Last week’s column

THE EXPAT LIFE By ALAN PAUL Caught in a Shopping Frenzy On a Return Trip to America May 25, 2007 My family recently made an impromptu, whirlwind eight-day trip to New York and New Jersey. We had a great time visiting with friends…

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When Your Child Falls Ill In a Foreign Country March 30, 2007 Nothing makes you feel farther from home than being a temporary single parent with a sick kid in China. When illness strikes, it's easy to feel extremely isolated and unsure about…
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Last week’s column, with pics

Buying a New Year's Day sugar cane. Anna and friends. Notice how bundled up they are. Chinese people think we are committing child abuse to have an open coat like this. Fireworks stand near our house. There were many of these. Experiencing…

Last week’s column

THE EXPAT LIFE By ALAN PAUL Facing the Fears, and Facts, Of Living With Pollution January 19, 2007 Rebecca and I first visited Beijing almost two years ago, spending eight days here while trying to decide whether or not to move.…
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Last week’s column

The forums for this were really interesting. The Ultimate Endurance Test: Trans-Pacific Flight With Kids January 5, 2007 Please forgive me if my words lack a bit of zip or even coherence. I am writing from deep within a daze, which is…
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This is the first and last at least for a while edited on a Blackberry (Becky's) at approx. 12,000 feet -- inside Up4Pizza, atop Snowmass Mountain. Family Beckons: Heading Home for the Holidays December 22, 2006 The holiday season can…
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Last week’s column

Driving Around in Circles To Buy a Car in Beijing October 27, 2006 When we moved here last year, we took over a 1993 Beijing Jeep Cherokee with a booming V8 engine. I felt hardcore and macho driving it, with every liver-rattling bump reaffirming…
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My last column

A Return Stateside Brings An Elusive Sense of Home August 18, 2006 I am writing this column from Maplewood, N.J., sitting at my aunt and uncle's kitchen table, right in the heart of the cozy little neighborhood we called home for eight…
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Previous column

Friends Come and Go As Expat Families Relocate July 20, 2006 This is the transient time of the year in a notoriously transient community. School is out, summer is here and people are on the move. Friends and acquaintances have departed…

This week’s column

A Chinese Massage Takes a Painful Turn August 4, 2006 Massage in China is plentiful and fairly cheap -- anywhere from $10 to $20 for a 60- to 90-minute, Western-style oil massage. It costs less for a traditional Chinese massage, where you…