Category: in china

waxing, in shanghai

this is a post for the girls* :)

when i came to china, i quickly realized two things: chinese people don’t use deodorant because they barely sweat, and on top of that, most chinese girls hardly have any body hair. it’s really annoying, and it makes it especially hard for us “normal” girls to get a decent waxing that doesn’t cost a kidney. i don’t like the DIY alternative, which usually ends up with me making a mess at home, or hurling out in disbelief of the pain i am inflicting myself… sure, waxing hurts, but it’s quick and it lasts long, so the benefits clearly beat the alternatives!

anyway, i searched the internet left and right until i stumbled on someone who does exactly what i was looking for! olga medeiros is a nice brazilian lady, who lives and works in the gubei area. she does manicures, pedicures and waxing in a friendly and professional environment, with products of good quality. just send her an email (olga.medeiros@gmail.com) to schedule.

so here it is, a first hand recommendation for girls in need! olga really deserves some publicity and posting it here is really the least i can do :)

* although I think she does waxing for boys too, but i’m not 100% sure

ps – posts are a bit delayed due to a mix of deadlines, a friend’s bday party, more mess ups by a certain airline regarding some pets, and general life craziness… but i am trying to catch up!

foooood in china

shanghainese food

my teacher decided to present me today with a trip to the shanghai museum for lots of historical learning, and a traditional shanghainese dinner. shanghainese cuisine is typically a little sweet, and uses quite a bit of soy sauce… promising, heh?

she ordered a bit of everything, so i thought i’d do another yummy/bah test :)

salty chicken: hum… mamahuhu, just so so. it was a bit dry and cold… that’s probably the way it is supposed to be, but it’s not really my thing.

kaofu: a sort of spongy tofu, it was good.

meat in black pepper sauce: errrr, it was good, but somehow i don’t think this is a shanghainese delicacy? perhaps she just wanted to be nice and offer us something a bit more familiar. it was quite hard to eat with the chopsticks, but we made it!

egg and shells: sea shells in a semi-solid jell-o-like egg mixture. a bit strange. i still don’t know what to think of it, not my favourite.

deep fried fish: simple dish, but quite good! also a bit hard to eat with chopsticks :)

bean curd soup: when i looked at this soup, i was expecting the worse… it looked quite consistent and i was fearing the flavours might be a bit too strong for me… but actually, they were just right. the bean curd strips were so soft they melted in your mouth… yummy!

spiky fish: i don’t know the real name of this dish, but it’s something to do with pine. maybe pine tree fish? anyway, it’s yummy, probably the best of the bunch. they take the bones out, shape the fish in this spiky form, then cover it with flour and fry. in the end, they top it all with a sweet (and slightly tangy?) sauce. it’s soooo good.

stinky tofu: i’m not sure this is a shanghainese dish but my teacher made a point in making me try it. paulo has this rule: “try everything at least once”, and so he did, bravely. oh, his face was quite priceless! :D i tried it too, but frankly, like paulo, i was also expecting something exceptional that would make up for the horrid smell. the flavor is actually quite bland and honestly… blergh. i still don’t get it how can someone like this stuff. oh well…

so now you know what to expect. my teacher says this restaurant is quite good, so if you’re in the mood for some shanghainese delicacies, it’s a little place called farm restaurant in kangping road, 220 (near huashan road).

in china in portugal

china through the lens of john thomson

20090420-010

from the asian art newspaper:

During his second trip to Asia, Thomson based himself at the thriving British Crown Colony of Hong Kong in 1868. There he studied Chinese and Chinese culture while making a few short trips into Guangdong. Thomson’s major China expedition began in 1870. For two years he travelled extensively from Guangdong to Fujian, and then to eastern and northern China, including the imperial capital Beijing, before heading down to the River Yangtse, altogether covering nearly 5000 miles. In China, Thomson excelled as a photographer in quality, depth and breadth, and also in artistic sensibility. The experience he gained, and the techniques he developed, on the streets of Beijing laid the foundation for his Street Life in London, compiled five years later. This established him as the pioneer of photojournalism and one of the most influential photographers of his generation.

From 16 April to 18 May the exhibition China through the lens of John Thomson will be at the Beijing World Art Museum, so you still have a few days to catch it if you’re in the capital.

After that, it will travel to The Fujian Museum (14 June to16 August); Guangzhou Museum
(26 August to 25 September); and Dongguan Exhibition Center (3 November to 2 December), before travelling to the World Museum Liverpool in the UK to celebrate Chinese New Year 2010.

(via heading east)

Post author By ana
Post date May 14, 2009
No Comments on china through the lens of john thomson

in china photography

bulb’d holga

while i was in beijing, i kept thinking something was wrong with my holga. the sound of the shutter didn’t sound right, it was… different.

yesterday when i got the film back from the shop, i glanced the negative and was relieved to see there was something there, so maybe not all was lost. i got home, ran to the computer and put the cd inside, and what do i discover? a film of shaken, overexposed pictures. hum… could it be? i flip the holga around, and there is the culprit: the switch on the bulb position. oh well… i don’t know how that happened, but at least it isn’t broken!

in the end, i don’t completely dislike the string of caffeinated photographs that came out of this roll. here are a few: