I came to a provincial Chinese town during the memorable fall of 2017. To me, a 24 year old at the time, born in a town in the middle of Russia, China seemed like a whole other planet. I was surrounded by places named with unreadable characters, and was treated as an alien by the locals.

    Since I was raised in Ekaterinburg, which is proudly claiming to be located at the Europe-Asia border, I used to believe that I, at least, have an understanding of the “Asian” side (of Russia). Prior to moving to China I had visited a few European countries and in my mind, excluded everything that Russia had in common with Europe and had to work with whatever was left.

   That was my idea of Asia. Basically, I didn’t do my research before leaving Russia, and came to China unarmed, and with no expectations. It’s amusing to think that I live in Manhattan. “She’d like to live in Manhattan and share secrets....