I'm from Ontario. It's a relatively flat province in Canada with lots of rolling hills and some small mountains that most of my west-coast friends won't even call mountains. That's fair enough, considering they're looking at the Rockies all the time. The first time I saw ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
A Canadian in Beijing
A Canadian in Beijing: "No Clamber Over"
I'm from Ontario. It's a relatively flat province in Canada with lots of rolling hills and some small mountains that most of my west-coast friends won't even call mountains. That's fair enough, considering they're looking at the Rockies all the time. The first time I saw ...A Canadian in Beijing: The Wild Wall Will Not Be Tamed
When I went to the Great Wall on that first weekend I arrived in China, I simultaneously learned about the "rest of the wall." By this, I mean the "wild wall" that isn't a tourist attraction but lies along the spines of mountains across China, crumbling and often ...A Canadian in Beijing: 798 Arts District Accepts the Cultural Baton
The arts district of Beijing is called the "798" district. That's its address, to be precise. It's technically in "Da Shan Zi ???" (which is the area of the city) and this complex used to be a series of factories that have now all been converted to galleries and cafes. ...A Canadian in Beijing: Dealing Inspiration
One of my many aims of coming to Beijing was to embark on some music research (as described in my first blog). I spent the first six weeks gathering names and ideas and talking to people about my intentions to see what they thought of my research plans. I think taking ...A Canadian in Beijing: Umbrellas Not For Fellas
Today they're calling for a high of 37 degrees Celsius here in Beijing. The sweat gathers on my skin within seconds of stepping outside and I was so agitated by yesterday's (equivalent) heat that I went straight to the market and bought some super light-weight shorts and ...A Canadian in Beijing: Old and New Embrace
Here in Beijing, I am surrounded by the past and the future at every turn. I see technology grabbing the hand of history and pulling it closer, as though history has a history of being afraid to dance and technology cannot take no for an answer. What has resulted is an ...A Canadian in Beijing: Hou Hai and All That Jazz
Hou Hai is a popular tourist region of Beijing. It's situated around Hou Hai lake and consists of restaurants, cafes, bars and beautiful hutongs filled with souvenir shops and specialty stores that wind around and spit you out on busy modern streets. When you're wandering ...A Canadian in Beijing: Summer Ice Skating
Here it is the heat of summer in Beijing and I found myself on ice skates last night. I looked down at the ice rolling under my skate blades in the "You Yi Shopping City" mall ice rink last night and I laughed out loud. I was wearing a light shirt and jeans and the sweat ...A Canadian in Beijing: Floating at Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday worried me when I first heard about it. I thought it might be a hardcore women's event that discussed menstruation and girl power, which to be honest is not for me. I mean, I've 'been there, done that' and it's no longer my speed. No offence to all the blood ...A Canadian in Beijing: First Official Concert in China
I am happy to reprt that my first official concert here in Beijing was a complete success. By "first official concert," I mean the first "Ember Swift" show in Beijing and not a show that is part of another event or a performance that is supporting another artist or band. ...A Canadian in Beijing: Dancing the Bargaining Dance
I have tried my best not to spend too much time at the markets here in Beijing. It's easy to do. They're addictive. I think it's the action combined with the colours and the diversity of people you can see there. Not to mention the fact that "things" are so cheap here (by ...A Canadian in Beijing: Vegetarian Party at Peking University
In the South Hall of the ??Beida (Peking University) library building, Beijing hosted its first annual "Vegetarian Party" on Thursday, May 17th, 2007. I met the organizer about four weeks earlier and I was excited about this event as a way to connect with more vegetarians ...A Canadian in Beijing: Being Light
Here I am in my eighth week here in Beijing and I realize that I have been a bit slack this week in keeping you up-to-date about my experiences. In just four days, I will be exactly two-thirds of the way through my trip. There is so much to write about and so little time. ...A Canadian in Beijing: Capital Museum A Total Snooze
I suppose if I weren't so tired today our class trip to the Beijing Central Museum (or, ?????: Shoudu Bowuguan) would be more interesting to me. As it stands, we've been here for two hours and I'm bored out of my mind. I've even returned to the bus early (the eventual ...A Canadian in Beijing: A Full Bodhi Massage
A couple of days ago, I went downtown to meet with my friend Stuart. I took the subway, of course, and emerged into a brilliant sunny day to see not one, but three tanned Australian smiles waiting for me at the top of the subway steps at the Beijing Zhan stop. Stuart ...A Canadian in Beijing: Charmed by Chinglish
A few years ago, I had a running joke with a friend of mine about being "grammar police." We used to lament not having a large stack of magic markers (of various colours and thicknesses) stashed in our bags or our vehicles at all times. These markers would be for quietly ...A Canadian in Beijing: Proud Love for the Pedestrian Overpass
Alright, I have been excited about these things since I got here and I've felt a bit like a dork about it. Okay, maybe more like an urban planning design geek or something (no offense to a very necessary modern profession!) and so I've decided that I've just got to put it ...A Canadian in Beijing: Being a Tourist at the Summer Palace
I've been here for six weeks now and I've barely been a tourist. I've never been much of a tourist, really, seeing as most of my travelling has been related to my music (i.e. work), but I did imagine that I would do more "tourist-y" things while here in Beijing than I ...A Canadian in Beijing: The Inevitability of Karaoke
I really don't enjoy karaoke. I'm sure it comes from the fact that it had a peak of popularity in North America during my high school years – a time that I don't often enjoy recollecting! I started to perform live when I was ten and so all of my classmates knew ...A Canadian in Beijing: Naked Baby Bums Everywhere!
I wonder how babies in China feel in the wintertime. I mean, they must experience some severe crotch frost considering the built-in air-conditioning their clothing has! This no-nonsense approach to raising not-yet-potty-trained children has me both baffled and amused. ...
