Adventures in Asia

If you can read this, you probably need a visa. After several friends and family members visited me this year, I thought I’d share some basic tips for those who are curious about life in China or plan to visit this amazing country someday soon! PART I: TIME & MONEY Although China is a huge country, the whole thing runs on Beijing time. There are no other time zones. Money in China is called RMB (which stands for renminbi), yuan, or kuai. You may be able to use your card at an ATM in China to withdraw cash, but it probably won’t work in restaurants and shops. It’s always best to exchange money in a bank (back home or in China), though the airport will do the job too. No need to tip. You can often haggle for a lower price in smaller shops and markets. Start really low and don’t feel bad if the seller acts insulted. Pretend to lose interest and leave the store if they won’t come down – they will once they realize they might lose the sa...

“If I have one more person ask me if I eat dog or cat, I think I’m going to scream. That should be one of your blog posts! It’s what everybody wants to know.” (Direct quote from a friend who just returned home to the U.S. after six months in China.) Pretty place setting! But what poor pet will soon fill it??? Unfortunately, I do not have any graphic stories of dog or cat meat, as I haven’t eaten or seen any during my 3.5 years of living in China. My most traumatic food stories involve having to give up macaroni and cheese, and eating meat with the bones still in (and sometimes with its head and feet still connected). I’ve also had to eat more vegetables here (Oh! The horror!!), and there are SO many more vegetables to eat! Often my Chinese husband’s vocabulary and the dictionary fail us, and he simply tells me that what’s on the table is a “Chinese vegetable.” Eventually I just stopped asking. Chinese food in China is nothing like Chinese food in the US, by a long sh...