: Xiao Hao
The Bard was right: Neither a borrower nor a lender be
My American friend Kate laughed at my story.

: Annette Fuller
Why a migrating bird must feather its own nest
I suffer from a bad case of "nesting", in that wherever I live, I have to set up my home so that I am surrounded by comfort and beauty.

: Raffi Williams
The No 1 rule of China's club scene: Age no bar
Before I got a chance to reflect on my first night out in Beijing, a group of expat teens approached me and began trash talk.　　I laughed at their feeble attempts to insult me.Clubbing in China was unique, as with many things here in Beijing, I have accepted the experience as different and am grateful for it.

: Ben Johnson
Looking for revenge for Chinese tones? Try onomatopoeia
Out of sympathy for my charges, I then took a shot at one of the most infamous Chinese tongue twisters.　　"Si shi si (4 is 4), shi shi shi (10 is 10), shi si shi shi si (14 is 14)," I stuttered with a modicum of success.

: David Drakeford
A very berry, merry experience in Beijing's suburbs
Strangely it seemed the farm wasn't open yet, although with negotiations we were finally allowed in to a long outbuilding containing row upon row of squat, potted green bushes and their undeniably attractive berries.One of them had no hesitation in pulling out the overripe berries from my poorly filled punnet and casting them aside.

: James Ritchie
Double trouble of twin girls in two cultures
Raising twins is complicated in any environment but when they are raised in a multicultural home the situation can get complicated and sometimes quite messy.

: Patrick Whiteley
Way to make peace with cocky cabbies
A taxi driver on the holiday island of Hainan in southern China said he didn't like my homeland of Australia and didn't like my fellow countrymen.

: Raymond Zhou
The dash for cash
When Zhang Yinan was filling out a job application form she came to "family financial status" and quickly skipped it.

: Xiao Hao
Who says China's new young are stubborn and spoiled?
The resignation letter from Chunxin came as a complete surprise. Just two years out of college, she was almost always the first to arrive in the morning and among the last to leave at night. At very meeting, she would have a pen in hand, taking notes diligently. She rarely asked questions, and when prompted to speak, she would blush and stammer. But she did her work beautifully, and every in a while, she would meekly voice a brilliant suggestion to make every head turn.

: Linda Yu
How my nagging made Shanghai roads safer
My expat friend jokes the "Linda factor" - a term awarded to me after pestering him on the dos and don'ts of drinking and driving - may have convinced him not to join his ball buddies for a few rounds of post-game beer the other night.

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