Forums > Living in Kunming > Panlongjiang - what is it like?

I spent the summer living in Jiang Dong Hua Yuan, a few stops north of the train station along Beijing Lu. There' s a large beautiful park (bigger than Green Lake, I think) just west of there. Metro and Walmart are nearby, and there are several of the farmer's markets around. There are many bus lines up and down Beijing Lu that will get you to most places in Kunming easily. I enjoyed that part of town and will probably try to live there again next year when I return.

Forums > Study > where to study chinese, advice needed.

I highly recommend my tutor, Li Xuan. She's in Kunming until October and has been a big help to me and some others. She's running an ad under the "Jobs-services" section of Go Kunming and offers a free lesson.

Forums > Living in Kunming > any western doctor /hospital ?

I just visited Richland for a simple blood test for a condition being monitored by my US doctor. I told them I just wanted the test, and not to see a doctor.

When I returned to pick up my results, three men and a nurse cornered me as I walked in. They were very concerned about the numbers (only slightly out of normal range, and actually quite good for me and my condition), and wanted to admit me to the hospital. They had already called an endocrinologist who was on his way. When I said I didn't want to see the endocrinologist, they tried to make me feel guilty for wasting his time, and then talked to me about the seriousness of my "problem" for almost an hour before I could get away with my results. It was like buying a used car, the "sell" for additional services was so strong. I appreciated their concern, but not their ignoring my repeated statements that I HAD a doctor and wasn't in any life-threatening situation.

As for the lab, the numbers seemed exactly right for how I'm feeling right now and where my Dr. was predicting I would be. I'm glad they took my problem seriously, but really didn't appreciate the pressure.
I've never been to a Chinese doctor or hospital, but I've heard mixed stories, from excellent to terrifying. It's a real pity that Richland isn't living up to its hype as a western-style hospital. As long as I just need blood tests I'll go to them, but might shop around if I need more thorough care.

Forums > Living in Kunming > Excellent smartphone Chinese-English dictionary

I purchased it from Handango.com. You can search for Berlitz Chinese at their site and find it. Here's a link, but I'm not sure if it is a permanent link or not:

www.handango.com/[...]

Be sure to select your correct device to get the right one for you.

Forums > Living in Kunming > Excellent smartphone Chinese-English dictionary

For those looking for a dictionary that gives good (ie modern, useful) translations as well as pinyin, I've found the paper Berlitz dictionary (sadly, only available outside China) to be excellent and comprehensive. For example, when looking up the English world "colon", Berlitz is the only one that distinguishes between the punctuation mark and the anatomical part - important information to have!

However, I've just discovered they have a smartphone (Windows Mobile, Blackberry, etc.) edition, which is easy to use, and, at $25, much cheaper than other mobile electronic dictionaries (HNH and Oxford). Of course, there are built in ones on many Chinese cell phones, but they generally don't give pinyin or useage notes.

This is just an enter-text-and-translate tool, no handwriting recognition or study tools, but just perfect for carrying around town.