Three In Beijing

Mar 24

Sesame, Strawberry, Banana Smoothie

This thing. This thing is sooooo tasty.

1 large frozen banana, cut into pieces
6 - 7 large frozen strawberries
1 tbspoon of toasted sesame seeds (really easy to find in Beijing…)
¼ c of almond slivers (or raw almonds from anywhere)
½ c soy milk
½ c apple/pear juice

And a blender!

1. Put your strawberries, soy milk, and juice in the blender. Work until strawberries have broken down.
2. Add your almond slivers and sesame seeds
3. Add your banana, piece by piece. You may have to stir with a spoon because it will get pretty thick.

Yummmmm. Vitamin C, potassium, protein, and I use the sesame as a source of iron (among many other things). Woo!

Mar 22

Speaking To The Wrong Audience.

(Or maybe it was the one that actually needed to hear it, I dunno.)

My partner in crime and a friend are sitting at his desk across the room from me. Two, tall, white men. One from America one from England. Somehow the topic of our employment comes up, and one of them said it themselves, that we got this job based off of our genetics but implies that he is ok with it.

I scrunched up my face, and then blurted out this beauty:

“I mean… we’re here based off of imperialistic powers and domination, which is a terrible institution of itself. Not only that, but we teach the wealthiest of the wealthiest… which means we’re also contributing to classism and helping the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor within a system of imperial control. Our presence here, as much as it is nice to have a job, isn’t a positive thing.”

There’s a moment of silence and then the friend says, “Well that’s a nice way of putting it.”

Mar 21

Life Is Good.

The weather has been absolutely stunning this week.
Spring is here.
The camera finally arrived from India, with our memory card and all the photos.
I am getting a massage on Monday, then going to make vegan gnocchi with my girl friends.
I am going a month without alcohol, and am on day 5. Woo! Health!
I’ve registered for an intensive Chinese language course at BLCU for three months
My brothers are coming in May (FREAK OUT!!!)
I am taking a trip with my partner in crime to Hua shan (华山) during the Tomb Sweeping holiday.

aljazeeraamerica:

Uighur activist’s detention rallies China’s dissidents to his cause
In the six months before Uighur rights activist Ilham Tohti’s arrest, his website Uighurbiz.net filled with a crescendo of reports of an intensifying religious and socioeconomic crackdown on ethnic Uighurs in China — characterized as Beijing’s response to episodes of political violence that it blames on the predominantly Muslim minority.
Uighurs are the Turkic-speaking native inhabitants of China’s remote western region of Xinjiang, and many of the 9 million who live there fear a loss of livelihood and culture as majority Han Chinese settlers pour into their home region. In recent years Uighur resistance has grown in the region, which abuts Afghanistan and Kashmir. Uighur separatist groups such as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement have been implicated in sporadic attacks and riots, and the United States captured a handful of Uighurs at training camps in Afghanistan and detained them at Guantánamo Bay.
Continue reading
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Mar 20

8 Sneaky Ways to Eat More Veggies

Let’s face it—veggies aren’t exactly the cool kids of the food world. The dreaded fear of anything green, leafy and nutritious you adopted at the age of five prevailed into adulthood, and now it’s harder than ever to force yourself to choose a salad over an 18-inch pepperoni pizza with extra cheese and stuffed crust. We feel your pain, collegiettes; that’s why we found tastier ways to tweak your favorite recipes and get your daily dose of vegetables! Why veggies?

Soooo, I don’t exactly need to eat more vegetables (today’s lunch had broccoli, tomato, carrot, potato, and chickpeas with brown rice) but I think these recipes look fun.

The sweet potato pancakes sound tasty and I’m really curious about the cookie dough dip, I think I’d do it with raw cashew butter and raw sugar. All the recipes are easily veganized.

Hundreds of students occupy Taiwan's Legislature to protest China pact

Hundreds of students remained barricaded Wednesday in Taiwan’s legislature in protest of a trade pact with China that demonstrators say will hurt the island.

Mar 19

huffingtonpost:

A husband and wife from China who are each more than 100 years old have finally posed for a wedding photo -– 88 years after they tied the knot.
(Source: HAP / Quirky China News / Rex USA)

Mar 18

aljazeeraamerica:

Chinese relatives threaten hunger strike over missing Malaysian plane
Some Chinese relatives of passengers aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 threatened on Tuesday to go on a hunger strike to pressure Malaysian authorities to release more information about the search for the plane.
“Now we have no news, and everyone is understandably worried,” said Wen Wanchen, whose son is among the 239 people on the flight.
“The relatives say they will go to the [Malaysian] Embassy to find the ambassador. The Malaysian ambassador should be presenting himself here. But he’s not. Relatives are very unsatisfied. So you hear them saying ‘hunger strike’,” he said.
Continue reading
(Photo: Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images)

laughingsquid:

Object Élevé, A Clever Multipurpose Staircase

Because I’m so clumsy there are a few spots here where I wouldn’t be able to keep nice things. But please, please, bring this to my future home.

(via laughingsquid)

Mar 17

“We are different from other animals only by degree.” Animal behaviorist and 2014 TED Fellow Laurel Braitman studies mental health and mental illness in our fellow beings. Her forthcoming book, Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves, is a must-read. (via explore-blog)

(via explore-blog)