China Chat

Jiajia is hungry and tired but Chris revives him with potato and salted cabbage talk. Jiajia remains on ear bud probation.

Jiajia loses his ear bud privileges after he mocks Chris’ salad dressing technique, and Chris lauds the benefits of a lettuce ice bath.

Jiajia gets in big trouble for wearing ear buds and ear plugs at the same time, Chris extols the virtues of laundry bags and kale enters the discussion.

News Flash: Charlie finally started using the cat abode we bought for him years ago. Jiajia tells a fish story and how Chris has made him change his way of thinking.

Chris and Jiajia talk about the hand thrown, kiln baked pizza and coffee at the Donglu Camping Site 冬庐驿站 as well as checking out the Lishui Dragon Boat Races and dancing robots!

Chris loves her new mosquito netting, Jiajia has a centipede phobia, and cockroaches are our friends as long as they’re outside.

We wrap up saying goodbye to Auntie and her wonderful family. Jiajia misses our group meals, and Charlie is yelling at us as usual. 

Charlie pitches a fit and is chastised and then ignored, it’s Day Two of the memorial ritual and Jiajia has many deep thoughts.

Wearing white is the thing to do for close family members during the mourning period. Here’s what the family wears and what it means.

JiaJia’s Auntie passed away and Chris and Jiajia were involved in the ceremonies. We’ll compare the difference between western and Chinese funeral rituals and how they changed over the years.

Jiajia’s mum drops off some homecooking , we promise to return her plates and basket (maybe) and we talk about mashed potatoes and long beans. 

We’ll talk about man’s history with fire, how plasma and fire are different and the classic TV show “Boston Legal”. Can you say “Denny Crane”?

We’ll talk about what happened during test days and the night between Day 1 and 2 of the Gaokao. What to eat, how to sleep and what kids do when they’re finally finished!

Keep your voice down! It’s time for the Gaokao, China’s nationwide test for high school students. Sometimes it’s good to be old. No more tests, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks!

Jiajia gets all sweaty playing mahjong with his family, Chris has a refreshing afternoon and Jiajia revels he still has his wisdom teeth.

Jiajia finishes his liver story, talks about fishing under a full moon, Chris warns him to watch out  for werewolves, and Jiajia does experiments at home. 

Jiajia is on a mission. He bought two different devices to keep mosquitoes from chewing on poor Chris’ face. Chris is tired of her noodles and rice diet and Jiajia has no sympathy. Jiajia asks Chris a riddle and starts telling his Liver Story.

Chris and Jiajia get in a standoff over who is who, talk about a new pizza and coffee place named Donglu Post Station near the Guanyin temple park and Jiajia thinks Chris’ outfit makes her look like a cult leader. 

Jiajia and Chris talk about waving hands, explain different expletives, talk about the fountain at the Guanyin temple, ice cream and delicious noodles.

Chris and Jiajia call each other bossy, Jiajia says Chris is paranoid, they debate what zombies eat and lament over the unwelcome mosquitoes entering their house.

Chris learns the difference between tapenade and relish, explores the history of both and threatens to slap Jiajia if he yawns or falls asleep. 

Chris gets schooled in melons, Jiajia gives a recipe for diced salted cabbage tapenade, and Chris gives Jiajia a pop-quiz.

Tommy freaks out about the thunder, Jiajia turns into Dr. Doolittle and talks with Charlie, and Jiajia waxes poetic about duck butts and noodles.

Chris has a definite dislike and paranoia about mosquitoes even though they find Jiajia much more delicious.

Mean people sap the fun out of life. Jiajia has a little gray cloud over his head after running into a group of fishermen who don’t play well with others. 

Jiajia and Chris talk about staying cool in the heat, how to eat rapeseed greens and Chris is mildly unnerved to find out she’s been eating a lot of fava beans.

Chris solves her missing hair elastic mystery, Jiajia gets an ultimatum, and Jiajia and Chris talk about China’s “three furnaces”.

Yes. Jiajia waxes poetic again about his love of fishing. The mahjong ladies are here, swapping stories and slamming down tiles.

There are lots of fun antique oil pressing workshops in the area.  Jiajia gets to have another exciting day harvesting rapeseed! Chris will stay home in the dark. Lao Zhan gives Jiajia and Chris tons of T-shirts and the mahjong gang shows up to play.

Lao Zhan asks Jiajia and Chris to help her harvest the rapeseed crop. Chris is useless and gets overheated. Jiajia tells a duck joke.

Chris rhapsodizes over her love of pop up tents, Jiajia gives his take on the pop up tent versus standard tent debate and laments being ignored by the lake fish.

Chris gets a refresher course on swimming in cold water, Jiajia loses two fishing lures and one of Chris’  swimming buddies gives her some excellent advice.

Jiajia and Chris discuss the benefits of aloe vera, how to apply it properly and renegade raccoons.

Seriously. We looked it up and it’s called, “No Name Reservoir”. No wonder we couldn’t remember it. More adventures and misadventures from the banks of our favorite summer spot.

The lake actually has a name, but Jiajia and Chris can’t remember what it is. It’s swim season and Chris is raring to head back into the water and search for the Jasmine Waterfall. 

To clean or not to clean; that is the question. Jiajia and Chris decide it’s not about the clean, it’s about having peace of mind. 

Jiajia and Chris have different ideas about what constitutes neat. Can they reach a compromise? Let’s find out.

Is time travel possible? It’s all in the definition and direction. Jiajia and Chris explore the possibilities.

Jiajia wants Chris to explain gravity to him. They both decide they need to read a kid’s book on it. Jiajia believes in time travel and Chris wants to know if we would just observe the past or be able to change it.

Jiajia is binge fishing and Chris want him to answer his phone. Yes, Jiajia is in big trouble! 

Beginner’s luck is a real thing and Jiajia says his beginner’s luck fishing has ended. The honeymoon is over.

Chris and Jiajia actually start walking in the park now that Jackie is fully charged, talk about appropriate outdoor clothing and make a little friend. 

Chris and Jiajia enjoy a leisurely walk through the park, looking ancient pictographs and tiny water fowl.

Chris and Jiajia talk about Labor Day in China, Golden Weeks and debate whether Pluto is a planet.

Jiajia and Chris are charging their car, talking about lounging in the park, cars with toilets and turkeys.

We speculate about where we’re going, AI and humanity as frenemies, the advance of technology’s impact on human brains, and Chris badgers Jiajia about sunscreen again. 

Yes, we’re different but what does that really mean? It means Jiajia won’t wear sunscreen and Chris will continue to pester him about it. In the end, we’re not really that different after all. 

Chris continues to bust JiaJia’s chops but he doesn’t care, they discuss the origin story of the idiom, “busting your chops”, goats, sheep, Starburns, Abraham Lincoln’s facial hair, and interesting tattoos.

Jiajia and Chris talk about Karl Fazer chocolate from Finland,  Chinese word order, what does “normal” even mean, busting your chops and meat pies. 

Jiajia and Chris discuss soft mattresses and stealing the covers, reminisce about Heilongjiang and sleeping on heated tile beds.