“Argh!” my friend emailed, “How are you able to juggle all your work and social and fitness obligations??”
“Help me organize my life!”
In the email I wrote back to her, I realized that I have, indeed, honed a set of concrete Life Juggling strategies that have enabled me to get a ton done (click here for examples of uber-productivity) while still staying sane.
Allow me to share these productivity tricks with you now, as you [...Read More!]
In the previous article, we discussed the most shocking bathroom situation of my world travels.
But what is the most luxurious toilet of China?
Easy. Just go to Shanghai and travel about 1,000 feet… straight UP!
The Cloud 9 Bar and Grill is on the 87th floor of the Grand Hyatt Hotel of Shanghai, and is one of the highest-up and most beautiful bars on Earth.
It also has one of the best bathrooms in [...Read More!]
Never in my life have I been more dizzied from cultural differences than the afternoon I saw the Girls’ Bathroom in a 4,000-student school of Yunyang, China.
It wasn’t that the bathroom was rather run-down and dirty that shocked me. No– I’ve been a teacher in large urban schools in Boston for seven years and have seen (and smelled) my share of dirty school bathrooms. I’ve also squatted in all sorts of [...Read More!]
As a hip, world-traveling American, I am supposed to run in the other direction when I see a chain store from my native country, especially if that chain is a monster like Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts.
Buuuuut… it’s not that simple. You see, rather than being disgusted by the tentacles of imperialism in corporate garb, I’m frequently fascinated and impressed.
For example, check out the lead photo of this article. Dunkin’ Donuts of [...Read More!]
“Tell him in Chinese that we love his dumplings!” I hissed to Gareth as we walked out of the restaurant, passing by the saintly man frying and steaming the dumplings we’d just gobbled up.
My friend and I sidled up awkwardly behind the chef, waiting for an appropriate time to sing his praises.
Clouds poured from the steamed bun baskets. Oil sputtered from the giant black dumpling-frying pan. The man’s hand flew upward [...Read More!]
Tomorrow is my 30th birthday!
Want to make me REALLY, REALLY happy with a free gift? Here’s what I most desire:
1. Show some love to my two websites, AroundTheWorldL.com and TeachingTraveling.com by: reading, commenting on, and reposting/sharing/emailing articles, “Liking” the Facebook pages (currently near 1,400 fans!) and using the “suggest to friends” button, “Stumbling” articles (if you’re advanced like that), and generally bringing as many eyes as possible to these 500+ articles I [...Read More!]
Let us preface this by saying, humbly, that if I attempted to translate an American menu into Mandarin, what would result would look like stick figures doing a conga line. Now, with that humility out of the way, please sit back and laugh as hard as I did, perusing this dinner menu from a Chinese restaurant in the Bund district of Shanghai.
So which dish would YOU order?
You know that Green Walking Man icon that indicates (in most countries in the world) that it is safe for pedestrians to cross the road at a designated crosswalk, because oncoming cars must stop?
Take this China travel tip and save a life: In China, the Green Walk Signal actually means… absolutely nothing.
Unfailingly, in the two weeks I traveled through China, I would start to stride across the crosswalk, the Green Walk [...Read More!]
If you are a vegetarian, you are either going to be inspired or disgusted by this article, but either way, you will likely have pondered a similar quandary: What is the best way to deal with vegetarianism during travel to a very different (read: “meaty”) culture?
Colin is a vegetarian and has been for years, chiefly for health reasons: veggies are healthier than meat, especially processed meat. Then we bought our China [...Read More!]
It’s become a game now. A belly-spotting game.
“BELLY!” I shout in delight, and Gareth and Colin turn to look and smile.
“BELLY! DOUBLE BELLY!” hollers Colin, jerking his head towards two different naked-bellied men within fifteen feet of us on the crowded street.
You see, it turns out that in China (especially during the scalding hot summer months), it is perfectly acceptable for men to tie their shirts halfway up their chests and [...Read More!]
My name is Lillie and I thank you for reading and taking part in this journey.
I am the Boston coordinator of a national series of events on extended travel called "Meet Plan Go." Join the MPG community by clicking here, and jump-start your travel dreams!
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