Physics has never been my forte (ditto with anything numerical or scientific), but one thing I do recall from my high school Intro to Physics class is the general idea of the Theory of Relativity. Basically that someone traveling the speed of light for a certain amount of time will age slower than a stationary […]

It hasn’t been a particularly photographic past week or so, mostly due to a heat so oppressive that the act of scratching one’s mosquito bites produces sweat amounts so copious that really, there’s just no point in showering anymore. Really the only thing anyone wants to do is sit or lie around complaining about the […]

Questions for ellis friedman

New York Times: You have now lived in China for nearly eight months, and your first school year as a college English teacher has just ended. I was wondering if you might share some insights about your life in China so far.

ellis friedman: That’s why I’m imagining this interview with you.

NYT: Right […]

Every night, the speakers around school blast a strange, vaguely Celtic jingle, which means it’s 5:15 and time for the school’s radio broadcast. When I told Jennifer about it a few months ago she said, “You mean you have to listen? What if you don’t want to?” But when you come to China as a […]

I’ve been through many breakfast phases in my life. There were the frosted strawberry Poptarts, the toaster oven frozen hash browns, the Honey Bunches of Oats, the Honey Nut Cheerios, the hard boiled eggs and toast, the huge bowl of pineapple, the Good Friends, cold pepperoni pizza. These were all separate phases, of course. I […]

Common Poor Eating Habits
1. Eating too much [Are you me? If yes, enter guilty plea to avoid expense of trial]
2. Eating too much MSG [Do you live in China? If yes, guilty.]
3. Getting together and sharing food (like having big parties and getting a lot of food) [Do you live in China? If yes, guilty.]
4. […]

I am proud to say that I was a very…unique little girl. You’ve heard about the whole Singin’ in the Rain thing, and at the start of this blog I believe I mentioned how, when I was 5, I was so enamored of the name Crystal that I made my parents call me Crystal. Crystal […]

As it goes in my blurry 6-ish-year old memory, which may be borderline fictitious, our family friend Guy, of But what’s the guy’s NAME? fame, once accompanied us up to Flagstaff. We were all out for a walk and came to a small pond. When I wasn’t looking, Guy picked up some rocks and threw […]

It’s been an uneventful week or so here at Plate of Wander. Jennifer returned home pretty suddenly, so my social life has taken a big hit (I miss you Jennifer!). Aside from the major excitement of a cornea infection, my life has been in a bit of a rut. Thursday didn’t provide quite the break […]

“You have gotten a bit fat,” said King as I hopped on the elliptical. King is my friend and the English-speaking trainer at my gym.

Why thank you, King. But that’s what happens when your parents come to visit and you spend 3 weeks eating 2-3 meals a day in restaurants where oil practically oozes from […]