In some countries you pay your electricity every month to an electric company, based on what amount you have used for the preceding month. When you set up the account they will come by and check your meter and begin the count. In the Komaba International House in Japan, near Tokyo University’s Komaba campus, where [...]
In many countries you’re required to register your place of residence with some local government body. I think this is technically also the case in Norway, although I’ve rarely done it, but it’s something that I’ve now had to do both in Japan and China. In Korea, either because of my unusual visa status during [...]
I have just gotten settled in here in Jinan, in Shandong province, China. Except for a few weeks in Shanghai and Nanjing, I’ll be here until the end of next April doing my dissertation research affiliated with Shandong University. A young history masters student who has been helping me out since I got here and [...]