I know that many of our readers are not Americans and/or do not follow sport, but since I am and do we decided to have an unofficial Superbowl Party this Monday. The reason I say “unofficial” is that it’s not really a “Middle Kingdom” party, I just helped encourage Lily (the manager at Pete’s) that they should advertise that they would be showing the game. So we’re inviting any/all of our football loving/liking/tolerating readers to join us at Peter’s Tex-Mex on Monday evening. They will be showing the game live in the morning, and showing the replay in the evening. Since Kara has to work on Monday we’re both going to avoid the internet all day and arrive at Pete’s with no knowledge of the outcome. They will have two large screen TV’s upstairs and another one downstairs at the restaurant and there will be some food and drink specials. Anyway I hope to see you there. If you decide to come and we’ve never met, please introduce yourself to us. I’ve got a beard and since I’m not particularly fond of either the New York Giants or New England Patriots I’ll probably be wearing my Minnesota Vikings jersey. 

Related posts:

1. You’re Invited to the Party
2. How to Watch the Super Bowl in Beijing

Exercise is good for you, but in a place like Beijing, it can feel like breathing deeply is the last thing you want to do. The rule I tend to go by is, “If you can see the air, try not to breathe it deeply.” I was excited to be able to see into the distance this morning because it meant I could finally start my Couch-to-5K program.

I’ve never been a runner. I have looked at running as something other people do and that I absolutely hated in gym class at school, but a friend of mine told me how great it felt the first time she actually accomplished a run, and it stuck in my head. I’ve been doing a lot of Jillian Michaels workouts lately (and I love them), but I wanted something to get me outside, at least on the days when it isn’t gross. So today, I went out for a run.

There are a couple things that you have to deal with when running in Beijing. The one I was most worried about was looking like a stupid foreigner (which you’d think I’d be used to by now). The holiday means that there are fewer people to stare, but it is true that joggers are pretty rare in China, especially in the city. I was pleasantly surprised at how little I felt like fool, though. Sometimes, you just have to get out there. Besides, the people I passed where also doing odd exercises or singing patriotic songs in a small choir in the park, so looking a bit odd is highly relative anyway, right?

The other thing that’s going against me right now is the weather. Even when it’s sunny, it’s quite cold. The wind can be especially bitter, and running in the cold can lead to injuries if you aren’t careful. Before I set out, I made sure to check out some winter running tips, and as a result, I donned many layers and warmed up an extra ten minutes bfeore starting the program’s five-minute warm up. I might need a warmer hat, but overall, fleece and sweatshirt laying worked just fine. If you want some fancier running clothes, though, head to your local Decathlon.

I’m just starting to run in Beijing, so I’m probably missing some big things that make it great (and not so great) to run here. If you have experience in this area, please share in the comments. And if you’d like to join in on training for a 5K (not that I’m going to do an actual 5K in conjunction with anything, at least not yet), check out the C25K app for iPhones and Android phones.

What are the hardest and best things for you when you run in Beijing? If you don’t run, what do you do to stay in shape here?

No related posts.

In November we had some Middle Kingdom t-shirts made to be sold at The Gift Christmas bazaar. We made a smoggy “I (heart) Beijing” shirt and a WangJing neighborhood shirt (both pictured below). If you’re interested in getting a hold of either of these send me an email. The shirts are ¥60 a piece. 

I’d like to make some more neighborhood tshirts. The idea will be to have an image of something from that part of the city (but not the typical touristy places/things), the neighborhood name and some pithy statement about that area. The WangJing shirt has the natural gas tanks that are next to WangJingXi subway station and says “The Seoul of Beijing” because it’s known as the Korea-town of Beijing. 

So I need your help, which neighborhoods should we do and what should be on the shirts? My first thoughts are to do a Shunyi shirt, a ChaoYang shirt and a HaiDian shirt. What are your ideas?

Related posts:

1. Staying Cool During the Beijing Summer
2. How much does it cost to live in Beijing?
3. Ask an Expat: (Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Moving to Beijing

A new year offers us a chance to do something fresh, to set goals and accomplish things we’ve been meaning to do, even if some do think this new year brings the end of the world. Here are some resolutions you may want to consider that relate specifically to life in Beijing.

1.       Make meals with fewer imported ingredients

This is definitely one I’m going to be pursuing this year. I’m fed up with having to go to an import store whenever I want to make a meal just because I’m picking the wrong types of meals or I don’t know good substitutes. A new and truly lovely resource for this is Market2Meal, a cooking blog written by an expat in China.

2.       Make a local friend

If you find yourself in the expat bubble (like me), it can be difficult to find a Chinese friend who speaks enough English to become a friend. I suggest tutoring or getting a tutor. Many people who are looking to learn English have enough to communicate the basics, and as their English or your Chinese improves, you’ll get to know them more. I’ve enjoyed getting to know both my English students and my Chinese teacher. To find a student or a teacher, look on The Beijinger classifieds or ask your friends for recommendations.

3.       Record your experiences abroad

However long you’re in China, you’ll want to make sure you’re recording all the craziness. Believe it or not, at some point most of this will start to feel normal and not worth recording, and it won’t be until long after you leave that you’ll wish you had taken better notes. I highly recommend trying 750words, a challenge to write 750 words each day for one month. It’s tough but feels really great to accomplish something like that. If you’re more into photos than words, consider making a daily photo journal, posting a picture a day for a month or even the whole year, to record your life.

4.       Get to know Beijing better

One way to do this is to start with the expat magazines. Pick something from the upcoming events to attend, even just once a month. At the end of 2012, you’ll have done 12 things to connect more with the city. If you’re really ambitious, pick one each week and see how well you know Beijing in February or March compared to right now. You many also just want to make it a point to go to each end of each subway line and explore for an hour; you might be amazed at how things change on the outskirts of Beijing. (Just don’t try more than one or two of these in one day—it could be exhausting!)

5.       Connect more to those back home

I always find myself wishing that I kept in better touch with my friends back home. Granted, we aren’t going to be close like we were when we lived two blocks from each other, but I still like letting them know when I think of them. If you feel this way, make it your goal to connect with one friend or family member each day via a simple note or picture. I find it best to go with small notes; long emails tend to be overwhelming for all parties involved, and we often don’t actually get around to sending them and/or replying to them.  Smart phones make emailing pictures easy; just take a funny China snapshot and send it to a friend with a simple caption. Think simple and quick, and don’t expect responses from everyone. If once a day is too much, try once a week.

Whatever your resolutions for the new year, I hope that it finds you happy, healthy, and more at home in Beijing than in 2011. Here’s to 2012!

Have a goal for 2012?  Share it in the comments field. Is yours related to life in Beijing or simply to life in general?

Related posts:

1. How Expats Survive in Beijing
2. Bargains in Beijing for Expats
3. How Expats Survive in Beijing (part II)

When I first started the coffee club, my thought was to blog about the coffee we were drinking this week the day after I did the deliveries, but I’ve had a cold for most of the last month so my tasting ability has been a bit hampered, and I didn’t feel like I could get a good feel for a coffee after just one or two tastings. I’ve been drinking the Ethiopian Harrar for the past two weeks, and I feel like I know it better now and I’m ready to write about it. I’ve also served it to several groups of people and gotten some really great compliments about it over the past week. 

Tasting coffee is a fun and interesting experience. While I was enjoying my French press this morning there were a couple of times where I would recognize a fleeting flavor for a moment, but would be unable to identify it, so I’d take another quick sip to try to find it again. It was very satisfying when I finally figured out what it was that I was tasting. Ethiopian coffee from the Harrar region in the eastern part of the country is a dry processed coffee which means the coffee cherries are dried first and then the bean is removed through a milling process. It’s often described as a wild tasting coffee. I’ve also read that it’s like fresh produce. 

Matt, the roastmaster at Rickshaw Roasters describes their Ethiopian Harrar as having a floral aroma with berry undertones, dried fruit flavors, a spicy cookie sweetness and a winey finish. It has a medium body and medium acidity. 

As I’ve been drinking it over the past week I keep thinking about dried apricots and dry red wine. This morning when I sat down with my pot of coffee and started to jot down notes of what I was tasting I was really surprised to taste a strong Jasmine flavor. It took me a long time to identify it but there was also a blackberry flavor. To me it was so much juicy ripe blackberries, but the tart under-ripe ones from the beginning of the season.  

If you’d like to join the Club and get coffee delivered to your door every two weeks be sure to sign up. 

Related posts:

1. MK Coffee Club: Sumatran Mandheling
2. Beijing Coffee Review: Unconditional Love Cafe, Fish Eye Cafe, O’Farrell Coffee
3. Beijing Coffee Review (Lido area): Maan Coffee, Element Fresh and Aizai Cafe