We expats have a strange relationship with the phenomenon of xenophobia. These occasional encounters of the red-neck kind are a two-edged sword for us bloggy types. They can be a morale-sapping reminder of inescapable ‘otherness’, whilst providing excellent grist for the expat mill, that sees us shaking our heads at the nonsensical society we have [...]
Archive for April, 2009
Signs You Live in an Expat Enclave
“You know how every major city in the West has a China town? Well, I live in the opposite of that” Yes, I hate to say it, but I am a resident of one of the many laowai ghettos that exist in the major cities all around China. Whenever my family or friends from home [...]
Learning Chinese: Does Location Matter?
In my time in China I’ve come across several people who have wondered whether studying Chinese in Kunming–where I live–was really worth the effort. After all, the locals speak Kunming-hua to each other, not Mandarin. When they do speak Mandarin, they do so with a local accent that differed greatly from the kind heard on [...]
Photos: RedStar Motel 五星招待所
I happened across this series of photos from a relatively new (Oct’08) bi-monthly magazine O’zine on Beijing Barefeet. And while they aren’t technically from our Lost Laowai Flickr pool, they’re just too rad not to share.
The series, entitled RedStar Motle[sic] 五星招待所, blatantly borrows its style from the amazing work of NYC-based photographer Lyndon Wade — but with ‘Chinese characteristics’.
The next NEXT player from Neocha
Neocha, the net’s premier source of Chinese indie music, has just released the newest version of their NEXT player. We spoke to Neocha founder Sean Leow about the first version NEXT player and Neocha nearly a year ago, and have been using it rather faithfully since. Despite its awesomeness, everything evolves and NEXT 2.0 has done just that.
From 56minus1:
A Vegetarian’s Introduction to China
Since I moved to China eight months or so ago, I’ve came across a large amount of challenges. They have ranged from communication breakdowns, to awkward stares, to being witness to things that you just can’t unsmell. However, the question that I have been asked the most by my friends and family back home have [...]
Just when you thought it was safe to enter the water, Jim lad.
Fortunately during these difficult times, the forces of harmonious ascent onto the global stage have an ally. Dolphins are highly intelligent marine mammals, and obviously recognize the importance of China’s role in international trade to the ‘greater good’ of the planet as a whole. As such, a large task force of Anti-Pirate Dolphins has been [...]
The future’s bright, the future’s multi-racial
China has called up its first black athlete in the form of 19-year-old Ding Hui, who is in fact mixed-race. The ace volleyball player (pictured, below right) has a Chinese mother and a South African father, and speaks only Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) and Hangzhouhua (the dialect of his home city, Hangzhou). It will be good [...]
A Cultural Conundrum
For those of you who have been in China know that “Hello! Where are you from?” is not an uncommon thing to hear from a complete stranger. However, last weekend while I was on vacation in Qingdao I was asked this in a rather uncommon way, that has got me thinking a rather uncommon thought.
Greetings from China
A:Ni hao. (你好) B: Ni hao ma? (你好吗?) A: Wo hen hao. (我很好) The above dialogue, or something like it, is usually the fist snippets of Chinese that anyone studying the language will learn. Ni Hao, the rosy cheeked beginner student will be told, is the term Chinese use to greet each other. Hmm… Well, [...]
