Tag Archives: coffee

13 Ways of Looking at a Coffeepot: An Expat Fable

Brilliant photo that captures my inner state by Lotzman Katzman, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons license.

Let’s face it: everyone has an opinion on the best way to make coffee. Some are downright elitist about the obvious supremacy of their method, others are looking to trade up in the world of home brewed caffeine. Others, like myself, shoot for an optimal blend, if you will, of their priorities: for me, it’s convenience, consistency, and flavor. So when I found my perfect French press coffee maker about 2.5 years ago, it stuck. And as this summer has been all about daily routines– writing routines; research at libraries, archives and doing interviews; waking up before 11am–the coffee routine has settled into a flow of shared French-pressing with my coffee-drinking roommate.

Until the day. The Coffee. Stopped. Continue reading

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A Very Merry Un-Christmas

On Friday, I had a goofy holiday moment that spurred a little American Christmas shopping nostalgia– something I thought I would never have.  And it was at Starbucks, of all places.   Continue reading

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Zai Zheng Da (政治大學)


I’m now a student at the Chinese Language Center of National Chengchi University! Talk about a mouthful. But calling it “Zheng Da” helps—short for Zheng Zhi (政治 Chengchi) Da Xue (大學 University)–and makes me feel so in the know around the Taiwanese academic circuit. (There’s also Shi Da, Tai Da, among other major universities around the city.) Last week, I spent a few days on campus—doing the fun orientation stuff, the tedious bureaucratic stuff, and just walking around and getting comfortable there. My Chinese class for foreigners, located in the International Building on “upper campus,” starts later today.

As for Zheng Da, I love it! The campus is near the MRT stop called Taipei Zoo, which is in the southeast corner of Taipei, so it’s much more rural than the middle of the city. Continue reading

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