Vincent NL

Forum Replies Created

Viewing 20 posts - 101 through 120 (of 128 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • in reply to: Future classmates in Chuanda? #19648
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    the student office is closed for the summer holiday. They open again somewhere mid August

    in reply to: Future classmates in Chuanda? #19622
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    I’ve studied one semester at Chuanda and my classmates told me the dorms are not bad, but for the same (or less money) you’ll find an apartment off-campus.

    I’ll start with my second semester in Sept.

    in reply to: Sichuan U or Nationalities University? #19583
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    I’m pretty sure they’re on summer holiday now. Try again around the 2nd week of August. Or give them a call or pay a visit to be sure.

    in reply to: Sichuan U or Nationalities University? #19539
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    @ Brendan,

    normal classes at the uni’s are in the morning. I studied at SU and it was from 8.30-12.00 plus an extra class on Wednesday afternoon 14.00-15.30. I saw the option of one on one before but never asked about it, so I don’t know the hours.

    @ Vincent,

    I started, before coming to Chengdu, with just pinyin and spoken Chinese, but after a while I think it limits you. And although at the start characters are quite difficult it gets a lot more interesting and useful. Even after just 1 semester I prefer to read characters over pinyin as pinyin above a sentence with characters just distracts.

    Regarding SU classes. Yes, they are kinda big, about 20 max, although often “just” 15 show up. So yes, you do get less speaking time, but my comprehensive teacher taught the grammar really well and if you work hard after class you can still get a lot of progress. The biggest reason for me to choose a uni was that here I’m sort of forced to go to class every day, do homework, learn for dictations, etc.

    My first plan was do to 1 or 2 semesters, but after 1 semester I’ve decided to go for a bachelors in Chinese, so hopefully I’ll be fluent in Chinese after a few years.

    in reply to: Buying Euros #19518
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    @ Ray,

    I leave Holland on the 25th of July and arrive the next day in Chengdu. So if by then you still need euro’s just let me know here and I can bring some.

    in reply to: Buying Euros #19513
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    If you are ok to wait about 4 weeks I can bring some from Holland. I’ll fly there this Wednesday and will come back 3 weeks later.

    I need yuan anyway, so I’d prefer to exchange with you instead of a bank.

    in reply to: PPTV U.S. shows gone? #19351
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    Thanks Ray, Tom365 is pretty good. It took me a little while to find the show, but I found it in Chinese on the left side bar. The quality is pretty good btw.

    in reply to: PPTV U.S. shows gone? #19325
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    I can’t find Season II episode 5 on Sohu. Anyone else had the same problem and know where to find it?

    in reply to: T SQ thoughts and/or interesting media/blog posts? #19200
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    the BBC has some articles and even the videos on it are not blocked (without using a VPN)

    in reply to: Starcraft + Diablo Players #19077
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    You might know this already, but it’s an interesting addition of Blizzard.

    I’m still in doubt to start playing, but I’m afraid it will stop me from studying Chinese 🙁

    in reply to: Shipping from Chengdu to USA #18875
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    When I shipped stuff within China by China Post they did a small check what I was shipping and I had to remove money (foreign currency I saved for later use), liquids (perfume), maybe other things I can’t remember, probably DVD’s.

    Of course you can add them (illegally) by prepacking some things and put the above mentioned things in the bottom as they don’t search that thoroughly.

    Also remember to add a sender’s address (incase they can’t deliver it maybe). I didn’t had any at that time as I was moving, so I had to phone a friend for his address.

    in reply to: Visa Extension Question #18865
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    “extending” a visa is indeed cancelling the old one and start again with a new one (30 days). So you might want to do this as late as possible (without overstaying it). Though once you’ve handed it in, you are save.

    in reply to: PPTV U.S. shows gone? #18737
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    I believe something similar happened to PPTV a year ago and I switched to Funshion.

    By the way I can still find a lot of series on Funshion, although Game of Thrones is not available and they have removed several seasons of How I Met Your Mother.

    in reply to: No more F-visas for freelancers? #18461
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    It’s crazy if you live in Chengdu (or in any other place far away from the border). From Guilin (Guangxi) it was “only” 12 hours by bus to Shenzhen. Then you would just cross the border and come right back, to hop onto the next bus back home.

    Now I’m lucky to study at a uni, not sure though what I’ll do after that. Hopefully the visa situation will improve in the future.

    in reply to: No more F-visas for freelancers? #18558
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    It’s crazy if you live in Chengdu (or in any other place far away from the border). From Guilin (Guangxi) it was “only” 12 hours by bus to Shenzhen. Then you would just cross the border and come right back, to hop onto the next bus back home.

    Now I’m lucky to study at a uni, not sure though what I’ll do after that. Hopefully the visa situation will improve in the future.

    in reply to: Malware & computer questions. #18401
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    I’ve been using Funshion for over 1 year and have downloaded loads and loads of movies and series. I’m not a computer expert, but my computer is still working fine and I’ve not noticed anything wrong.

    in reply to: Coming to ChengDu! #18246
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    I’m so sorry, it’s NOT renmin nan lu, BUT kehua bei/middle road!!

    hope this link works …. the link doesn’t quite work, but scroll to the right and you’ll see kehua middle road

    On the map it says “Century Mart”

    in reply to: Coming to ChengDu! #18243
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    At the 2nd ring road which crosses with Ren Min nan lu there is a Wang Fujin mall. At the first floor in the back is a big supermarket which sells a lot of spices. It’s slightly more expensive than Trustmart, but they have more choice.

    in reply to: No more F-visas for freelancers? #18242
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    My friends in Guangxi, Yangshuo used this agency when ever they needed new visa’s as there it was difficult to get residence visa’s. They would send their passport to HK (or let someone bring it). And later the agency would send it back I think.

    The website looks very simple, but the agency is good and I haven’t heard of any problems. Not sure how the agency gets the visa’s though, but they might be send to the US or something like it.

    There were 2 options I think:

    1. a business visa valid for 1 year with 3 months stay

    2. a holiday visa for 1 year with 2 months stay

    But as said before situations change, but they are also very helpful to give advice by email.

    Hope it helps you guys.

    Oh 1 more thing.

    I went to Malaysia before to get a tourist visa. There you can even get one that’s valid for 2 years, BUT the people in the office decide how long 1 stay will be. I heard of people who got 6 months stays, but a few weeks later several friends just got 1 month stays (which totally sucks of course). I played it save and choose a 6 month visa with 3 month stay and 2 entries. You get a simple interview and can pick up your passport in 1,2 or 5 working days. 5 days was by far the cheapest.

    in reply to: Hunger Games #18094
    Avatar photoVincent NL
    Participant

    I always use Funshion to watch movies/ series. It also downloads the movie, so you can even watch it another time if you’re offline. The lastest movies are not always available, but on average it’s a prety good site/ program.

    Before this one I used Xunlei, PPTV and the download site Emule (or something close to that), but I’d go for Funshion. It has good quality movies (although now and then it has a movie taped from the cinema’s) and you can search movies by their English titles.

    Ps. you need a Chinese IP, so remember to turn off your vpn if you’re using one.

Viewing 20 posts - 101 through 120 (of 128 total)