On our way to buy subway passes yesterday, Jacob and I passed a woman making ji??n b??ng, one of Beijing's many common snacks sold on the street. Not hungry but unable to resist the aroma, we stopped and bought one for 2.50 yuan (35 cents US). Ji??n b??ng is a crepe-like snack typically found only in the north. The ji??n-b??ng-maker first pours small amount of batter onto a hot griddle, and smoothes it out with a metal spatula. She then adds egg and scallions, flips it over, brushes on hoisin sauce and chili paste, and folds it up. Most vendors, like the one we bought from yesterday, will also add a large piece of fried dough in the middle. Crispy, savory, and warm - all good qualities for a cold weather road-side snack.

On our way to buy subway passes yesterday, Jacob and I passed a woman making jian bing, one of Beijing's many common snacks sold on the street. Not hungry but unable to resist the aroma, we stopped and bought one for 2.50 yuan (35 cents US). Jian bing is a crepe-like snack typically found only in the north. The jian-bing-maker first pours small amount of batter onto a hot griddle, and smoothes it out with a metal spatula. She then adds egg and scallions, flips it over, brushes on hoisin sauce and chili paste, and folds it up. Most vendors, like the one we bought from yesterday, will also add a large piece of fried dough in the middle. Crispy, savory, and warm - all good qualities for a cold weather road-side snack.

As promised, the video of the big fried balloon-like puffs at Zhongshan's Shiqi Lao. Bonus: a fish flopping out of a bucket.

As promised, the video of the big fried balloon-like puffs at Zhongshan's Shiqi Lao. Bonus: a fish flopping out of a bucket.

Hong Kong recently introduced plastic currency in an effort to make bills more durable. For now they only have plastic $10 bills ($1.29 USD at the current exchange rate), but they're fun to play with and are even see-through.

Hong Kong recently introduced plastic currency in an effort to make bills more durable. For now they only have plastic $10 bills ($1.29 USD at the current exchange rate), but they're fun to play with and are even see-through.

Shanghai's Yuyuan Bazaar is best known as a marketplace for all the souvenirs and tsotchkes you could want. It is also a haven for street food: soup dumplings, sweets, even birds-on-a-stick. Weekends are especially crowded, when even neighborhood grannies and little kids jostle with tourists to be next in line.

Shanghai's Yuyuan Bazaar is best known as a marketplace for all the souvenirs and tsotchkes you could want. It is also a haven for street food: soup dumplings, sweets, even birds-on-a-stick. Weekends are especially crowded, when even neighborhood grannies and little kids jostle with tourists to be next in line.

Our journey from New York began on July 31st. After spending a frenzied month packing, giving away 90% of our possessions, and saying good-bye to friends and family in New York and Boston, we hopped on a train bound for Florida, the first destination in our passage to China. The decision to leave was not an easy one. After all, we had only been in our nice new apartment for 10 months, just settling in. Better professional opportunities were beginning to present themselves. New York was home. So, then, why leave? The dilemma we faced is a common one shared by many 20- and 30-somethings who are still young : to settle into a niche that is comfortable, or to abandon comfort in favor of an exciting, though terrifyingly uncertain path. Plenty of people lead wonderfully rich lives without ever living abroad. I was already in an ever-changing and ever-surprisingly city. A city full of amazing people, culture, and food, and enough material for any budding writer to fill up a lifetime's worth of books. The fear that haunted me for over a year was that if I left, I would miss out on New York. Then another realization fought back, and won. If I stayed in New York, I would miss out on the rest of the world. And so the adventure begins.

Our journey from New York began on July 31st. After spending a frenzied month packing, giving away 90% of our posessions, and saying good-bye to friends and family in New York and Boston, we hopped on a train bound for Florida, the first destination in our passage to China. The decision to leave was not an easy one. After all, we had only been in our nice new apartment for 10 months, just settling in. Better professional opportunities were beginning to present themselves. New York was home. So, then, why leave? The dilemma we faced is a common one shared by many 20- and 30-somethings who are still young : to settle into a niche that is comfortable, or to abandon comfort in favor of an exciting, though terrifyingly uncertain path. Plenty of people lead wonderfully rich lives without ever living abroad. I was already in an ever-changing and ever-surprisingly city. A city full of amazing people, culture, and food, and enough material for any budding writer to fill up a lifetime s worth of books. The fear that haunted me for over a year was that if I left, I would miss out on New York. Then another realization fought back, and won. If I stayed in New York, I would miss out on the rest of the world. And so the adventure begins.