Glen

After spending two years in Suzhou, Glen moved to Guangzhou in August 2010. He spends his time teaching at an international school and finding new and creative ways to mispronounce both Mandarin and Cantonese words. full profile »

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) Read More »

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~!!! Read More »

A Tale of Two Medals

– “Hockey is not a sport in Canada – it’s a cult. It’s a religion” – Brian Burke, General Manager of The Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2010 United States Olympic Team One of the most vivid memories I have is watching a hockey game on TV.  I remember exactly where I sat, I remember the … Read More »

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! Read More »

Another Laowai’s Soundtrack

– Back in May, I made a post entitled “A Laowai’s Soundtrack“, where I listed 20 songs that helped define my China Experience. As the New Year ring’s in, I figure it’s as good of a time as any to revisit that.   Just as before, the purpose of this is to share a bit of music … Read More »

Fact or Fiction II: Electric Googaloo!

– Welcome back to Fact or Fiction.  In case you missed it last time, it is an (ir)regular feature here on Lost Laowai.  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, like much of the blogosphere we will be talking about the Google vs. GFW debate.   Which makes my guest, Steven, the perfect counterpart.  The current resident of Suzhou, writes here at Lost Laowai and most of his posts have a technological theme.  He is also the sole China blogger for CNET Asia with his blog Sinobytes.

So without further ado, let’s get down to Fact or Fiction 2:  Electric Googaloo!!! Read More »

Fact or Fiction

– Welcome one and all to the debut of a new (ir)regular feature here on Lost Laowai, entitled Fact or Fiction.  The premise is very simple, each edition I will be joined by a Guest and we will briefly discuss some of the hottest topics in the laowai world.  Myself and my guest will respond to each topic with either FACT or FICTION.  This concept was borrowed by one of my favourite sites on the internets, 411mania.

Anyway, enough explanation let’s get down to business….

My first guest is someone that you all know very well.  He is the creator of this very site which you are all visiting, as well as The Hao Hao Report, and his very popular blog The Humanaught — he is of course Mr. Ryan McLaughlin.  Today he and I will be talking about the Great Firewall, Obama, alcohol and parades. Read More »

On Tyranny

– “For we have a right to choose the society most acceptable to us” — John Stuart Mill, On Liberty Before I came to China I was asked a series of questions which seemed normal at the time but now seem completely laughable.  They included “Is there a curfew?”, “Are there police everywhere?”, and “You’ll be … Read More »

Searching for Real China

– Last night I was watching the season premiere of 30 Rock.  In the episode Jack says that their television show has lost touch with “Real America” to which Liz responds “all of America is real” . This comment is of course ignored as most of the rest of the episode is spending trying to reconnect … Read More »

Giving Thanks To China

– Today is a special day in Northern North America, Canadian Thanksgiving.  While it is (not surprisingly) less of a big deal for us than it will be in about six weeks for our neighbours to the south, it is still an important day on the calendar.  While I won’t be heading to mom’s for a … Read More »

10 Slightly Off the Beaten Path Locations in China

– Still haven’t made up your mind for the October Holiday yet?  Don’t want to bother leaving the country, but have already done Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, and the like?  Well worry not, I’m here to help! I’ve come up with 10 of my favourite places to visit here in China that are off the usual laowai … Read More »

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