Rejected!

To be fair, this is one of the nicer rejection letters I’ve received. Also to be fair, the theme had to do with Baltimore, and were looking for submissions from people who had been born there or lived there for a time. Neither applied to me, but through the films of John Waters and Anne The Accidental Tourist Tyler, Baltimore is an American town I’d like to visit, but haven’t had a chance to.

Hi Gloria,  

Thank you for your recent submission of “Baltimore Through Film and Fiction” for the Y—– A—– Vignette on the theme of BLAZE. We appreciate you taking the time to share your story and know how difficult that can be at times.

At the moment, we have decided not to include your submission in our issue, though many of our readers praised your piece saying that there was an innate cleverness and curiosity in your writing. 

We encourage you wholeheartedly to keep telling your story. 

We sincerely thank you for sharing your work with us and the Y—– A—- team. It has been an immense privilege to consider so many gorgeous approaches to BLAZE. We received an abundance of pieces with tremendous heart and merit. While we simply could not include all submissions in this issue, there are many pieces that will be forever in our memories. The act of creation is a manifestation of great love and care. We cherish the opportunity to have engaged with your work and we know the right home for it is out there.

Please consider submitting to the fall Y—– A—- Journal (submissions open in August!) or for a different Vignette theme in the future as we are sure you have an incredible story to tell.

Warm regards,

Ed Itor

Tomorrow: The piece with “innate cleverness and curiosity.”

More of a Long, Long Post That You’ll Get Snippets From

Not only did I go out today, (Fourth of July) but I also did my hair and makeup. As draggy as I’ve been feeling lately, that’s something to celebrate. I want to see a doctor and get some tests done, just as a checkup. I don’t know if I am depressed or bored, or both, but there is a nagging feeling of fatigue that I just can’t seem to shake.

I’m not sure if it’s the transition from feeling like I’m working every day to vacation. I had to spend the last four weeks or so grading, and I did it so I wouldn’t feel burnt out every day. Thankfully, my university is very laid-back, and no one was cracking a whip to get the grades done. That’s a very good thing.

And I’ve got this mindset that I can’t truly have fun unless everything is done. No play before work, but if we truly lived our lives like that, no one would do anything fun. So I try to get a certain amount done before having lunch, taking a nap, or calling it quits.

Continued …

Not only did I go out today, (Fourth of July) but I also did my hair and makeup. As draggy as I’ve been feeling lately, that’s something to celebrate. I want to see a doctor and get some tests done, just as a checkup. I don’t know if I am depressed or bored, or both, but there is a nagging feeling of fatigue that I just can’t seem to shake.

I’m not sure if it’s the transition from feeling like I’m working every day to vacation. I had to spend the last four weeks or so grading, and I did it so I wouldn’t feel burnt out every day. Thankfully, my university is very laid-back, and no one was cracking a whip to get the grades done. That’s a very good thing.

And I’ve got this mindset that I can’t truly have fun unless everything is done. No play before work, but if we truly lived our lives like that, no one would do anything fun. So I try to get a certain amount done before having lunch, taking a nap, or calling it quits.

It’s a Long Story…

I haven’t written anything in a long time. I just haven’t felt like it. I’ve been feeling really blah lately. Thankfully I can take a break. I actually went out today. Had a late lunch at Subway, then did a little shopping, then walked around Three Lanes, Seven Alleys, which is a historical area with a pedestrian street. It’s great for people-watching and taking photos. The experience made me think maybe I’m truly a night person and can’t get started until late afternoon. Even when I came home, I had enough energy to write a review for TripAdvisor.

Tonight I found a Mexican restaurant that I’d looked for since I arrived here last August. I was still sort of full, so I opted for chips and salsa. I ended up with two kinds of salsa and a crock of guacamole and made a new friend in the process.

So that’s good.

And I guess I should relax. I’ve turned in my grades. I had to double-check some grades that somehow didn’t go through, but I found the students and resent the spreadsheets. So I hope that will be fine.

Long Time, No Post

I’m still here. Had a setback. I’ll still keep going.

I’ve been feeling rather blah lately. Not sure if it’s depression, or what.

There are some things I’m going to try this summer. I hate that I feel I can’t do more than one thing at once. For instance, work, and also carry on a hobby or do something while I’m working. I feel like it’s all work, or all play, and not a combination of some work and some play.

No shortage of things to write about either. Not sure what’s going on.

But I’m still here. Stay tuned for Hong Kong and Macau musings soon.

Nothing is New

Going on a tour tomorrow, so I’m posting Saturday night.

I’ve been super quiet on Facebook for a number of reasons.

Things have been going well, but I have been feeling blah for some reason.

Anyway, that’s it.

Some Chinese Surprises, Part Eight

Pastries are not as sweet as they are back home.

If you are in the mood for cake, you can buy it at a bakery. However, if you want it to taste like home, order the cake or brownie mix AND the frosting from Baopals. You won’t find cake mix OR frosting at the stores.

Forget about finding Hostess or Little Debbie or Mrs. Freshley’s. You’ll find different flavors of Orion Moon Pie. But if you’re craving a brownie, good luck. You’ll have to make it yourself.

Movie theaters do sell popcorn, but it will be covered in a sugar glaze, and not with butter and salt.

One thing to remember. Nearly everything here is the opposite of the U.S. It’s not uncommon to get free stuff here, like bowls, and drinking mugs/glasses, or tote bags taped onto a six-pack of yogurt, or soft drinks. Lots of pop culture tie-ins here. If I wanted one, I could go to Olé and get a Crayon Shinchan backpack filled with bags of assorted Lays potato chips. Just today (1-25/2025) I saw a display featuring red bowls taped on to a food item (sorry, couldn’t remember what it was.)

You won’t find a lot of thrift stores here.

Some Chinese Surprises, Part 8

People here are pretty nice. No one has yelled at me, “You are in China, speak Chinese,” or told me to “go back home.”

People will play their music or video games on the bus/subway quite loudly, even though there are signs that say not to do that.

There’s no central heating. Be prepared to invest in space heaters. Some apartments have heating and cooling units built in. But you’ll probably find heaters in the northern half of the country, air conditioning in the southern half. Even though it gets very hot in Fujian, the locals seem to think it’s hot all year round. It’s not uncommon for businesses to have their doors wide open even though it’s 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) outside. For a while in Xiamen, I avoided certain restaurants because I was tired of eating while freezing.

There are no clothes dryers. Everyone hangs their laundry outside.

Some Chinese Surprises, Part 7

Pastries are not as sweet as they are back home.

If you are in the mood for cake, you can buy it at a bakery. However, if you want it to taste like home, order the cake or brownie mix AND the frosting from Baopals. You won’t find cake mix OR frosting at the stores.

Forget about finding Hostess or Little Debbie or Mrs. Freshley’s. You’ll find different flavors of Orion Moon Pie. But if you’re craving a brownie, good luck. You’ll have to make it yourself.

Movie theaters do sell popcorn, but it will be covered in a sugar glaze, and not with butter and salt.

One thing to remember. Nearly everything here is the opposite of the U.S. It’s not uncommon to get free stuff here, like bowls, and drinking mugs/glasses, or tote bags taped onto a six-pack of yogurt, or soft drinks. Lots of pop culture tie-ins here. If I wanted one, I could go to Olé and get a Crayon Shinchan backpack filled with bags of assorted Lays potato chips. Just today (1-25/2025) I saw a display featuring red bowls taped on to a food item (sorry, couldn’t remember what it was.)

You won’t find a lot of thrift stores here.

Browsing is uncomfortable here. You can tell the clerks “Wo xiang kan kan” (I want to have a look) but they will still follow you around. And if you pick up something to examine it further, be prepared for a sales pitch.

You don’t tip people here.

Still More Chinese Surprises, Part 6

Eggs are 12 cents each

You can buy eggs one at a time if you like, in China.

The plastic egg trays also make good ice cube trays.

Ice isn’t a thing here in China. And if you do find ice cube trays, the ice cubes will be TINY.

There are stores here that sell nothing but fruit.

There are stores that sell veggies, eggs and meat.

You will get paid much more than your Chinese teaching colleagues. Do NOT talk about your salary. The only reason you’re getting more is that you are a native English speaker. Don’t flaunt your cash.

You might have to go to two or three grocery stores in order to get what you want. You will probably have to order certain things on Baopals. Yes, Walmart is here, but it’s not like it is in the U.S. There aren’t any makeup aisles and you’ll find a section dedicated to seaweed.

Stores close at ten p.m. You’ll find some businesses open 24 hours, but Walmart isn’t one of them. However, some McDonald’s and KFCs run 24/7.

Read the previous post here.

Check out my Patreon, https://www.patreon.com/c/PostcardsfromABroad.

I’m also on Medium too: https://medium.com/@gloriajanelldiaz7