I was standing on the street corner the other day waiting for a taxi beside a middle-aged foreigner doing the same. This isn’t uncommon, I live in a rather laowai-saturated area of Suzhou. The corner also works as an impromptu parking spot for people looking to dash over to the bakery, or pick up a bit of food from the long line of restaurants.
As we were waiting, in our awkward expat silence, a car pulled up to park. The only open parking spot was directly behind the other foreigner, but he made no attempt to make way for the car. Perhaps he assumed that it could just go around and park in a …
I just stumbled across a new Web site dishing out answers to all your China legal questions - for free!
The rather IM-ishly named 15minutes4u.com believes that most legal questions us foreigners have about China could be answered in under 15 minutes of a legal professional’s time and they are striving to deliver just such advice - and did I mention it’s free?
The questions are answered by “a group of experienced legal professionals practiced or law students studied in China, US or other jurisdictions.” [sic - because I can't really make sense of it]. Questions seem to range from the expected trade/business law queries to advice for ESL teachers done wrong.
Those who are in the know in China all say that a Virtual Private Network is the way to go if you want to get around the so-called Great Firewall in China. Most VPNs cost money, but I recently found this free one that works well, and I thought I’d share it with you guys. As you can see from the video, it’s a very quick and easy install and requires no expertise at all (my speciality!) to configure.
Spread the word among your friends in China. Screw proxies. This is friggin’ wonderful.
Watch the Video of the VPN install:
There’s little doubt that the 2008 Beijing Olympics have become more a political affair galvanizing views of China between “Western bias” and “blind Chinese nationalism” than anything even remotely resembling a global, peace-celebrating sporting event.
Because of this, there’s been an endless barrage of reporting and blogging that has gone a long way to inciting these two opposing ends. So, it was with a bit of surprise and refreshment that I read Kai Pan’s well-said “Utter Idiots and Why the United States Will Not Boycott the Beijing Olympics” at CNReviews.
Those on the polarized ends will never see eye-to-eye, nor do they care to. The battle has always been and will always be for those in the middle. I’d …
I’ve just received the following press release release from the British Embassy in Beijing.
It appears to me that the office has taken some heat from home about tracking down their nationals in natural disasters, and is now very concerned you may get crushed in a shoddily-built school or swept away in a flood - and that just does not happen to Brits. It’s just not… proper.
Neither is the cost of an airlift out of a danger zone.
While they’re at it, maybe they can help this woman.
CALLING ALL BRITS IN CHINA OR GOING TO BE IN CHINA OVER SUMMER!!!
If you, your family or friends are travelling to China this summer, get them …
Teaching ESL at a university in China is a good gig: low hours, long holidays, weekends and more than enough money to survive on.
If you’ve chosen this route you’ll find that most universities (and agents on their behalf) are very happy to offer basic terms, conditions and vague information to hurry you through signing a contract and securing you for a year.
There’s still a high level of incompetency in the hiring of ESL teachers across the board and I can’t help but think that we (ESL teachers!) are at least part of the problem. Go to any forum these days and you’ll be able to read the stories of digruntled teachers who got more than they bargained for, and you …
In what can only be assumed to be fear over increased problems related to the Olympic games, China has cut off multiple entry travel visas, and limited them to 30 days.
As Journey to Nowhere reports from the SCMP (which stoically continues to charge for online content):
Beijing has stopped issuing multiple-entry visas, risking major inconvenience to foreigners who travel to the mainland regularly, especially on business. Hong Kong travel agents say the ban will stay in place until after the Olympic Games.
Travelers are now restricted to single- or double-entry visas valid for 30 days. Multiple-entry visas that have not expired are still valid.
Andrew Work, executive director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said the ban …
If you’ve been using the Firefox addon Access Flickr, which allows you view Flickr photos while being behind the Great Firewall, you may have noticed some photos display just fine and some wont at all.
Since posting last june about the fantastic solution for us shutterbugs in China, Flickr has added a new “farm” for photo storage - essentially a different sub-domain of the Flickr site. Unless you are using the latest version of the addon, currently 1.9, you will have sporadic broken images in your browser.
To fix this, simply upgrade to Access Flickr 1.9 or higher.
Not using Firefox yet? Why the heck not? Download it free.
Related
An interesting article with …
Chinese skills that develop so quickly it’s like they’re on steroids. Reading essays that provide a glimpse into this strange country. Blossoming friendships with students named Gorge, Pudding, and Glenn Chestnut.
Oh, the glamorous life I led in my head before I actually started teaching.
If you’re like me or several of my friends, and your newfound teaching gig in China is the first time you’ve stepped in front of the classroom, you’ve probably gotten your hands on a copy of Peter Hessler’s Rivertown. While I would suggest this beautifully written book as good background reading, it only does a somewhat decent job preparing you for what lays ahead.
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Xinhuanet is dead right about one thing, it may be three weeks ago now, but I really am only just getting over my “gasp” at Zhang Ziyi’s dress on the phenomenon that is CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala, they were just wrong about the reason. Bowled over by the fairy-pinkness of it yes, but the skirt was 3 bloody metres in diameter, hardly practical for such “ordinary girls” as me who need to get on buses and stuff. It’s wider than my bathroom for God’s sake!
Talking of the gala, I’d better get to my lead-in…did anyone see Chinese girl band SHE perform, or more importantly, actually listen? Well, …
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