Introducing: The Otherside

While reading the Otherside's blog post titled "How to Survive in China as a Foreigner," it struck me that I've been in China long enough to be considered a "long-time resident." The phrase seems innocuous, but its deeper implications are none too pleasant: traffic jams are no loner novel, worthy of a picture from a pedestrian overpass; unholy hordes of humanity cease to become amusing, instead becoming annoying; a clear sky is just another day; and trashcans stranded amid an island of flowers and shrubs... eh.

Here's to hoping -- with a big thanks to Otherside's Christopher (read his letter to Mom and Dad) -- that China continues to impress and amaze me as it has for these past two years.