The Korean family I’ve been spending time with are lovely people. The little boy calls me 누나 (“noo-na”), which is the word for big sister. In Korea, people don’t use real names very often, instead calling each other by the term for the relationship – big sister, little brother, uncle, cousin, and so on. Friends [...]
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Crossing the road in China is not for the faint-hearted. Now, granted, I’ve become slightly more cautious about the whole road-crossing procedure since leaving Ballymena. In my home town, crossing the road meant dealing with either one or two lanes of traffic. Traffic which would be going no faster than 30mph, and which was guaranteed [...]
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I always read up on every destination I visit before I arrive, which gives me an idea of what to expect in terms of culture, history, sights, and that sort of thing. It also gives me a heads up on things to look out for – namely con men and scams targeting Stupid Foreigners. I [...]
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Staying in a hostel in Beijing, I befriended a couple of guys in my dorm and went to see the Great Wall of China with them. Joey and Chandler were fun travel companions. (OK, only one of those names is real. ) Joey lived up to his name by being the only person I’ve met [...]
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Have you ever noticed that everywhere has its own distinctive smell? I first realised this when I was about 8 years old. The Sister and I were friendly with a girl who lived a couple of houses down the street from us, and I remember returning from playing at her house once and making a [...]
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By far my favourite part of my trip to China was the afternoon I spent in Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter. A large, ornate gate separates it from the modern, Westernised main street – and stepping through that gateway really is like entering a different world. The English signposts and neatly paved roads disappear in favour of [...]
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You Say Goodbye, I Say… Historical Snapshots It Just Makes Me Happy
