“You need to understand,” Walter said, lighting a cigarette. “Chinese love is real love.” “And American love isn’t?” Nick said. “Western love,” Walter said, “is not real love. Not in the Chinese sense. It’s not. Their love is deeper, truer.” “Yeah,” Nick said, “I can see what you mean.” He could too. One night at [...]
fact or fiction Posts
Fact or Fiction XI: Let the Games Begin!!!
Welcome back one and all to the October edition of Fact or Fiction. Those of you who read any or all of the last ten will know, every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day. Every answer will have a “Fact” or a “Fiction” and some justification to go along with it.
My guest today, Sara is a fellow inhabitant of the great city of the Five Ram City. Sara Jaaksola always had a dream about visiting China. But only February 2010 she found the way to make it true and is now enjoyning her life in Guangzhou. In her blog Living A Dream In China, www.sarajaaksola.com, she writes about her life, experiences and studies in this amazing country.
In less than 2 weeks Guangzhou plays host to the Asian Games. Given we both have front row seats to the construction and hype, it seems like a pretty logical talking point. So, join us today for Fact or Fiction XI: Let the Games Begin!!!
Fact or Fiction X: Moving On Up
Welcome back one and all to the September edition of Fact or Fiction. Those of you who read any or all of the last seven will know, every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day. Every answer will have a “Fact” or a “Fiction” and some justification to go along with it.
My guest today is someone you may recognize from Chengdu Living, or China Travel, Sascha Matuszak. He is a West-side Laowai who spent most of his 10 years in China living in Sichuan. He is currently living and working in Shanghai with his wife and son. You can check out more of his stuff at www.saschamatuszak.com.
Sascha and I have something in common (other than being devilishly handsome), we both have recently moved from from smaller, 2nd Tier cities to larger 1st Tier ones (that being Chengdu to Shanghai for him, and Suzhou to Guangzhou for me, for those of you keeping score at home). So today we are going to talk about the perils and pitfalls of moving within China, and life in a Chinese metropolis compared to a “small town” of a few million people. Join us today for Fact or Fiction X: Moving On Up!
Fact or Fiction IX: Homecoming
Welcome back one and all to the August edition of Fact or Fiction. Those of you who read any or all of the last seven will know, every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day. Every answer will have a “Fact” or a “Fiction” and some justification to go along with it.
My guest today is fellow Lost Laowai blogger, Travis. Travis recently turned heads, and opened up tear ducts with his post titled “There and Back“, a look at the journey back home for the summer and how things changed from when he first left. Judging by the response to the post, I certainly wasn’t the only one who was touched by his descriptions of the complicated place that we call “home”.
In keeping with the themes of his most recent post, and the fact that the summer is the most likely time for many of us to head back to the land of our birth, our topic today is going to be one that is both simple and complicated, happy and sad: home. Join us today for Fact or Fiction IX: Homecoming!
Fact or Fiction VIII: Hey Ho! Expo!
Welcome back one and all to the July edition of Fact or Fiction. Those of you who read any or all of the last seven will know, every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day. Every answer will have a “Fact” or a “Fiction” and some justification to go along with it.
My guest today is Katherine, better known around here as Baoru. You can read her work on CNReviews where she posts a great deal about life in the Middle Kingdom. Quite recently her informative posts on the Shanghai Expo have received a great deal of web traffic, and for obvious reasons. She also writes a blog in Expotia, the Official Hotel Reservation Service Provider of Expo 2010. If that wasn’t enough, depending on your perspective, she is either lucky or brave enough to be a volunteer at the World Expo in Shanghai.
Looking at my guests resume, the topic seems rather obvious to me. We will be talking about the biggest event to currently be underway in China, the Shanghai Expo. We will be tackling issues like lines, toilets, and our favourite pavilions, so join us for Fact or Fiction 8: Hey Ho, Expo!
Fact or Fiction VII: The Veggie-Veggie Shakes
Welcome back one and all to the June edition of Fact or Fiction. Those of you who read any or all of the last six will know, every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day. Every answer will have a “Fact” or a “Fiction” and some justification to go along with it.
My guest today is Fred Dintenfass (aka @freddint aka fed-a-rama-lama-ding-dong) arrived in Beijing in 2006. Since then he’s been busy studying, editing, DJing, and eating all manner of things on sticks. Fred is the mastermind behind the world’s 4,375,463th most popular website — 10tonfunk. An infrequently updated repository of bad puns and worse product ideas. Despite being a vegetarian he is, as his Chinese friends and random strangers like to point out, overweight, and possibly pregnant.
Today, my esteemed guest and I are going to be talking about something near and dear to both of us, food. More specifically we are going to be talking about our diets. See we are both vegetarians living in the very omnivorous Middle Kingdom, and are going to talk about some of the issues that we face. So join us for Fact or Fiction 7: The Veggie-Veggie-Shakes.
Fact or Fiction VI: Xinjiang, The Final Frontier
Welcome back one and all to the May edition of Fact or Fiction. Those of you who read either of the last three will know, every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day. Every answer will have a “Fact” or a “Fiction” and some justification to go along with it.
Today my guest is Josh Summers, a writer with a passion for the province of Xinjiang. He and his wife arrived in Xinjiang in August of 2006 and for reasons unknown to them stayed for almost four years. Their experiences in the province have been featured on sites such as the BBC, MSNBC and China Daily, but Josh takes most pride in the writings he publishes on his own site, Xinjiang: Far West China.
Although he moved back to Texas in March of 2010, he continues to focus on his adopted home back in China. In May he released a Turpan travel guide and is almost finished completing two more guides for Urumqi and Kashgar. The perks of life in America have already worn off after two months and he’s hoping to return again to Xinjiang in the future.
Today Josh and I are going to be discussing a variety of issues in the Westernmost region in the Middle Kingdom. So join us for Fact or Fiction 6: Xinjiang, the Final Frontier…
Fact or Fiction V: The Glenpire Strikes Back
Welcome back one and all to the April edition of Fact or Fiction. Those of you who read either of the last three will know, every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day. Every answer will have a “Fact” or a “Fiction” and some justification to go along with it.
Today my guest is Rebekah Pothaar, the former editor of Ctrip and Chinatravel.net and former Shanghaiist and CNNGo contributor. She always dreamed of being a travel writer until she discovered through experience that writing is one of the most badly paid “glam” jobs on earth. So in 2009, she tossed her old dreams out the window and chose a life of corporate advertising in Shanghai. Since then she has what they call “career prospects” but rarely has time to write. Lonely Planet and The Telegraph phone her from time to time asking for her work, but she disdainfully asks them to show her the money. So far, they haven’t coughed up anything worth rolling out of bed for. She dreams that one day writers will be paid enough so she can leave the advertising business and return to writing again. In her spare time, she still enjoys traveling in China and lists camping on the Great Wall and running the Great Wall Marathon as her most unique China experiences. With the May Holiday coming up, Rebekah and I will be discussing several travel issues in this crazy country of ours.
So join us for Fact or Fiction 5: The Glenpire Strikes Back!! (…I’ve seriously been waiting four issues of this to use that title)
Fact or Fiction IV: March Madness
Welcome back one and all to the March edition of Fact or Fiction. Those of you who read either of the last three will know, every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day. Every answer will have a “Fact” or a “Fiction” and some justification to go along with it.
Today my guest is fellow Laowai blogger Matt. He is the resident Kunminger (that is a word, right?), and his most recent intelligent posts have been about learning and teaching Chinese, as well as cooking and alcoholism. Also, he keeps his own personal blog, Matt Schiavenza – A China Journal, which is a worthy addition to your Google Reader, whenever it’s not blocked. Today we’re doing a bit of a topic potpourri, discussing Google, prostitution, and the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the National People’s Congress.
o join us for Fact or Fiction 4: March Madness~!!!
Fact or Fiction III: My Laowai Valentine
Welcome back one and all to the February edition of Fact or Fiction. Those of you who read either of the last two will know, every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day. Every answer will have a “Fact” or a “Fiction” and some justification to go along with it.
Today my guest is fellow Laowai blogger Ericka. She is currently living in Qingdao, and writes a great deal about jade, learning Chinese, and being attracted to Bruce Lee. Today, we’re going to talk about Valentine’s Day, the New Year, and the Winter Olympics.
So join us for Fact or Fiction 3: My Laowai Valentine!
