“You need to understand,” Walter said, lighting a cigarette. “Chinese love is real love.” “And American love isn’t?” Nick said. “Western love,” Walter said, “is not real love. Not in the Chinese sense. It’s not. Their love is deeper, truer.” “Yeah,” Nick said, “I can see what you mean.” He could too. One night at [...]
expatriates Posts
The 7 Year Laowai: Part 8 – The Graveyard of all Ambition
… He died an old man in a cold Chinese hospital an entire hemisphere removed from everyone and everything he had ever known. Surrounded by strangers, he couldn’t even have read his own obituary.
The 7 Year Laowai: Part 7 – Safety
I had an English class once where this girl interrupted me to ask what I thought of Japan, and without waiting for an answer, proceeded to tell me that Japan had killed many Chinese people, that they hated China, they were jealous of China. Then she went into Korea. Korea “stole our culture”. You’d think imitation the sincerest form of flattery, but not this girl.
I didn’t know what to say. On one hand, listening to this recorded message, it dawned on me that I was 12,000 miles away from everyone and everything I had ever known…and that according to some people, this, this, blind allegiance, blatant censorship, and self-checking all in the name of “harmony”…this is the next superpower.
On the other hand, she was speaking. I take what I can get.
What to do when your Chinese ex-wife runs away with your child?
I’ve just received a rather disturbing e-mail from a fellow expat here in China. As I really don’t have any experience, or know anything about the laws or official steps that can be taken, I figured I’d post it on here in hopes that our wonderful readers might have some advice to give. The e-mail [...]
Laowai Interview: Richard Burger of The Peking Duck
For this the next chapter in Lost Laowai’s series of posts on prolific bloggers in the English-language China blogsphere I go right to the source, as there are few more seminal English-language China blogs than the Peking Duck. Authored by Beijing-based PR man Richard Burger, the Peking Duck is one of, if not the, oldest [...]
Laowai Interview: David Wolf of Silicon Hutong
We continue our series of posts interviewing some of the more prolific laowai bloggers with a discussion with David Wolf. David is President and CEO of Wolf Group Asia, but is most well-known to those of us in the ‘sphere as author of Silicon Hutong, a blog that insightfully covers China’s technology and IT sectors. [...]
You buying the Angry Expat Ideology?
© Rickenbacker I was standing on the street corner the other day waiting for a taxi beside a middle-aged foreigner doing the same. This isn’t uncommon, I live in a rather laowai-saturated area of Suzhou. The corner also works as an impromptu parking spot for people looking to dash over to the bakery, or pick [...]
When is one an old China Hand?
I’m nearing my five-year mark of being in China. I don’t view that as a long time but people I meet increasingly are. It surprises me because I always view “Old China Hands” – the term that’s developed for foreigners that have been here a long time. I used to see the term as something [...]
