My first “real” spring festival experience!

I have experienced 3 spring festivals here in Baoding since moving here as a student but this year’s is the first that I actually spent with a Chinese family. Since it’s the quietest time of the year I usually spend it in my room. Luckily, this year, together with another friend, I was invited to…

Low key killer….

I have been meaning to write about my life as a part time low key killer but because of the schedule it comes with I just never seem to have time! Early days… So just over a year ago I, together with 2 other Zambian male students joined the Hebei University martial arts club. Since…

Conversations with Chinese people….

In a country of 1.3 billion people, 92% of them being from one ethnic group, foreigners stand out like unicorns. Especially dark skinned foreigners. Though I have been foreign in other countries, all have been countries where black people are the demographic majority. People would only react to my foreignness after hearing my accent or…

A week in the fragrant Harbour (1)

Of my little tourist trips I’ve taken while in China so far, Hong Kong was the one I was most excited about. When I was flying to China last year, my second layover was in Hong Kong, and just from what I could see of the landscape from the airport, it was certainly a place…

“吃饭了吗?”/Have you eaten yet?

Originally posted on A Hungry African:
I once read somewhere that China’s biggest religion is food, and having lived here a year and a half I can safely say that is true. Food is a big part of life here. “吃饭了吗?”/”Have you eaten yet?” is actually a form of greeting in China. To outsiders it…

Drink more hot water! (多喝热水!)

I have decided to add a series of posts that will share my experiences with Chinese culture here in China. Of course this may not apply to all of China because there are subtle differences in culture depending on the location and ethnic group the Chinese people I interact with are from. These are just…

A day in Bazhou (霸州)

My scholarship is funded by a Chinese government organization known as Hanban (colloquial abbreviation for Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a foreign language). Basically they aim to promote the learning and experiencing of Chinese language and culture all over the world. Every year they require all Universities offering Hanban scholarships to organize an…

Sexy Body missions at the gym

Before I came to China I was fully intending on continuing on my home fitness routine using my various home workout DVDs however due to my living situation (sharing a relatively small room in a student hotel) it was clear that was going to be impossible. So I figured I should join a gym near…

Getting around in Baoding

This is not a topic that I ever would have thought to blog because the idea of discussing transport seems so mundane but on China’s roads there’s never a dull moment! I experienced a bit of China’s transport system in Shanghai and Guanzhou but not so much because we were there for a short time…

Turning up the Baoding way

So this post is way overdue because I really should have done it the first time I came to China, but better late than never! On my “must do” list of things to get up to in China when I first visited – and this was something most of us intended on doing – was…

Baoding & Hebei University: First Impressions

So I’m in China! Have been for almost a week now. Here’s my (somewhat) brief rundown of my journey here and how I’m settling in so far. The trip One of the more stressful trips I’ve taken but luckily not the most uncomfortable (the bus trip to Malawi from Joburg wins that title). The first…

Black girl in China….again.

I am leaving…on a jet plane…I don’t know when I’ll be back again… Ok, so that last part is a lie, I know when I’ll be back. I am going to the east yet again. I am going to China and will be there studying for 3 years. I’m not the only one, nor am…