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Happy Father’s Day. Remembering a wild Great Wall hike with my dad

Almost a decade after moving back from Beijing, I no longer think about my three and a half formative years in China on a daily basis. Repatriation is a long process and now the whole experience has been processed through my system and simply…
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The downside of being an expat: Saying Good Bye

Going through some old files looking for something and I came across this 2007 The Expat Life column about the sadness that descends every June as dear friends move on. Just thought I'd share. ** Summer is the transient time of the year…
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Chinese Massage Can be Elicit and it Can be Painful

With Chinese cupping in the news thanks to the strange circular black and blue marks on Michael Phelps and other US swimmers, I thought I'd share my own experience with the procedure. My The Expat Life column from WSJ.com from almost a decade…
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When Dixie met Woodie

As detailed in Big in China, when my father, Dixie Doc, visited Beijing in July, 2008, he played two gigs with Woodie Alan. We transformed into a passable Dixieland jazz abnd for about 4 songs per night... "All of Me," "Bill Bailey," "When the…
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Being Jewish in China and Discovering What Really Matters

When my wife and I decided to move our family from Maplewood, NJ to Beijing in 2005 we weren't really sure what it would mean for our Jewish life. We were prepared to scale it back for a few years, and to take more responsibility for keeping…
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Making dumplings

Learning to make dumplings with the great Hou Ayi in Beijing. I get hungry and sentimental watching this. I'm glad that more people are picking up on the passion for food displayed throughout Big in China. It was certainly a big part of my experience…

A nice interview on Care.com

‎From At-Home Dad to Rock Star: Alan Paul Gets Big in China. By friend, neighbor and fellow TSTI parent Wendy Sachs.
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Dumpling Master

A nice post about dumplings and me. Includes one of my favorite videos... sadly, this was the only video I did to accompany a column from china. Stupid, stupid, stupid. But glad I have this one.

Panda Dad keeps rolling.

I've been too busy having too much fun in Pittsburgh to stay on top of Panda Dad, but it's still rolling along, with some nice stories yesterday, including a column in Wealth magazine. Christian Science Monitor weighs in. And…
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Chinese read Panda Dad – and like it.

My Panda Dad essay was translated into Chinese for the Chinese WSJ site. I was a bit worried about this, and that it would be misinterpreted as an attack on China, which it most surely is not. Happily, the verdict is quite different. As WSJ's…