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Machi’s Diary
Day 1: Today is the day I meet my foster humans. I hope my snack schedule has been relayed. Day 3: Clearly I’ve gotten the shitty end of the deal in this foster home situation. While I am a personable floofball of charisma and scintillating charm, I have been handed to a family of cold,…
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The Foster
Shaggy in photos, he’s actually pretty thin in real life. Having lived in a shelter with 500 other dogs, the doggo — a scruffy mix — is understandably quiet and easily spooked. He enters our home gingerly, alternately shaking under the table and scratching himself because of the flea medication he received before leaving the…
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Xiamen Postcards
We use the weather app as an oracle and agree that Xiamen has just the right amount of sun we are looking for. It’s that draggy period between Christmas and New Year’s, and though restrictions were lifted a couple of weeks ago Shanghai is still anything but normal. People are staying home, either recovering from…
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On the Chaise Longue
Things have changed so fast here in China in a week that it’s given me whiplash. Restrictions are being lifted one at a time, and practically everyday we’re handed back bits of our freedom (“freedom”?) from life pre-Covid. I’m very ecstatic about it. But it leaves everyone, myself included, baffled about everything that happened. What…
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Autumn of Our Discontent
I miss the days when we had pop-up food trucks instead of pop-up lockdowns. The October holidays – much anticipated by the Chinese, being one of the two major holidays in a year – ended on a sour note. To be fair things were sour from the beginning. But now it’s just a science experiment…
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Great Expat Exodus
Shanghai these days, man. It’s no secret I absolutely love this city, but ever since the 2-month lockdown ended — and I’m using the term ‘ended’ loosely, because let’s face it, it hasn’t really ended yet — it’s really been tough trying to keep the love intact. The ambiance is strange. Energy levels, down. There…
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A War of Sorts
Some stories can be shared immediately, and some have to wait to be told. I will reserve my posts about the 2-month lockdown that Shanghai went through last April to June 2022 for obvious reasons. They’ll see the light of day once we are away from China for good. Know, though, that my heart goes…
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Day Before Lockdown (In 2022, If You Can Believe It)
Like the title says. Jeezums, we’re all preparing for a “4 day lockdown”. Pudong, the newer area of Shanghai east of Huangpu River, locked down four days ago without any warning. My friends got wind of the news in the evening. According to them, they spent hours lining up at the local stores, trying to…