In my first few days of university I met a bright, bubbly girl while I was out on a pub-crawl. She had crazy hair, wore glasses and she was on the same degree course as me. We spoke at high speed back and forth for hours that night, and became great friends very quickly. We [...]
Tag: Life lessons
Why can’t I write about China?
Since I moved to Beijing, my parents have told me countless times to be careful what I write about China. I wouldn’t want to get caught by some kind of authority and be kicked out of the country now, would I? But this has not been a problem, because, as much as I would love [...]
Sarah Silverman’s recommendation to Lenny: Lady Parts Justice
I'm a Lenny subscriber. So I'm treated to intelligent, witty, Feminist writing at the end of every week, when I need it most. Lenny's weekly letter picks me up just as my Friday evening is setting in (I'm 13 hours ahead of NYC). On the way home on the Beijing subway after 7 hours of [...]
What’s in a name? or, Who am I?
Shakespeare told us that: ‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet’, which is true, to an extent. And yet, and yet... Some people suit their name. There are those people who are utterly, one hundred percent, an ‘Annie’ or a ‘Joe’. Perhaps they were the first person called Annie that you ever [...]
Since you left me
Here is a piece I wrote a little over a year ago, sitting in a coffee shop in Beijing, recuperating after a disappointing afternoon and a tough first few weeks in China. After all the frustrations I'd come up against and the trying paths I'd trodden to get there, I hoped that maybe I had [...]
Open Mouths: Free speech in Burma?
‘Things will only change if she wins. If they let her in, there will be changes. If not, things will be stable.’ Pausing at a busy junction in downtown Yangon as I wait to cross, a heavy bag on my back, an older Burmese woman mutters under her breath telling me it is safe to [...]
Can Rape Jokes Ever be Funny?
Sexist Faux Pas at a Beijing Bar A woman takes the Beijing subway to work every day. One day her doctor tells her she is pregnant. "That's impossible," she says. "I've only been on the subway." When this joke was told to a friend and me at a party, the punch line hung in the air. The [...]
Does having leg hair make me less of a woman?
Last week I shaved my legs for the first time in 9 months. Why? I wanted to see if it made me feel like more or less of a woman.
25 Things I Did Instead of Getting Married at 25
The very fact that it is non-essential for the majority of people is possibly the most powerful element of modern marriage. Rather than becoming insignificant, it possibly means more than it once did, purely because it is so heavily reliant on individual choice.
Guilt and Regret: Practising Self-Forgiveness
We make ourselves feel guilty about all manner of things. Appearance, weight, eating, drinking, exercise, accidents, things we’ve said or done… I feel I have wasted days, months, maybe years of my life on guilt and regret. I tend to beat myself up about all kinds of stuff. I am ambitious and competitive. I hate [...]
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