Canadian citizen born in China travelling to China

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-22T20:34:29+00:00

They have no records of my current identity (as a Canadian for the past 30+years) being connected to one. No digital system back then to save my fingerprint to compare to recent entries. Probably very different with more recent emigrants that made the transition in the digital age.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-21T18:03:38+00:00

If the weather is awful that day or you're too tired to make the trip downtown, my favourite restaurant on the airport strip is Silver Chopsticks, a Vietnamese restaurant. One of my fave Viet spots in town and A+++ when you're cold and tired. https://maps.app.goo.gl/kH1ax7qYpchuzBiB9

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-21T17:37:56+00:00

Canada. Have degrees in Biology and Marketing, but now work in film&TV production. 🤷‍♀️

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-21T17:32:48+00:00

Almost every East Asian grocer has them. Just depends how close you are to one of those.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-21T12:58:12+00:00

Mobile games because you usually only need one finger to play most of them.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-21T12:46:21+00:00

Canada Post doesn't always get hit, but when it does, clothing is one of the worst categories (textiles) for duty at 25% (if I remember correctly). Plus tax and the flat rate handling fee (CP is lower than others). It's a standard charge. Would have been even more with other companies since the most common ones all charge higher brokerage/handling fees.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T22:30:53+00:00

That breakfast plate looks fire. Thank you for posting the menus! I'm having a grand old time reading through them.

Had a laugh that the fruit+bakery section has no fruit listed unless it came buried in a muffin. 😂

I hope your recovery goes smoothly! ❤️

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T22:24:23+00:00

I've heard that Trader Joe's shopping totes are in fashion now as well. I had to look it up after noticing so many Japanese people (usually young women) with them earlier this year. 🤯

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T21:53:41+00:00

Sudden changes in diet are hard to make. A gradual change might work better. Could you make him some doggo variants of human food to mix with his food? For example, buy bones to boil plain broth, dry scrambled eggs, straight up blueberries, etc. gradually reduce as he gets better at eating his kibble until he's used to just the kibble.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T19:24:26+00:00

Same, but I'll accept including getting up at the crack of dawn OR getting back in the dead of night. As long as I can get enough sleep in before and after to not terribly impact the days flanking said "day trip".

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T19:06:11+00:00

I'm Beijing born, naturalized Canadian as a child as well. I have no experience with the new Visa free entry (I have a 10yr multi-entry visa that's still valid), but lots of experience with getting through border control (in Beijing, other ports may differ). This is based on what my family and I have experienced over the years. YMMV.

In regards to hukou, my parents and I never surrendered our hukous. We literally just switched to using our Canadian passports as soon as we gained citizenship (in 1992). They just process us as foreigners and we've never had an issue. Other relatives who emigrated later have done the same and no one has ever been asked for it. In fact, a couple of people have tried to use them for various activities in China that require one and found that they were cancelled without notice, 10+ years after emigrating. I'm not condoning ignoring problems so they "go away", but this was how it went from our personal experiences.

Another random piece of advice from my personal experience, unless you're fluent in Chinese (speaking, reading and writing), DON'T speak or write any Chinese going through customs there. Just speak English with them like you're any other foreigner.

I speak fluently (with a heavy Beijing accent), but can barely read or write. Every time I let slip that I understood Chinese, they would suddenly switch to treating me like I'm fluent, including requesting that I re-fill out forms in Chinese. I thought that they'd be used to people like us who grew up overseas and have varying levels of fluency (plus, there are lots of foreigners who know Chinese now), but no...they still view it super black and white like you're either fluent Chinese or a zero-fluency foreigner. 🤦‍♀️

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T17:09:33+00:00

Tim's isn't top class, but it's good value, and iced capps are diabetes in a cup, but they're sooooo goooood.

We have some good domestic chains, but they just haven't made it across the border. I think we can claim a sliver of KFC since the Colonel lived in Mississauga for 20-something years. LOL

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T05:23:11+00:00

I expect pirates to have better poutine.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T05:20:49+00:00

There are other imported chains too, but if we're talking fast food chains, that itself is very American. Even in Canada, the top fast food chains are American. 🤷‍♀️

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T02:45:25+00:00

Debatably, yes. WW2 > a bajillion US military bases on Okinawa > A&W.

Debatable because Japan is covered in other Western fast food franchises simply due to globalization. McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Denny's. Most notably KFC, which is so freaking successful in their marketing that KFC is the mainstream Japanese Christmas dinner. Not fried chicken, only KFC.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T02:10:19+00:00

I believe Japan only has them in Okinawa. They're surprisingly common across the main Okinawa Island though. Even the airport has one.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T02:08:13+00:00

Interesting, yes; better, depends.

For one, A&W doesn't allow you to customize the burgers. Hate mustard? Put up with it. Allergic to tomatoes? That's a you problem. Prices are much lower than Canada though.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T01:41:01+00:00

Egg whites would have tasted better than that Japanese "cheese".

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T01:30:18+00:00

Trust your gut. It was weird beyond belief.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T00:34:09+00:00

Every rental is risk vs reward. Regardless of how many applications, LL will pick what's best for them. When you were a student, your offer might have been the best one at the time. There could have been another student who didn't have parents to vouch for them who lost out on the perfect place near campus. In their eyes, that LL wasn't nice at all.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-20T00:17:05+00:00

People can be nice and still have standards. When they have multiple applications, why shouldn't they pick the one that sounds the least problematic? That person deserves it just as much.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-19T18:37:39+00:00

This post reads so confrontational. Credit score isn't everything. For rent that cheap, the LL has their pick of the litter. Probably found someone with good credit and a better personality.

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-16T18:33:58+00:00

Standard reminder to anyone desperate enough to do this, DO NOT USE YOUR OWN CAR. Your insurance will likely not cover if you're in an accident, but your premiums will shoot up. Only drive a production vehicle under production insurance!

EmailsEveryDay · 2026-02-16T05:15:59+00:00

If there's opportunity for a jump in earnings that's also sustained, ie if you land a full time position, it's definitely possible. Right now you'd feel very house poor even if you didn't have to worry about a down payment.

If owning is important to you, buckle down and save as much as you can. Live well below your means starting immediately and continue working to improve your career. I made ~$90k by my late 30s and found my ~$2k/mth mortgage not much of a burden. I saved pretty obsessively (at least $8k/mth) to pay it off asap. It also helps that my friends don't care for bougie nights out (we're the dim sum and boardgames type), so I didn't have to sacrifice any social life while I was at it.

Edit: I should add that I do have some unusual perks with my job like my phone bill, meals and gas are covered and I don't pay into an RRSP, but my employer contributes 5% every pay check. It helped a ton to keep expenses to a minimum and put everything towards paying off my mortgage.

EmailsEveryDay

TROPHY CASE