China Days 32-37 And:

China Days 32-37 宁波 and 上海:

1. Visited my ancestors' hometown of Ningbo and toured the mountain villages in which I might have grown up had subsequent generations of Dus not bust their respective balls to improve their quality of life.

2. Scandalized relatives by wearing raggy shoes and smoking at the dinner table with the men. Apparently Chinese society is extremely materialistic, and I'm obligated to not only accept this as an unerring fact of Chinese culture but modify my personal lifestyle to impress those around me. Also, as a woman I should accept that my freedoms are fewer than those of men because Confucius said so.

3. Befriended a flirtatious Pakistani hotel chef by getting him to talk about his wife and son. Received a specially made omelette. 

4. Beat my cousin at basketball at the cost of getting my foot cut open, courtesy of the aforementioned raggy shoes.  

5. Saw my grandma naked one too many times.

6. Tolerated my brother's continuous poking and pinching of the various flabby bits of my body (i.e. underarms, abdomen, thighs), coupled with repeated insults to my physical appearance and intelligence. 

7. Had afternoon tea at the Waldorf with another cousin.

8. Ferried about the Huang Pu River thinking about a boy.

Cats of South Africa

“And I know Fuck is a bad word, but it sounds so good. Good, like flipping off the preacher whenever he forgets that Eve was Adam’s teacher, ‘cause apples are fucking healthy you patriarchal piece of shit.”

Andrea Gibson (via lipstick-feminists)

China Day 51: 陕西, 华山

In a country as populous as China, finding open space to breathe and stretch one's legs is a rare treat. When the air is smog-free and the view in all directions is nothing but misty mountains and sun-soaked clouds, there's really nothing that could be said to adequately describe the experience of just standing over what seems like the edge of the world. 

Workaholism

me: do you ever step back and think about how obsessed we all are?

Kaitlin: about the Daily?

me: yes

Kaitlin: yes,

it horrifies me sometimes.

me: =D

You're riding a train at night across some vast plain, and you catch a glimpse of a tiny light in a window of a farmhouse. In an instant it's sucked back into the darkness behind and vanishes. But if you close your eyes, that point of light stays with you, just barely, for a few moments.

Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami