China Expat Life

What’s in store for Thirty Four?

Today’s my birthday. I’m 34. I think this is the first birthday I’ve ever said it, but I feel older. Not old, but older. Undoubtedly some, if not most, of that feeling of age relates to being a parent now. Nothing forces you to look at the world in more “grown up” terms than when …

July 16, 2011
 // 1 Comment
 // Read More »

Attn: parents of mixed Chinese kids

From the Global Times: The city’s Exit-Entry Administration Bureau on Monday strongly advised parents of biracial infants born in China with Chinese nationalities to make sure their paperwork is in order before arriving at local airports, after some 100 families have been prohibited from taking their infant children out of the country this year. Mixed …

June 28, 2011
 // 21 Comments
 // Read More »

Interviewed by Offbeat Marriage

When Glee contacted me about being interviewed for her site, Offbeat Marriage, I was a bit unsure what I would be able to add to the discussion. Despite Maggie and I having been married for about four and a half years now, I spend very little time consciously aware of the fact that we come …

May 29, 2011
 // 1 Comment
 // Read More »

Home Hunting in Haikou

I thought I had a decent amount of apartment hunting experience, but Haikou was beginning to kick my ass. The problem is a simple one — pretty much all the decent apartments are owned by Mainlanders, and so most potential landlords are either not here or here but on their way off the island until …

March 30, 2011
 // 15 Comments
 // Read More »

Bedtimes and Toy Boxes

The little guy is growing so fast. He’s got two teeth now and has started to show signs of wanting to walk. He doesn’t have the balance yet to attempt it himself but he loves trekking around the apartment with us supporting him. Oddly though, he’s shown no interest in crawling. Our good friends’ little …

March 1, 2011
 // 3 Comments
 // Read More »

Chinese New Year’s Eve 2011: Hello Rabbit

Last night was my sixth time welcoming in a new lunar year here in China. I always approach Chinese New Year’s Eve with a healthy dose of cynical expatations, and I’m always blown away, pun intended, with how it never fails to impress me. True, the day(s) leading up to CNYE have every ratta-tat-tat sound …

February 3, 2011
 // 8 Comments
 // Read More »

Suzhou’s Mr. Softee mentioned in NYT

Just ran across this New York Times article about Mr. Softee in China and wanted to throw a shout out to my friend Turner. Here’s a bit of an excerpt, but definitely go read the full article: It happened almost by accident. An American working as an English teacher was walking around the streets of …

April 19, 2010
 // 3 Comments
 // Read More »

A great baby video

Only a few weeks left before the big day. One of the things I’m most looking forward to with being a new dad is that I get to take loads of baby photos and videos. It is, I feel, my right as a father to annoy friends, family, and thanks to this blog, complete strangers …

April 2, 2010
 // 5 Comments
 // Read More »

Having a baby in China – some links

I’ve heard from a number of people that when you have a baby, you suddenly realize that everyone else is also having a baby. This has certainly been the case with me. From friends and family back home, to friends here in Suzhou, to friends out there in the blogsphere, everyone seems to be popping …

February 18, 2010
 // 11 Comments
 // Read More »