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!!!Read More

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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!Read More

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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