John rambles on about the stupid boring HSK. He got a 7, not an 8. Boo-hoo.
10
Feb
2004
2004
Staggering Extravagance
The Western media likes to write stories about how rich a very small portion of China’s population is becoming. Here’s further evidence of the trend in the form of an outrageous advertisement.
09
Feb
2004
2004
Doom Cometh to Hangzhou
No, I’m not talking about Hangzhou’s recent hydrofluoric acid leak, I’m talking about the arrival of Jamie Doom (of Doom in China fame).
08
Feb
2004
2004
Pinyin Reader
I recently received an e-mail asking me to make a textbook recommendation. I haven’t been a beginner for several years now, so I don’t know much about this kind of thing. I was hoping you readers could help.
This is the text of the e-mail I received:
Hello John, I was hoping you could help me out. I’ve just started to learn Mandarin (I’ve completed my first 3 hrs of lessons!) and was lucky enough to find a Native speaking …
05
Feb
2004
2004
Translating, Lantern Festival
When I was having a hard time with my job search a few months back, I briefly considered working as a translator. I even wrote to one company and got the application packet back, which required several qualifying translations. I figured it might be a little boring, but at least I’d be learning more Chinese all day long at work, right?
Fortunately I came to my senses. However good (and perhaps necessary) it is for my language development, I hate …
05
Feb
2004
2004
Double Whammy
There’s a new blog in the list called Stodgy White Guy. The URL is www.livingintaiwan.com. Hmmm, why do those look so familiar…?
The interesting thing is that his archives put his blog’s origin way back in August, 1997. That’s about 5 years older than most China blogs I know. Way before blogging became technologically convenient, much less a trend.…
02
Feb
2004
2004
First Day of Work
Today I finally started my new job in Shanghai, after over a month of vacation. I’m pretty sure that until today I haven’t gotten up at a time of day that could be considered “early” since I’ve moved here. As a result, I saw a new side of Shanghai on my walk to work.
I hit the street at 8am. The city was bustling. What struck me first was the sheer quantity of hot, hot women on Nanjing Xi Road …
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