I never noticed how dependent the US is on the concept of customer service until I came back from China.

Take my first two days back in the US, for example. My first night, my friend and I went out to dinner at a place that served all-American food. (The sandwiches were delicious. I think part of the reason why I loved mine so much was because ( Read more... )

I feel like I am the only person in the US who did not go to the midnight premiere of Harry Potter last night, but I don’t even mind because I know that if I had gone I would have just passed out from jet lag while waiting in line before the movie even started. I hope the movie is good though, because I do have plans to see it in the coming week.

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The cities I visited in central and southern China were arranged as part of my study abroad program. We visited Luoyang, Xi’an, Chengdu, Longsheng, Guilin, and Yangshuo. Most of what we saw were historical landmarks (such as the Shaolin Temple and the terracotta warriors) and everything we saw was beautiful (such as the scenery in Guilin and ( Read more... )

“Manda, by the time you leave Beijing you’re going to be known as that crazy white girl.”

So said my brother, and I’m afraid to say he’s probably correct. In the last few days I’ve been in Beijing I’ve gotten into more arguments than I care to remember with locals. Most of them have to do with them trying to rip me off and me not putting up with ( Read more... )

My year abroad has almost come to a close; come July 11 I’ll be on a plane to Chicago. Right now, I look and feel as though I don’t have a care in the world - I’ve got my headphones on, typing away at my laptop, sipping a green tea frappe. But inside, I’m terrified. I’m terrified of what things will be like when I go home, I’m terrified of ( Read more... )

I got a Groupon email today for a deal at a spa in Washington, DC:

Like cars, human beings require occasional corrective bodywork, custom finishing, and fresh coats of wax to avoid being towed away and crushed into a cube. Keep your chassis classy with today’s Groupon: for $61, you get a spa and massage package at The Spa Room (a $123 total value ( Read more... )

This summer, apart from traveling, I was going to intern in Beijing and teach English in Shanghai. Initially, I struggled between which employment option to choose: interning, or teaching. Then, I found some magical way to incorporate both into my summer by interning the first half and teaching the second half. And then… complications arose and ( Read more... )

July 11.

Peking Capital Airport to Chicago O’Hare.

It’s so strange to think that in a month, I’ll be home. I don’t know how I feel about this. A part of me never wants to leave Beijing…

(Obviously, this means I’m not interning or teaching in China this summer. But an explanation about how both plans fell through for unrelated reasons tomorrow - ( Read more... )

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I’ve spent the last week in Yunnan Province, China, checking out the famous cities of Lijiang and Shangri-la. Yunnan is beautiful, and it’s not hard to see why so many tourists, both foreign and Chinese, travel to Yunnan for sightseeing.

One would think, though, that with so many tourists there would be a more centrally coordinated tourism industry ( Read more... )