Pile of dried fish at Carrefour in Xiamen China

What’s to Like

Published 2006-12-05
  • Learning the language
  • Discovering that the Chinese name for most James Bond movies uses the phrase “Brave Escape”
  • The food, duh
  • Take-no-prisoners kitchen appliances, like the five pound blender (that also grinds coffee) and the solid steel toaster with a timer
  • The fact that those appliances cost the equivalent of US$10 each.
  • Green tea toothpaste
  • The dog seems to like it
  • There is, indeed, a beach
  • The maddening, go-go feeling that comes from living in a place where the only constant is change
  • We found a place that makes really good pizza.
  • Kindergartners are just so dang cute
  • December 5th and still no colder than 65° F.
  • The tea...so good I have actually (voluntarily!) cut my coffee consumption. You can drink tea all day without the bad breath or jitters.
  • The huge, green park on the hill behind us
  • The wonderfully retro (shades of the Space Needle) weather station in the middle of said park