April 15th, 2020

Dear Future Me,

Who knows if you’ll even end up reading this but here goes nothing. 2020 was definitely was of one its kind. I expected senior year to be anything but quarantine. When I meant I wanted snow days and days off, I definitely didn’t mean 1 month+ of no school. And to be honest, at this point I’m not even sure we’ll even go back to school either at this rate.

Surprisingly, I don’t mind it too much, other than the fact that I really miss seeing my friends. I feel like I definitely needed this break from school and the stress of balancing everything while deciding where to go to college. I never really had a lot of time for self-care and self-improvement, and staying at home has given me lots of time to reflect on myself and learn new things. Here’s my current life:)))))

The rules:

The parents have been more chill but also not chill. They definitely do not agree with my sleep schedule, which is bad but not as bad as some of my other friends. Their rule is to go to sleep by 12, which is reasonable, but it just doesn’t work for quarantine-me. I find myself getting distracted often and I go to bed slightly after. What’s worse is that I have a really bad habit of staying up and watching c-dramas in the dark until around 2 a.m. and then I get distracted just googling random things until I realize its 3 a.m. and then I actually sleep. The parents also dislike me sleeping past noon, but at this point, they have given up waking me up before noon because let’s be real, it doesn’t work and I just go back to sleep. They also require me to exercise or move somehow each day, which isn’t all that bad. Also, they force me to do the dishes now.

Leaving the house:

The parents want me to get out of the house, so sometimes they take my sister and I ‘grocery shopping’. And by ‘grocery shopping’ I mean we sit in the car while they wear the gloves and masks and get the groceries. I get that they want us to get out of the house, but come on, we are literally just sitting there on our phones like we would be doing at home. We do sometimes go to Blackwell, Herrick Lake, St. James Farm, or just the neighborhood for walks while social distancing, which I do appreciate a lot. I’ve also gotten a shot sometime in March (scary!) but luckily it was just at a small clinic and it’s been more than 2 weeks now so we safe:)))

C-dramas:

I’m about to finish my 4th c-drama since the quarantine today (2 more episodes of I Cannot Hug You Season 2 tonight after lights out to go!). I started Beautiful Time With You the Friday of quarantine and while it was pretty much your stereotypical high school c-drama, it made me really nostalgic thinking about high school and senior year even though the ending was trash. I’m still hoping for season 2, which could potentially turn the ending around. I finished Well Intended Love Season 2 and I Cannot Hug You, which were both mediocre c-dramas but at least that meant it was easier not to accidentally binge-watch too many episodes. The Sweet Love Story (written by the same author as Put Your Head on My Shoulder and A Love So Beautiful) just started airing right now and I want to watch it next but I’ll probably binge it too fast and be forced to wait for new episodes so I’ll probably watch this t-drama called Someday Or One Day first with insanely high ratings.

Bubble Tea:

Going to Chicago for prime boba is obviously out of the question and eating too many brown sugar bubble tea popsicles hurts my wallet a little too much, so me and Emily have nearly perfected our bubble tea recipe, which we usually make every other day. We always said that we would make our own bubble tea since buying boba adds up, but we actually never got around to it until now and guess what, it’s so much cheaper, super easy, and actually tastes good.

Ingredients: water, any type of black tea, 1/4 cup tapioca, brown or (black? ) sugar, hot milk

Instructions: Make black tea slightly stronger than you would typically drink. While the tea leaves are steeping in hot water, make tapioca according to instructions on the packet. After following the instructions braise tapioca by boiling 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar, then add tapioca and lower heat to a simmer until the sugar water turns to thick syrupy-ness. Split boba and syrup between 2 cups, add tea, milk, and sugar depending on taste. To be extra fancy, whip the milk for milk foam and garnish with sugar on top (and torch?). Serves 2.

Things I’ve been doing to pass time:

1. Rilakkuma Farm. The cutest game. Anything Rilakkuma themed is my kryptonite and even though it is such a waste of time, I keep checking my phone for updates.
2. Puzzle. Remember that 3000 piece puzzle you bought during the summer before sophomore year that you were convinced you would finish but never did and then realized you were never going to finish? I’ve been so bored that I’ve actually been doing it! I actually only have maybe 1/5 of the puzzle left and with at the rate corona is going, I might actually finish this before I go off to college!
3. Baking. Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate Brownies from the Costco mix (the best!), failing to make ice cream mochi. Chocolate chip cookies.
4. Bullet journaling. JK. I’ve stopped and I want to get back into it. I found some adorable studying/bullet journal accounts on Instagram for inspo and I am INSPIRED. Unfortunately, April is half over by today…so maybe I will just doodle in place for the past 2 weeks and start my spread tomorrow.
5. Working out. I’m doing a 2 week ab challenge to try to get abs??? the parents are quite proud of me for not being a potato though:)) Hopefully, I will continue working out, but we are just trying it out for now.
6. Writing. Kinda. At first, I wanted to learn how to write with my left hand, but I’ve stopped practicing. We are still practicing the crusty calligraphy and writing random things and putting those brush pens to good use though!

Anyways, quarantine hasn’t been too terrible to me, as you can tell, and so far I’ve been doing well and sleeping in. My heart goes out to everyone that has been hardened by this crisis whether physically, mentally, or economically. I hope that society pulls through stronger than ever (hopefully by the time you’re reading this they have). I hope you are doing well, and I hope that you are happy.

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

 

With tons of free time ever since school was let out due to coronavirus, I’ve been binging c-dramas left and right, watching anywhere from 2-6 episodes a day (oops!).

In case anyone’s exhausted my previous c-drama recommendations to kill off boredom, here’s 4 new modern c-dramas to watch (in no particular order)!

The World Owes Me a First Love (世界欠我一个初恋) – 10.0/10

My favorite c-drama EVER! Okay, obviously giving it a 10 was super biased, but this c-drama is SO cute and never fails to bring a smile to my face so personally, I think it is SO worthy of a 10. I’ve rewatched this c-drama completely twice, and some individual episodes multiple times. The drama follows an innocent and lucky Xing Yung, CEO Xia’s personal assistant, as she embarks on her journey to understand/discover love and dating as part of her boss’s conditions to become a game developer for a dating game. Definitely not your average office c-drama, I would describe it more as youthful office drama with strong coming-of-age and friendship themes involved. I also absolutely love the cute sound effects, which was just like the ones in Put Your Head On My Shoulder, since they add so much subtle humor and character! Obviously this drama can cliche or over-the-top at times, but it does preach a lot of important messages like final love does not need to be your first love to be special and that love should be genuine above all. Ultimately, it’s just an adorable c-drama that you can never go wrong watching!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V5ZnsJdrfQ

Well-Intended Love (奈何BOSS要娶我) – 7.0/10

When I was watching Well-Intended Love, I just couldn’t stop watching (and yes, this was during finals week so maybe I also just wanted to procrastinate) and finished it within the entirely of finals week. This drama is veryy dramatic (to the point when its unrealistic at times) and has a lot of random plot twists, but overall I still found it engaging. Essentially, the storyline follows Xia Lin, an aspiring A-list actress, who enters a contract relationship with Ling Yizhou, a CEO of a large company, in order to undergo treatment for cancer. There’s a lot of controversy about this drama, especially since the male protagonist and antagonist(s?) are overly possessive at times and seems to not understand the ideas of boundaries very well, as sometimes their actions are just WAY out of line. However, I felt like this drama was still very entertaining, had a lot of sweet moments, and didn’t take it too seriously (WHICH YOU MUST KEEP IN MIND IF YOU DECIDE TO WATCH!!!).

Note: also just started watching Well Intended Love Season 2, which is kinda weird because instead of a continuation of season 1 it’s like an alternate universe with the pretty much the same characters…? Definitely not enjoying it as much though, and the characters don’t exactly appeal to me completely so I might drop it…we will see…

Trailer (S1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqqGM2wgP5o

Trailer (S2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBmENw1P2qE

Please Love Me (拜托，请你爱我) – 7.5/10

Another one of those contract relationship/marriage c-dramas! The plot follows Pei Youyou, a lonely nail artist with a nonexistent family life, as she tries to make ends meet. One day, as she is going to a nail appointment, she gets into a car accident with her popular idol Yi Han at the wrong time and reluctantly enters a contractual relationship with him in order to save his reputation from plummeting. I liked this one a little more than Well-Intended Love, for the obvious character flaws that aren’t found in this drama. Also unlike Well-Intended Love, Youyou and Yi Han didn’t like each other at first (which is more realistic) so you could watch the satisfying process of the characters slowly growing and developing. I also really appreciate this side of female independence we see in Youyou, which can be hard to find in some c-dramas. Youyou doesn’t need or want to depend on a man in her life but is still fiercely loyal and supportive of Yi Han even though she didn’t want to enter this relationship. Most importantly, she is always there for him and willing to give him advice, but doesn’t give up her own ambitions for the sake of his.

Side Note: there is a giant Garfield plush in the story and it is TOO cute:)))

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiWY5-Cr-rc

Beautiful Time With You (时光与你都很甜) – 9.0/10

Finally, another high school c-drama after months of more mature adult-like ones!! The storyline in Beautiful Time with You follows an adorable student, Lin Xing Chen, through high school as she transfers into a new high school and becomes seatmates with the super-smart class president, Lu Yi Bai. Although Lin Xing Chen is very unlucky and keeps running into all sorts of situations, she is usually optimistic and never stays down for too long (which puzzles Lu Yi Bai)! There are so many powerful themes and life lessons, most notably living in the moment/youth, and I felt like I could really relate to the characters and friendships in the drama. Beautiful Time With You also reminds me of the high school drama A Love So Beautiful in terms of the main characters and the strong coming-of-age and friendship themes, although I’d argue that BTWY is a little more cliche and unfinished when compared to ALSB since it lasts only through high school with a college bonus episode while ALSB extends throughout young adulthood and brings more closure. However, I heard the screenwriters are making another season, which could really polish the drama’s potential and strengthen the ending, so I look forward to (potentially) season 2! But until S2 comes out, better watch this wholesome drama and get sucked up into Lin Xing Chen’s infectious happiness to brighten up your quarantine mood first!

PSA: BTWY also has the subtle but adorable sound effects!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du6OXcSsLI0

VIEWING

The World Owes Me a First Love is available on Viki with English subtitles, Well-Intended Love 1 (and 2) are on subbed on Netflix and Youtube, while Please Love Me and Beautiful Time With You are available on just Youtube (partially subbed and raw only).

So hurry up and pick a drama from this list or my previous recs to cure your quarantine boredom!

HAPPY C-DRAMA WATCHING!

Standing at a mere 4 feet and 11 inches, I’m usually the shortest person in my classes (and usually AT LEAST a head shorter than most my friends). While I used to be overly sensitive about my height (more like lack of height) throughout middle school and the beginning of high school, I have gotten used to and even embraced my identity of mostly likely forever being a super smol human :)))). Here are some things that tall + normal-sized people just may never be able to understand or get away with.

STRUGGLES

1. Finding Clothes That Fit

Okay, not just a short person problem, but being an extreme (like being super tall or short) makes shopping even worse since basically clothes are geared towards the average person, not a short or tall person. My clothes are usually the smallest size I can find, but may still too long if not completely too big. I have to cuff my jeans (jeans are already ‘short’ though) while my leggings & sweats are always scrunched up at the bottoms. Loose pants are not the mood as they have to be hemmed or I will step and trip over them. Tops are also usually too long, so I have gotten used to half-tucking most shirts or buying crop tops. Buying dresses, especially long ones, is also a nightmare. When I was little, I used to joke about being shorter than long dresses. 10 years later…unfortunately this is still true :((

2. Restaurant Portions are Too Big

There are probably some short people out there who can manage to eat large or normal amounts of food (possibly due to intense exercise or other factors) but most short people like me will tend to eat less food than their taller counterparts in order to feel full. Since restaurant portions are usually geared to the AVERAGE person and larger, they will be too big for some short people to finish on their own. This leads to the problem of always having leftovers, which can be good or bad. On one hand, if the food is good, you get to have another delicious meal with minimal effort. However, if you made a mistake of ordering a bad dish, you are either stuck with eating the same food for another meal or the guilt throwing the food away (just think of all the starving people in this world, and here you are, wasting your food).

The solution? Sharing is caring. When eating out with my family & friends, we always order less and share dishes to save money) and sample more food.

3. Buffets + All-You-Can-Eat = No

Yeah…when you can’t even finish most restaurant entrees usually costing $10 – $20, paying more money to have unlimited food that you can’t even eat enough to get your money’s worth kinda sucks. It’s like those wishing ponds where you throw you loose change for a wish: spending the money is good in theory but it is actually kinda pointless, saving your cash will allow you to invest in better ways. That’s not to say you should never go to buffets, get sushi, k-bbq, or hotpot but you should avoid going too often and make sure to have lots of mental preparation to stuff yourself to the max.

Hack: for buffets, skip the cheap stuff and soft drinks (aka cheap carbonated sugar water) for the expensive seafood like King Crab and lobster. That’s where the money’s at.

4. High Shelves + Cabinets

Do I even need to elaborate??? The short population and I are just not tall enough to reach many things and ask for the gracious help of our taller friends :))

5. Getting Lost in Crowds

Tall people have no problem finding each other in crowded hallways, streets, or concerts since they just need to look around and then they see each other. Meanwhile, short people just get buried in the crowds of people (and eye-level backpacks?). I’m sure many of my friends can vouch for times when they are walking with me in hallways and somehow I just disappear and they can’t find me (hint: I’m probably stuck between strangers and backpacks, trying to find my way out). It’s especially bad in the crowded hallways leading up to the fieldhouse/large cafe, where I usually get lost at least once per week.

STRENGTHS

1. More (cheaper) Options for Clothing and Shoes!

Most short people tend to have smaller feet, which may be able to fit into kids’ shoe sizes. Normally, I’m a women’s 6, which is around a kid’s 4.5. For some brands, they may make similar shoes for adults and kids, but the kid’s size is usually cheaper, so you can usually save $10-$20. Similarly for clothing, I usually can fit into a women’s XS and maybe S, but also a kid’s L (but also XL & M depending on the brand). Although shopping in the kid’s section is also cheaper, please note that it does requires more time sorting out acceptable clothes (not too kiddie) and also sacrificing a little bit of your dignity.

 

2. Oversize Sweatshirts

Since the smallest size for sweatshirts is an S and they usually run big anyways, most sweatshirts on short people are oversized anyways. It’s gotten to a point when I’m surprised if I find a sweatshirt that is small enough so that it ISN’T oversized.

3. Kid’s Meals

There’s no shame and judgment when getting a kid’s meal when you literally are the size of a kid and look like a kid. Meanwhile, when you are a tall person getting a kid’s meal, you’re bound to get a few funny looks.

4. Kid’s Buffet/Pricing

Although buffets are expensive, they can suddenly become worth it for a short person, that is if you and your family are willing to say a little white lie about your age in order to get the cheaper kid’s pricing. You might remember Sweet Tomatoes, a buffet-style restaurant that closed a few years ago. Well, my parents used to pretend that my sister and I were still under 12 to get the $19.99 family meal deal, even after I turned 14 and she turned 13! I was extremely sad when they closed, but this trick still works.

5. Wide Availability of Shade

It’s a hot day and you’re burning up. What do you do? Tall people are taller, so, unfortunately, they are stuck with the brunt of the burning sunlight. However, all short people need to do is to stand on the right side of a taller person and guess what, you have your own personal sun blocker! Unlike a tree, they can also move with you and continue to block the sun for you as you move, as long as you ask nicely. In addition to blocking sunlight, tall people also have multiple uses as rain and snow blockers.

To all the short people out there, get yourself some tall friends that also serve as shade, rain, and snow blockers!

 

Maybe being 4’11” isn’t exactly ideal, but there are still benefits of being overly short. And on the plus side, at least I’m still growing at the slow 0.25 inch per year rate. I will never grow to be tall, but 5 ft is reachable. Moral of the story: be happy with what you have and you will be happier!

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

What do you do when you get your phone stolen?

Okay, so here’s the backstory. A couple of weeks ago, after getting home from the badminton preseason meeting, I noticed my phone was missing. I checked my backpack and everything, even tracked it online but it was clearly not at school where I had last used it and was moving along Washington, so it became evident that someone had taken my phone (why they would want to steal a slightly cracked and outdated iPhone 7 with a faulty touchscreen with a resale value of probably around $100-150, but with at least a $50 investment in repairs is beyond me). After much stress and struggle, I managed to get my phone back. Here’s what I did, what you should do in case of a stolen phone, and what you should probably avoid doing.

Disclaimer: What works for me may not work for you! This guide serves as only a non-comprehensive guide to be used with other resources online!

1. STALK THE PHONE

First, before you do ANYTHING, make sure you actually lost the phone and by lost, I mean not accidentally misplacing your phone somewhere. Try searching your bag, hands, pockets,  and nearby surroundings a couple of times or even straight-up calling your phone a few times with a friend’s phone if it’s not on mute.

If you still can’t find your phone after much effort, try tracking your phone. Smartphones are especially helpful in this aspect because phones usually have preinstalled tracking apps that can be accessed either online or on a friend’s phone. Although these apps may not be 100% accurate to the exact location, they will point you to the general location on a map. This can also help gauge if you simply just misplaced the phone, or if it actually got stolen (phone moving on a road or phone found at a different location shows high possibility, both of which I noticed while tracking my phone on the Find My iPhone). For Apple users that have misplaced their iPhone or know the thief is nearby, you can use the ‘play sound’ feature on Find My iPhone to find your phone by year.

2. CONTEMPLATE YOUR NEXT ACTIONS

There’s a lot of different paths you can take if you noticed that your phone is legitimately gone. If you’ve lost it at somewhere you regularly frequent (school for me, but possibly workplaces or public areas/shops) there’s a chance that someone simply accidentally took your phone or kept it for safekeeping and might return it the next day. Maybe give it a day or two and don’t directly jump to conclusions. However, there are some additional steps you can take to ensure the highest possibility of getting your phone back, following this step.

3. LOCK THE PHONE

Hopefully, you have working passcode(s) of some sort to protect your personal information. If not, you run the possibility of identity theft and loss of money (online credit cards, Venmo, Apple/Samsung Pay, etc. on your phone). Luckily for you, some tracking apps make it possible to lock your phone through the tracking app so your money and personal information can be protected to some degree.

4. SPAM THE PHONE

Call it by using your friend’s phone. Text it too (I like a mixture of polite texts but also using the fear factor with threats of calling the cops on the thief).

5. NOTIFY THE PHONE

Turn on lost mode (Apple users only, but most brands have an equivalent) and set a phone number to contact you, as well as the message to show up on the phone’s screen.  Lost mode also automatically locks your phone and turns on low power mode to maximize battery life.

6. CONFRONT THE THIEF

Disclaimer: This may or may not be an extremely terrible idea. Although I personally went with my parents and followed my phone to someone’s house, it also could’ve been very dangerous. Proceed at your own caution!!!

If you’ve waited and you are sure that the thief probably isn’t going to return your phone anytime soon, an option is to follow the tracking app to your phone and ask for your phone back.

However, this could prove to be very dangerous. You may not know where exactly the place is and you don’t know who took your phone. You also don’t know if they could or will actually hurt you, but one thing is clear: your life isn’t worth risking for retrieving a stolen phone. Try using Google Maps street view and the tracked address to gauge whether the phone’s location is safe or sketchy. If in doubt, you can also try calling the police station and asking for advice.

Also, if you do confront the thief, be careful. Definitely be polite and firm but NOT accusatory when asking for your phone back. The person who answers the door may not be the thief and may not know what’s going on, so have so respect for them. If they deny having the phone, you can use the ‘play sound’ feature or call your phone to make it go off and possibly expose them. If that still doesn’t work,  you can firmly but NOT rudely threaten to call the cops or just leave then call the cops.

7. CALL THE COPS

If you’ve done everything you can and the thief won’t return your phone or if the thief/phone location is potentially dangerous, it’s a sign to step back and let the police handle the case. Call the cops, file a police report, and give them your number/phone’s serial number so they can track the phone. There’s nothing else you can do but hope you get the phone back but if you have insurance for your phone, the police report may allow you to get some money for it.

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

Want to get into c-dramas, but don’t know what to watch? This blog post’s for you!

Following up on my guide to watching c-dramas, I decided to rate all the (modern) c-dramas I’ve finished since I started in spring during spring break of last year. Here’s the first half of the (still-growing) list!

Love 020 (微微一笑很倾城) – 7.5/10

Love o2o is a college drama, but it’s not just your typical one love at first sight style ones. Plot twist: Xiao Nai falls for Weiwei’s gaming skills! The drama features the sole female Top 10 PK player “Luwei Weiwei” and #1 PK player “Yixiao Naihe”, who meet over the video game “A Chinese Ghost Story” (who needs Tinder when you have video games?) and get married to complete quests. Coincidentally, they actually go to the same college: “Weiwei” is actually the CS goddess Bei WeiWei and “Naihe” is actually the senior star student, Xiao Nai. This drama, although stereotypical at times and not perfect (worst kissing!), is a refreshing change to the miscommunication found in typical dramas. The side characters also add so much depth and emphasize the importance of friendship, while adding much-needed humor + roasts, both offline and online. Besides the drama, but the OSTs in the Love o2o are all amazing and fit the drama so well, especially the ending song.  Yang Yang’s (actor playing Xiao Nai) voice is just so soothing and the song is so adorable. I could listen on repeat.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiiN4rDwa8g

Put Your Head on My Shoulder (致我们暖暖的小时光)- 9.5/10

The most wholesome college drama ever! PYHOMS lowkey has a Doraemon theme which I love, but basically everything about the drama is too adorable, I’m just so obsessed. Even the sound effects and music/OSTs are just too cute and it adds so much to the c-drama’s humor and adorableness. Like A Love So Beautiful (psst! they are both drama adaptations from different books of the same author), it’s a coming of age drama, featuring a confused accounting but aspiring advertising student, Si Tu Mo, that accidentally rooms with a genius (painfully socially awkward) physics student, Gu Wei Yi, helping her get her life together for after graduation. This drama’s definitely more of a lighthearted rom-com/sitcom as there’s not a whole lot of plot, but it makes up that through its relatability + hilarious awkward moments (especially Gu Wei Yi’s dating struggles) + adorable relationship goals.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERY3SqKoL68

A Love So Beautiful (致我们单纯的小美好)- 9.5/10

Tired of your typical guy-chases-girl type shows? This one’s for you. Here’s THE high school drama that definitely won’t disappoint! This refreshing coming-of-age drama starts off with an adorably short student, Chen Xiaoxi, chasing a super tall model student (who rejects her, kind of rudely at times) all throughout high school as they grow up and mature into young adults. But don’t worry, Xiaoxi isn’t discouraged, she’s going to keep chasing him until he likes her back. I love especially love this drama because it’s so relatable to high school students, has the purest moments, and teaches important life lessons. Besides, Xiaoxi’s happiness and smile are so infectious and you just won’t be able to stop yourself smiling and laughing along with her as she learns to conquer the gaokao and obstacles in life.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvuM-M6IrRE

Before We Get Married (我們不能是朋友)- 8.5/10

Not a c-drama, but a t-drama (Taiwanese drama, still in Chinese so close enough)! First of all, this drama was more mature and intense than any of c-dramas previously watched (esp. the first 2 episodes which are overly aggressive/almost rape-like, but definitely goes up from there). Essentially, this drama is about Zhou Weiwei and Chu Kehuan, who essentially cheat on their significant other with each other.  Although cheating is obviously bad, this drama brings an interesting take and a somewhat more realistic light to unhappy/unhealthy relationships, the importance of self-love/dignity, and a different side of cheating, all of which I applaud the producers for. I also do have to say, the leads Puff Kuo and Jasper Liu have AMAZING chemistry (tbh modern c-drama chemistry just can’t beat) and they just sell the drama so well. Although the drama is definitely more on the short side with only 13 episodes, the fact that each episode is super intense, addicting, and a rollercoaster of emotions makes this worth watching.

Trailers: https://www.viki.com/videos/1151525v-trailer , https://www.viki.com/videos/1151526v-ending-theme-song

Pleasantly Suprised/Love Myself or You (喜歡·一個人)- 9.0/10

(Pleasantly) Surprise(d)! Another t-drama! This one actually came out in 2014 but has the same leads from Before We Get Married + some more (hint: Boss lady Jessica in BWGM = Bao Zhu Jie, the waitress). Since I watched Before We Get Married as it was being released 1 ep/week, I picked this cooking drama up as I was waiting for new episodes. This is probably the cheesiest drama I’ve ever watched, but it’s so wholesome and hilarious, complete with the overly dramatic Mozart + cooking/food + sound effects. Like Before We Get Married, this t-drama is pretty unconventional, featuring an independent female protagonist with an abusive father while being basically a single mom taking care of her dead sister’s son and your boy-next-door protagonist with an overly controlling brother, working at Figaro Cuisine as chefs. It can be slightly over the top at times, but it’s such a lighthearted comedy and honestly much watch after an intense BWGM binge to relax, or even if you just want some laughs.

Trailers: https://www.viki.com/videos/1039560v-trailer-1, https://www.viki.com/videos/1040360v-trailer-2

Viewing

I double-checked and made sure that all of these c/t-dramas are available to watch for free on Viki with completed english subtitles. So pick a drama, and get watching!

HAPPY C-DRAMA WATCHING!

My biggest discovery of 2019 was my obsession with c-dramas, or Chinese dramas.

During spring break, I was at my best friend Samantha’s house, completely bored out of our minds. We didn’t know what to do, or even what to watch on TV. My sister suggested a Chinese drama that she had been watching, Love 020. With nothing else we could’ve possibly done, we decided to give it a go. 5 minutes later, we were hooked.

Little did I know, this was only the beginning of my c-drama obsession. After finishing Love O2O, I couldn’t help but look for more c-dramas to binge-watch.

3 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH C-DRAMAS

1. You can learn/improve your Chinese! Or get motivated to learn Chinese!

Funny story, awhile ago, my dad told my mom he noticed that my Chinese was improving all of a sudden (even though I had already stopped taking Chinese classes). My mom’s answer? She’s watching c-dramas!

Watching c-dramas exposes you to common conversational vocabulary that might not be taught at your average Chinese school or Chinese class, but might be useful to know. Depending on the drama, there also might be some difficult Chinese phrases that appear from time to time. This is when English subs for explanations come in handy! Ultimately, c-dramas are just a fun way to exercise your Chinese listening skills, regardless of skill level.

2. Huge variety to choose from, so you’ll never get bored!

Maybe you like action, history, fantasy, war, romance, or comedy. Or maybe something else. Whatever it is, there will be something to choose from. C-dramas come in all genres, and there’s something for every genre (although personally I prefer modern rom-coms), just like how American shows.

3. Good for a quick binge without seasons upon seasons of commitment, unlike many American shows.

Most of the c-dramas I’ve watched have been mostly around 25 episodes. That being said, there are also exceptions with some dramas being around 50 episodes (historical ones also tend to be longer) or more or even much shorter (the shortest one I’ve watched was 13 episodes!). They usually tend to only have 1 season and can be based on books, anime, or other dramas from other countries. The shortness of most c-dramas makes it easy to pick one up without worrying that you will be overly addicted to watching them for too long. At least, you will be more likely to be able to finish it quickly with less episodes to watch.

WHERE TO WATCH C-DRAMAS

Although they are geared towards Chinese audiences, the invention of the Internet has made watching c-dramas very convenient and easy internationally. Although you could also stream c-dramas on sketchy illegal sites, here are some free and paid alternatives. Personally, I recommend using Youtube or Viki.

1. Netflix ($)

If you have Netflix, Netflix has acquired some rights to stream a variety of c-dramas. There are

over 90 c-dramas / t-dramas (Taiwanese dramas) of various genres available to watch.

 

Unfortunately, I don’t happen to have Netflix so I resort to other sources. Also a side note:  since Netflix acquires rights to c-dramas already aired, their c-dramas/t-dramas will probably also be available elsewhere before you find them on Netflix.

2. Youtube

Sometimes Chinese TV channels have their own YouTube channels that post either raw or subbed versions of their c-dramas for viewers outside of China.

• iQIYI
• Tencent Video / WeTV
• Mango TV
• Hunan TV

3. Chinese TV Channels’s own Apps

These Chinese TV channels might also have their own apps where you can stream episodes for free or at a monthly cost. However, these apps are geared towards Chinese users, so it could be pretty difficult to use (sigh…my nonexistent Chinese reading skills). As a result, I don’t use and recommend using them.

4. Viki

Viki is probably the most ethical and reliable source aside from the previous sources as they actually PAY for the rights to stream dramas. You can pay to have a premium account to stream episodes without ads or you can suck it and deal with the ads. Although the ads can be long and annoying, at least you don’t get overly weird/scandalous ones you might find on some illegal streaming sites. They also stream Asian dramas, so if you’re interested in branching out to k-dramas or something else, Viki is also good for that too.

 

The subs are done by volunteers so there might a short wait before getting your subbed episode for newly released c-dramas. You can choose for subs in a variety of languages too, not just English, provided there are volunteers subbing for it.

Trick to avoid ads: watch on your phone/mobile device! I’ve noticed that you tend to get less/shorter/no ads.

C-DRAMA RECOMMENDATIONS (stay tuned for future reviews)

Disclaimer: Recommendations EXTREMELY UNSUITABLE for those who like action. My c-drama obsession is currently just modern cheesy rom-com dramas (basically I’m too chicken to watch anything horror/thriller/overly bloody oops).

Most of these can be found on Viki, and Youtube if not!

• Love O2O – 微微一笑很倾城
• Put Your Head On My Shoulder – 致我们暖暖的小时光*
• A Love So Beautiful – 致我们单纯的小美好*
• Before We Get Married (t-drama) – 我們不能是朋友
• Pleasantly Surprised / Love Myself or You (t-drama) – 喜歡·一個人
• The World Owes Me a First Love / Lucky’s First Love – 世界欠我一个初恋*
• Well-Intended Love – 奈何BOSS要娶我

* my top 3 faves!!

HAPPY C-DRAMA WATCHING!

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ