Not far from where we live is a grocery/odds and ends/clothing store housed in a giant warehouse. Its English name is the “High Honesty Supermarket,” its Chinese name is “Chinese people’s supermarket (华人超市),” and we call it the receipt store. It is a typical Chinese department store, in that every section is overstaffed with three… Continue reading Requiem for the receipt store
Category: Life in Beijing
Our daily existence in China, and how it’s funny, boring, frustrating, or whatever.
Our apartment: it’s, like, a metaphor
In terms of space and design, our apartment in Beijing might be the nicest apartment I’ve lived in up to now. I had some nice digs in Seattle, back in the days when I had a real job and some money, but it was a small studio, whereas this place would qualify as a two… Continue reading Our apartment: it’s, like, a metaphor
The gold farm upstairs
I think our upstairs neighbors might be running one of those video game sweatshops that are popping up all over China. Every morning around 10 am the unbearably repetitive background music (alternating between two base notes, over and over again) of what one assumes is some kind of action game starts up, and continues until… Continue reading The gold farm upstairs
Up close and personal (aka TMI)
When you are moving to Beijing, those in the know will tell you, “Don’t worry too much about packing. You can get anything there.” And that’s basically true: whatever your weird little foreign heart desires, somebody in Beijing is selling it. The issue is how far you will need to go– and how much trouble… Continue reading Up close and personal (aka TMI)
Winter Arrives in Beijing
This week the cold weather arrived. After a lovely November of mostly sunny skies and mild temperatures, December has begun very cold and windy. A taxi I saw yesterday must have driven in from a night in one of the outlying suburbs, because its top was covered in two or three inches of snow. Riding… Continue reading Winter Arrives in Beijing