Jumé Irmscher

  One of the reasons we picked our current flat was the antique market that’s casually sprawled behind our compound. It’s a charming 2-block stroll with Chinese antiquities all around. And as a bonus, the vendors here aren’t as obnoxious as those at the fake markets.

How does that expression go? Time flies when you’re having fun? OR time flies when you are preparing to immigrate to another country, you're writing (ludicrously difficult) exams to speak that country's language and then you find out that you might not be able to even enter that country because of all sorts of (unnecessary) red tape. And all this was just last week. 

You know they say that a photo says a thousand words. I won’t attempt to write a thousand today, but I will give you the story behind this photo and why I simply love it.

Every writer dreams of seeing his/her work published and appreciated. I just never knew that my writing dream would come true by attending a photography class.

My apologies, I wanted to make slideshow of all the photographs on my trip in Tibet, but I (again) underestimated the speed and agility of the Internet in China. What should have taken, maximum, 20 minutes to upload, took, instead, 1 week. The agony? Frustration? Hey, I'm just happy I can finally upload this video of the photos you guys had such great responses to. Thanks for the support and likes.  For once, I'll stop talking now and let you enjoy the highlights of my trip to Tibet. May it instantly transport you to the mysterious, adventurous, and inspirational journey that is Tibet. 

Not all is bad in China. At least not all the time.   It took me longer to write this post than originally planned. I guess after the rather negative previous article, karma stepped in and since then China’s been a little more sadistic than usual. I guess it’s easy to say that inspiration failed me in writing about the things I love here. However, seeing as this is supposed to be an “optimistic” post, I’ll spare you the details of my past week and jump right into being positive.

In China, no one is ever safe from the constant head-splitting symphonies of construction. If you’re out and about on the streets, you’ll have to duck and dive the physical process of construction and getting away from the ear-deafening sounds are unavoidable, but the moment you get kicked out of your own bed at 07:00 am because the deafening hammering is coming from both above and next to your home, well then those moments go on the “I really hate China” list. And that’s where I am now. As I’m sitting here, the drilling followed me from my bedroom to the bathroom, to the kitchen and now finally decided that they’re more comfortable with staying in my study. I have the drill on the left and the bone-crushing hammer on the right. My management agent is avoiding my calls and texts and every now and then my desk vibrates from the rattling going on behind the paper-thin wall.

The Legend I have this curse that I get jingles stuck in my head and I’ll walk around with that tune on repeat sometimes for months. This time is the Spiderman theme song. While traveling Tibet, we saw that some people simply stash heaps of prayer flags on top of each other like a heap of paper-mâché garbage. While seeing this, at the same time, I was also humming the Spiderman theme and came up with this little tune: Spidermonk Spidermonk Goes around Spreading gunk In a tree Up a hill We don’t care We call him “Bill” Look out Here comes the Spidermonk! I’ve been sharing this rhyme enthusiastically all trip, but my creative efforts went unappreciated. I’m hoping I get another type of crowd here or at least get a giggle. But, I know you’re not here for my artistic rhyming, you want what the title promises, you want the goods on Mount Everest. Even its name gives the impression of a stellar Titan. I’m trying to find a word to best describe what

 The Capital When I think of  Tibet  images of Buddha, monks, monasteries, and yaks come to mind. But undoubtedly, most of you will also think of Lhasa: the capital and cultural hub of Tibet and also home to the renowned Potala Palace. My husband mentioned something very true while we stared in awe up at it. He said that even as a child you know about these iconic buildings, like the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids and the Potala Palace, but it’s amazing that even as a child, knowing about these places, you never thought that you’d get to see most of them in your lifetime. Especially not the ones located on the other side of the planet. Think about it. How many friends can you count on one hand, who’s seen the Eiffel Tower in real life? And how many friends do you know who’s seen the Potala Palace? I think my husband also tried to emphasize that it’s an amazing feeling to get to stand  right  in front of it, having known about something this iconic only from pictures. It’s almost lik

Tibet. There are so many facets to this massive region. Free Tibet . Religious Tibet. Mysterious Tibet. Honestly, I just wanted to go because it’s normally closed off to tourists. It’s like a forbidden piece of candy you’re not allowed to have because the Man (China, in this case) only wants to keep it for himself. To put it mildly, I was curious. So once the borders opened (this is an on and off again occurrence) my husband and I basically tripped over ourselves to get permits and explore the verboten paradise.

How does one start a good first blog post? I mean, how do you write only a few first lines that just go "bam!" and your audience is hooked? Something controversial would probably do the trick. Sexcercise! Last night, while getting my rear back into shape in the gym, I had a good workout as well a semi-pornographic show to boot. Two newlyweds were way more interested in toning each other's bodies than their own. Maybe something funny? Why did the scarecrow win the noble prize? Because he was outstanding in his field. That's my best joke, you won't get anything better than that I'm afraid. Perhaps something current? Open nominations for Hong Kong leader nominations have been ruled out by Chinese authorities. But honestly, I couldn't care less. I'm more interested in Chibatman. A caped crusader in Japan that drives around on his "Chibatpod" to make the people of Chiba happy.  A brilliant Ephiny? Life's really short. And if I e