我已经有个“住好的”post。 他们有新东四卖，对我来说有点关于旅行也关于香港。真有意思，让用小东四记得在香港怎么样或者干了什么。真聪明！
在你的城市你会选什么当小纪念品？

And some photos previously posted from this summer below:

我只写一个短post因为在我新家还不能上网。现在我开始关于食品的照片会在flickr。 让你们看看

And as I’m preparing for my return to Beijing here’s a list of a few things that anyone should know or want to address prior to a move there of their own:

• Internet access beyond the Great Firewall- aka GFW. Purchase a VPN (I’m currently using 12VPN, for the Mac and iPhone) or setup an SSH (directions on Lifehacker).
• A dictionary with handwriting recognition for learning or translating Chinese. The iPhone has been great, with (free) applications like Pleco and KTdict.
• Stock up. Ladies, in particular, make sure you have your supply of skin or hair care products from Duty Free or the US (or anywhere else that’s not China). With all the news and rumors of fake products being made or repackaged in China, I’ve been told on more than one occasion that it’s better to be safe than sorry in the long run.
• If you’re not from Boston, or used to the cold weather, be prepared for cold, dry winter weather!
• One more thing upon arrival: careful of the tap water. Just like anywhere else, be careful of drinking the tap water since our bodies aren’t used to the foreign water. I’ve been afraid to drink tap and have only purchased bottled water, but locals seem to be fine… although, I’ve been just fine with eating the streetfood! (knock on wood…)

I’m sure I may have missed a few things… Please feel free to leave some comments and suggestions of your own. Anyone else have other tips from experience?

我在波士顿的时候和朋友谈谈。让我想想没想过在中国的生活怎么样。和朋友说让我对北京的生活有新意见。谢谢朋友！
现在我准备回北京；想想我以前搬去北京之前应该什么准备。。。你能推荐吗？

A couple months ago I had a discussion with a classmate about our adjustments to living in Beijing. One of the biggest adjustments that seem so simple and natural in our respective home countries is the idea of brands. We know who to trust, what to expect from quality and service, and where to go to look for specific needs. Something that is seemingly obvious in our daily activities has been turned upside down upon our arrival to China. This is certainly all apart of traveling and exploring a new place. But learning all this information is an overload and can be difficult. One thing that I have noticed is for water: of the plethora of choices, locals prefer Nongfu Spring.

Seeing the Business Insider article about 19 Chinese consumer brands was definitely one place to start! Of the better known names are China Mobile, Tsingtao, and Baidu. And a few of the lesser known: Tingyi Packaged Noodles, Want Want food, and Bailian women’s lingerie. I’ll have to start following up on these and understanding their range or products when I’m back in Beijing.

之个月前我和同学谈谈对我们中国的生活怎么样。我们在自己国家的时候知道每个品牌的质量或者应该去什么商店买要东西。但在中国的时候什么都不知道。但这是在旅行，关于每个新地方要学资料。我在北京的时候农夫山泉是中国人最喜欢的水牌子。看到这个文章我能开始听多只个中国品牌。我以前听过百度和青岛但差不多所有的品牌都没听过。

A dump site for digital technology, Africa’s notorious Agbogbloshie Market is a toxic wasteland where Europe’s outdated computers are scavenged for spare parts and torched to recycle precious materials. The surreal site in the capital city of Accra has been burdened with tribal rivalries, drug problems, and child trafficking, while receiving repeated warnings from international agencies about massive emissions of noxious fumes, threatening the pickers, and poisonous chemicals, seeping into the soil.

A surprisingly suppressed story, it recently gained worldwide attention when the New York Times Magazine published pictures of the heavily polluted place by South African photographer Pieter Hugo.

According to the New York Times Magazine, “the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary 
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, agreed to in 1989 and now adopted 
by a majority of nations, was meant to stop the dumping of toxic waste in poor 
countries. But rules get complicated when the waste arrives as a gift.”

via Flavorwire

我对南非真心疼。

What a great thought for reuse and save on purchasing another knick-knack, though I’ll be first to admit that some are worth the purchase With an old lotion bottle, sharpie, and exacto blade you’re ready to go:

Start by cleaning out any old long and wide plastic container you have (this one looks like a Jergen’s bottle). Make sure that the bottle is wide/thick enough to fit your phone inside of! Then, draw the shape of the cradle on the outside of the bottle with a marker. You can choose whatever shape you like but ideally, it will have a rounded portion with a hole at the top and a “bucket” at the bottom for your phone to sit it (see the pic below). Finally, cut along the lines you traced (be very careful!) with an Exacto knife. Tada!

Brilliant DIY! (ps. Goes hand-in-hand with the most recent IDSA conference in Portland, earlier this month. The theme was DIY.)

via Inhabitat

如果你好认识我的话，当然知道我很喜欢关于包电线的产品。我看到这个自己能作这样的产品的时候太高兴了。能自己做也能当环保的。太好了。

With a specific topic and dialogue for each episode, there is also a break down and translation into english of the dialogue along with some cultural contexts and customs. Each episode highlights important phrases, vocabulary, and sentence structure for the particular subject being discussed. If you’re new to Mandarin, give it a try and start with Episode 1: Greetings. Quite beneficial if you ask me!

每个中国人当然听过‘大山’但我上个月只开始看他的电视剧。真有用：学语法和文化。

Starting tomorrow is GreenFest at Boston City Hall Plaza, running from August 19-21. Some key take aways from the website are simple: Drink tap water and use reusable containers, recycle, compost, and bike.

Boston GreenFest celebrates the many ways we can create a better world by greening our lives and our communities.

Among speakers, performers, and eco-fashion shows, there’s a one gallon challenge that asks teams to build vehicles that travel 110 miles from Northampton, MA to Boston on only one gallon of gas; the vehicles will be on display upon their arrival to the festival site:

We are looking for vehicles that are light weight, have good aerodynamics, and use very efficient propulsion systems to stretch the energy which fuels them, while at the same time allowing passengers the safety and comfort we insist on.

Sounds like a great event to get people active, conscious, and involved with changing their everyday habits for a greener life. Hope to see you there!

It’s funny. According to Wikipedia, in the past few years, “Beijing has added 3,800 natural gas buses, the largest fleet in the world. 20% of the Olympic venues’ electricity comes from renewable energy sources. The city has also planted hundreds of thousands of trees and increased green space in an effort to make the city more livable.” But when I moved into my new apartment back in July and was instructed about trash removal, there was no recycling available. I asked the agent about it, and even mentioned it to my roommate (a local Chinese), both were not really conscious of the idea of recycling: “just throw it in the trash.” In public spaces there are recycling bins, but they look JUST like the trash bin, so I’m sure the two containers are not differentiated when one throws away trash. But what’s more interesting, is that recycling is something that the Chinese have done… forever…? We see bike peddlers with their stacks and stacks of styrofoam, or rubber tires and metal scraps; is recycling only for those who need to perform manual labor to make a living? What about the everyday people that make up so much of the population and could be contributing to such a huge cause? Mind boggling…

明天开始波士顿绿节。从明天八月十九号到二十一号波士顿庆祝我们怎么可以建设一个更美好的生活和世界。去听讲座和音乐，看新时尚。

我不太明白，为什么北京能有怎么多‘绿’公园或者用天然气的公共汽车，但没有回收在家里。明不明白？我搬家的时候问我的同屋和我们的代理人“这里有没有回收”？但他们几说“在垃圾就是一样”。我真不满意。为什么有很多工作人骑自行车收金属，橡胶或者发泡胶，但在之自家里不能回收？我不明白。

How fitting. Now, about 6 months since I started this record, and upon reflection, it does seem as if I’m trampsing (or traipsing) around the globe on this glorious adventure. Sometimes, I am and it’s exciting! Other times, I’m just a young lady trying to figure out what to do next. In actuality, I am exploring. Exploring what to I want to be when I grow up. And I realized that at the start of all this, I had big plans to do a lot- I think we always do. And upon reflection of our actual accomplishments, it never quite matches up to the desires and goals. So, I’ll keep striving! And occasionally keep you updated here.

In the mean time, I’m on a summer vacation for another few weeks. As I mentioned 6 months ago, I studied industrial design, graduated from college, and worked full-time for a couple years. Then, I decided after spending a summer in China 5 years ago, that I’d always wanted to go back again. So the easiest way to do that? Since it has also been on my list of things to do, I’d go and learn Chinese. And here I am now… between Beijing, where I learn Chinese, and Boston, where I forget what I’ve been learning! haha..

Now, to my next point. I’m sorry to the readers out there for any recent posts that needed more thought and attention to grammar. I admit, I’ve been busy lately and have blogged posts that lack a real story. I’m now making a promise to myself (and to you, please make sure I stay on track!) not to just fill my blog for content, but to instead tell stories and make meaningful observations in a thoughtful, well written way (however short or long).

Thanks for your support, everyone! (and I’m sure it’s literally, just ‘one’ out there…) haha

我最近受到一个人读我的blog发给我的email。他问我怎么能有我每天旅游的生活。但这不是我真正的生活只是希望的生活。但我在这里写的只是我喜欢的东西还有让我想想和想记的。

我从大学学习工业设计毕业以后做工做两年想去中国。因为我五年前在上海过暑假我想再去学习汉语。

我的生活有肘候真有意思有时候我只是姑娘将大。差不多六个月之前我开了这个blog。现在我在想想我还没做很多我想做的。在北京学汉语，在波士顿忘了我学学的。。。哈哈。

但从现在开始我让你帮我在这个blog进步我在这里写的内容。谢谢你们！

While I was in SF, my lovely cousin treated me to dim sum at Koi Palace. For the higher than usual dim sum prices, this is not a place for the typical dim sum dishes of shrimp dumplings or shu mai and sticky rice (which are also on the menu). There were many unusual dishes and twists to the usual affair. With choosing many unique items on the menu, our  success rate was about 70% of dishes we ordered being deliciously delicate and beyond any other regular dim sum I’ve had; also on par with high end food expectations. Highly recommended

Xiao long bao (小笼包) was definitely one of the best dishes. With a delicately thin wrapper that highlighted the soft, well balanced, and not too dense, savory pork filling.

Other dishes were drunken chicken, vegetarian goose (made of tofu skin), and fried tofu.

The filo durian was rich and creamy. If you’re a durian fan, you’ll love this creaminess wrapped in flakey delicate filo. I can’t personally say that I’m one of those crazy fans, but I certainly don’t dislike the fruit that smells like skunk. It’s definitely worth a try.

My favorite of the dishes we had is the coffee marinated spareribs: tender and savory with just a hint of coffee, completely worth eating with your hands and licking your fingers.

I love dim sum. In addition to the comunal eating of this meal and the beauty and delicacy of the foods involved, the experience totally stretches the “American” perception of “Chinese food”.

我爱广东菜点心。在旧金山我们吃没吃过的特别点心。有点贵但真很好吃。我最喜欢的是咖啡排骨。咖啡味道真不浓。
点心文化在一起吃真有意思能尝尝很多不同菜还有不同美国化中菜。