cn. When I moved to Shanghai, I lived across the hall from a very superstitious man. Red cardboard cutouts of horses decorated his doorway, red...
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Disappearing Shanghai: Untour’s New Night Market Route
Last year, I had the opportunity to explore Shanghai by night, with food tour company, UnTour (post here). We spent more than three hours gorging ourselves with noodles, soups, a variety of meats, root...
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Harbin Ice Festival: A Photo Essay
First, I apologize for posting an article about an ice festival just one week before April, but I’ve been busy. Actually, I’m still busy. So this is why you’re getting a photo essay. But before I dump...
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Bali: A Week in Pictures
When I was a little girl, I used to sit in front of my parents’ TV for hours, singing along to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. “Bali Ha’i may call you, Any night, any day, In your heart,...
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Pumpkin Ricotta Phyllo Tart
I made this. From scratch. I am so freaking proud of myself, I want to post this everywhere. It’s what I’m calling a “pumpkin ricotta phyllo tart,” but it should be called “the miraculous outcome of...
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Camping on the Great Wall of China
When I was little, my favorite movie was “Big Bird Goes to China.” I must have watched it several dozen times, because I can still recite a song the giant yellow bird sings about learning Chinese....
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Video: 2 Weeks in Croatia
Winter has arrived in Shanghai, and even while I’m typing this (indoors), I’m wearing a scarf and fuzzy slippers. So naturally, I’m thinking of warmer places and warmer times, like this summer. For six...
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Healthy Christmas Cookie Recipe
I like blaming my 30’s for a lot of things: the fine lines appearing under my eyes, the two-day hangovers, and the inability to lose weight the way I did in my 20’s. And while I don’t have too much...
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A Look Back at 2016
Who does a “year in review” post in the middle of February? Apparently I do. And I’m not going to apologize for it, because one of my New Year’s resolutions is to stop feeling so guilty for things I...
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Inside North Korea: Running the Pyongyang Marathon
Why the hell would anyone want to go to North Korea? This is a question my parents posed, and even my students, as I told them my husband and I were heading to its capital to participate in the annual...
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Insights on Living Abroad
Today I received a Facebook message from my friend Austin, who paid me the best compliment: “You’ve inspired me to move abroad.” He’s heading to Costa Rica, with plans of running an online business,...
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3 Days in Cappadocia, Turkey: A Suggested Itinerary
“Hot air ballooning in Cappadocia, Turkey” has long been at the top of my bucket list. I’d imagined gliding over the moon-like landscape at sunrise, taking in scenes of fairy chimneys and rose-colored...
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A Weekend in Veliko Târnovo
Before I moved to Romania, I had never heard of Veliko Târnovo. And to be honest, I probably wouldn’t have been able to point to Bulgaria on a map. Even though Eastern Europe is quickly becoming a...
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International Teaching Community ‘Devastated’ by Anthony Bourdain’s Death
Almost two weeks ago, Anthony Bourdain took his life, and the news has formed deep wounds within the international community. “He was our guide, our teacher,” says longtime expat Erin Connolly....
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Video: 2 Weeks in Croatia
Winter has arrived in Shanghai, and even while I’m typing this (indoors), I’m wearing a scarf and fuzzy slippers. So naturally, I’m thinking of warmer places and warmer times, like this summer. For six...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Healthy Christmas Cookie Recipe
I like blaming my 30’s for a lot of things: the fine lines appearing under my eyes, the two-day hangovers, and the inability to lose weight the way I did in my 20’s. And while I don’t have too much...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Look Back at 2016
Who does a “year in review” post in the middle of February? Apparently I do. And I’m not going to apologize for it, because one of my New Year’s resolutions is to stop feeling so guilty for things I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Inside North Korea: Running the Pyongyang Marathon
Why the hell would anyone want to go to North Korea? This is a question my parents posed, and even my students, as I told them my husband and I were heading to its capital to participate in the annual...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Insights on Living Abroad
Today I received a Facebook message from my friend Austin, who paid me the best compliment: “You’ve inspired me to move abroad.” He’s heading to Costa Rica, with plans of running an online business,...
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