Lindt is probably nothing special. Also if you check on Taobao you'll see hundreds of shops selling it. And I disagree with Bubbles: Chocolate is a winner, especially if you can find the handmade artisan stuff. My wife's sister and aunts practically begged me to bring as much along as I could carry last time I went home. Remember (as you know) that Chinese chocolate doesn't even begin to compare to the real stuff.
I don't know any foreigners who'd have to live on such little money, although I do remember my first year in China, near the end of the month I had to be real careful with the pesos. It was definitely not cool to have 3 days left to pay day and all I had in my wallet was 50 kuai.
Now I probably could get by on 15 yuan if I tried, but as Tigertiger said: Why would you? Our current food budget is 3-4000 a month but that includes many visits at the better restaurants and western food.
Those kinds of details. I figured you might have adopted a kiddo :) Might just go for some bilingual training. Speak English to him all the time, teach him the important verbs, nouns and relevant sentences in English. Our toddler is 1.5 years old and me and my wife speak two different language to him,, they're like sponges at that age, and it's actually fairly easy for them.
Details?
I send smaller files over Skype, but with the GFW and the general standard of net speed here, an 800 MB file would probably take 3-4 days.
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The comment from Chris had deserved a wider audience. Beluga?
Went there yesterday and it totally made my week. Nice decor and friendly staff and a real salad bar. Sadly we both wanted mexican food so I can't really say much about their other courses. The food was great but just a tad spicier would have improved the dish. The best thing was that we almost had the place to ourselves and we could have a quiet conversation without shouting, spitting Chinese people in the background. I realised how much I had missed that since coming here.
We went to Chicago Coffee a couple of days ago and it was a nice experience. The place is cozy with soft comfy chairs (I realized how much I have missed one since coming here) and they have a nice little collection of English language books in the corner consisting mainly of classics and travel litterature. I was looking forward to trying their advertized tortilla bar but it wasn't up and running that evening.
Instead we went for 2 12 inch pizzas -roast chicken and pepperoni- but we quickly realized that 1 would have been enough. Those things are heavy. I am mainly into Italian style pizza but Chicago's double layered pizzas are well worth a try. Their coffee seems to be a bit on the expensive side but people say good things about it and they have got a nice selection. I wouldn't mind dropping by again some day,, hopefully when they've got the tortilla thing going. English speaking staff btw.
China blogs: Blood donor scandal, China stereotypes, pollution
Posted byThose maps remind me of The Onion's atlas.
www.theonion.com/content/international/atlas
Obituary: Arun Veembur
Posted byArun was the nicest guy. His often weird sense of humour made me laugh many a times down at the Hump. Last time I saw the lad must have been several months back doing his horrible but funny Charlie Chaplin impersonation. I can't believe he is dead tbh. A reminder to us all that life can be taken away so swiftly and unfairly.
I'll miss you Arun as I suspect all people who knew you will.
Government, ad agencies clash over billboard demolitions
Posted byTear those billboards down asap. Almost everything in this city is plastered with adds and commercials to a point where I can't understand why the Chinese don't complain about it more. Eyesores.
Tom Cruise to star in John Woo Flying Tigers film
Posted byAlthough Woo certainly has the capacity to fxck a movie up Tom Cruise is actually a fairly competent actor (when he is allowed to). Think Magnolia, Collateral and Tropic Thunder. 100 million and the guy who wrote The Usual Suspects ought to get you at least some part of the way to a succes. As long as China's Michael Bay doesn't get to run everything that is.
Kunming to hold UFO forum this month
Posted byUFOs are kept secret because they threaten corporate profits? And you take offense if people refer to you as a conspiracy theorist?? They only come out at night (to watch UFOs apparantly).
By most calculations life in the universe can be estimated in tens of thousands of planets but the thing is that the distances we are talking about are so staggering that it's impossible for our civilization to ever be able to reach "them". And the argument can be turned around so that "they" are never able to reach us. Sure there may be technology to be figured which would enable us or "them" to come over for tea and cookies and I am more than willing to believe it if it happens and there is proof of it. See,, that's the difference between junk science and real science,, proof. Anyway, good luck at the convention. I might stop by myself.