River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze

I was first recommended this book by a white guy from Kentucky when I lived in Beijing, so naturally I ignored his recommendation. I got re-interested in it after reading Peter Hessler's writings in the New Yorker, and when my cousin gave it to me as a gift. It's a very good book; clear, quick-moving, and frequently hilarious. It continually surprised me how much Hessler's analyses of Chinese culture overlapped with my own, and maybe that's why I liked it so much. I was constantly amused by how much the Sichuanese peasants reminded me of my parents and how weird they are. Recommended if you want to know about China and what it means to be Chinese.

This book was assigned as part of an AP English course in HS and I liked it so much I revisited it frequently and I have never forgotten it. I think it's time for another visit and to read the other two books in this trilogy.

Read this for a Uni class. Really personal touch on a journey that is not so easy. Really makes me look at the intricacies of culture and politics that go into simply being in a foreign country, let alone one that has many sensitivities about foreigners, but without it feeling like it was all about that. (Also makes me feel SO terrible for still not being able to master the Chinese language damn, I really just need me a regular local noodle shop)