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I’ll bring a bag of Werther’s Original for all the regulars.
Me and 4 or 5 other folks do the same thing, download the episode Monday afternoon and watch it every Monday night at a friend’s house near Kehua bei lu. We play drinking games like “drink whenever Jesse uses ‘bro-speak’ (biatch!)” and “drink whenever Mike makes a noise or a face expressing grumbling dissatisfaction” and “drink whenever someone bald comes on screen.”
One of my friends remarked that the majority of the writing staff must be struggling with alopecia. Bald dudes abound.
I’m down. You can find some good runs at Sichuan Gym most fridays, or at the courts on Huaxi campus. The fact that you can’t run full court without paying, like, friggin 200 kuai for one hour is sincerely agitating. 4v4 half court is weak sauce, too crowded, but it seems to be the standard. 3v3’s ok. I only know of one full court gym a little south of 2nd ring and ren min nan lu. It’s pristine and has a hard wood floor and indoor, but you have to sneak in and pretend you live in the residential community to use it, which is pretty difficult with a bunch of laowei.
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang!
<insert crying, upside-down success kid with a gun to his head>
Kafka on the Shore
<insert real success kid>
Quote:Daughters are sought after – in the hopes they can marry (or just be a mistress) for a dude 4 times their age with ridiculous amounts of disposable income – and through this support the family. Advertise along these lines, in fact, and count the $$$$$$.For realsies? Reading validations of that unholiness belched from the belly of some flagrant beast, i.e. MJ’s Neverland Ranch, feels like I just took my soul to see a Tijuana donkey show and my soul caught some donkey jism on his pleated trousers and now he’s crying on the curb outside.
Quote:Daughters are sought after – in the hopes they can marry (or just be a mistress) for a dude 4 times their age with ridiculous amounts of disposable income – and through this support the family. Advertise along these lines, in fact, and count the $$$$$$.For realsies? Reading validations of that unholiness belched from the belly of some flagrant beast, i.e. MJ’s Neverland Ranch, feels like I just took my soul to see a Tijuana donkey show and my soul caught some donkey jism on his pleated trousers and now he’s crying on the curb outside.
WELCOME.TO.HELL.
…
just kidding. Chengdu is not hell. Chengdu’s comfortably nestled somewhere between heaven and purgatory, so, it’s pretty sweet. Most foreigners here are pretty friendly, though oddly enough some won’t even so much as make eye contact with you on the street if you try saying “Hello”. But most are pretty friendly. So just start introducing yourself to people at bars or cafes for no reason but to say hello. That’s what I did. You’ll have yourself a respectable entourage in no time.
WELCOME.TO.HELL.
…
just kidding. Chengdu is not hell. Chengdu’s comfortably nestled somewhere between heaven and purgatory, so, it’s pretty sweet. Most foreigners here are pretty friendly, though oddly enough some won’t even so much as make eye contact with you on the street if you try saying “Hello”. But most are pretty friendly. So just start introducing yourself to people at bars or cafes for no reason but to say hello. That’s what I did. You’ll have yourself a respectable entourage in no time.
Ahhh, this looks very enticing. Does anyone know where in Chengdu is a reputable Apple store that would be selling iPhones?
Ahhh, this looks very enticing. Does anyone know where in Chengdu is a reputable Apple store that would be selling iPhones?
I used to run a red/green deck and knew many creatures stats and quotes by heart. Obsessive. I’d be down to play as well, but I gave all my cards away to some disadvantaged kids (the one act of good will that i’ve been siphoning good karma from for the past 10 years). Funny how the nerds who play starcraft are the same nerds who play magic. WEIRD. lol
Regarding the teaching style, most Chinese teachers are adequately bilingual w/ English, meaning they know enough to explain the grammar points of Chinese in English. Generally, the teacher tries to get you out of being dependent on English as soon as possible so after the first class they’ll only greet you/say goodbye/ask you to read/write/listen in Chinese. (most) teachers know enough English so the transitional period between the languages is relatively smooth.
I’ve only been here a month, but it’s been pretty righteous. Here’s what I can offer:
1.) Woah dude. That’s a $#@!load of yuan. You can go as low as 1200 yuan for a single bedroom, depending on what area you live in. gochengdoo.com has a couple really good articles on where to rent an apartment, discussing the pros and cons of different neighborhoods. If you have a roommate obviously the price between two people dips a good amount.
I will say the first month or two you cough up more cash than you expect for necessities like sheets, blankets, pillows, internet connection, rent (most landlords make you pay at least 6 months in advance), transportation (if you wanna buy a bike or just for taxis and buses) and other things for the apartment. So yeah the first month is a bigger hit financially but you can easily live on less than 3k yuan a month, including rent.
2. First of all, where are you from that your government gives you money for leaving their country to live in another? Pretty awesome. Chengdu Uni is pretty cheap comparatively and a decent school I hear, but they have Mandarin Corners and other places where you can learn at for free and, imho, how fast you learn depends more on how dedicated you are and how much you press your Chinese friends for new words.
3. You can try a Western cafe/bar.
4. You won’t see too many just walking around (I see maybe 1 a day outside of my job) but if you go to Western joints at night they come out like cucarachas.
5. They give teaching jobs to non-native speakers, sure. Just gotta look around. This site is a good start (and gochengdoo.com)
6. Like I said, only been here a month so technically I’m still in the “euphoric” stage of the China experience but I like Chengdu cuz it’s got just enough of everything and probably more of a genuine China feel than Beijing or Shanghai, but I’m only guessin.
Good luck.
I just played at Sichuan Gymnasium yesterday. Some pretty good runs. You have to pay 10 rmb but I talked to a guy that said you have to pay 10 rmb at all the good courts. Apparently there is also some good courts near City Centre that also cost 10 rmb. I am really really sore now (probably cuz I drank at Jellyfish the rest of the night) but I’d be down to play again in a couple days.
Quote:Buying a Giant is a bad idea, it will last all of two weeks.Really? They look pretty professional. Though you have to pay upwards of 1000 rmb for the cheapest one. And if it’s going to be your main mode of transportation (as it will be for me), why not make sure the product is quality? Riding a bike BMX style where your knees are up by your chest will destroy my knees, as I like to bike pretty hard, and I already have bad knees, so a properly sized frame is extra important. I’ll try out the spots mentioned. Maybe I can find an large older frame and pay a bike shop for the rest of the pieces. Sounds like a new project! Better work on my sichuan hua biking terminology…
