Lodi, California
The Calculated Adventurist
Flying Back to China
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist My family and I are all settled into our “new” house. I say “new” because our house is actually pretty old, but we’re happy with it and that’s what counts. Instead of saying it’s old, I like to say it has character. Saying it has character excuses the … Continue reading
Pregnant In Beijing – Part Two
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist In my last post, I forgot a vital piece of information that I should share. Before I even had an inkling I was pregnant and had just returned from Africa, I went for my usual reflexology massage in my favorite area of Beijing. I always made a point … Continue reading
Pregnant in Beijing: Part One
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist Before I start with the telling of my true story about being pregnant in Beijing, I will remind you of our life circumstances when we first arrived to Beijing in 2008. We had quit our jobs, sold our home and made off to China with two suitcases and … Continue reading
Return to Beijing
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist My husband is a teacher and we decided that over his 3-week Winter break we would make a return trip to Beijing, China with our son (The Boy), who is now 15 months old. The trip was amazing, the 12 hour plane ride there and back was not … Continue reading
The Great Wall and the Axe Lady
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist As we ran across the dam and onto to the trail leading up to the Wall, our friend was yelling, “They have guns! Oh no! They have guns!” I almost peed my pants, mostly because I was laughing so hard and was trying to hold it, so I … Continue reading
Chinese Culture Jolt
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist Living in a new country is not only educational, but entertaining. Each time we had visitors from the United States, I was reminded what it felt like to be in China for the first time … namely the assault of newness and the cultural jolt of everything feeling … Continue reading
Cops and Robbers Chinese Style
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist It was 9:00 pm on a Monday in Beijing and I was completely worn out. My wallet was stolen, I chased the robber, a gang of old women helped me, I rode in a police car and got to see the inside of a Chinese police station. So … Continue reading
A Woman of Patience
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist Get comfy – this anecdote is five hours long. One day in September we were sent a package from the U.S. It was packaged with care and sent to us at our correct Beijing address … International Priority, no less. One week after it was originally sent I … Continue reading
Chinese Food: the Good, the Bad, the Gelatinous
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist Have you ever felt like you were destined for something? Not that there’s some grand master plan laid out for you, but that a bunch of small events in your life were preparation for something greater? It sounds strange to say it, but I feel that way about … Continue reading
Learning Chinese by Osmosis
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist Before I moved to China, I dabbled a bit in Chinese. Because I never really dove in and got my feet wet, I could barely count and knew some words here and there. Later, a few months before we left the U.S., I kicked it up a notch … Continue reading
China and the Creeping Crud
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist Before I regale you with tales of sickness and woe, I must first describe to you our Chinese apartment so you can have a picture of what I’m talking about. When my husband and I went to China we were told we would have a furnished apartment ready … Continue reading
“Organic” … Chinese Style
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist Coming back from vacation means traveling to the store to stock up on essentials that have languished in the fridge while I was gone or replacing items I hadn’t the forethought to chuck before leaving. We came home to a fridge full of old yogurt, which I didn’t … Continue reading
Middle Kingdom Education
by Myra Brien – The Calculated Adventurist Upon arriving in Beijing, I was part of a massive mental reeducation program and I learned a lot. Culture Shock makes one learn fast. For the first few months in a new location, it really is all about day to day survival as you navigate through a confusing … Continue reading
The Calculated Adventurist – Introduction
by Myra Brien – the Calculated Adventurist I’ve always been a calculated adventurist. Since I was small I have assessed the risk to benefit ratio of whatever I did. For example, at four years old I remember looking at a very large and intimidating slide. This slide is so large its built into a hill … Continue reading
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