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Forums > Living in Kunming > Country of red tape

I thought that you could not have joint nationality with Mainland Chinese.

But HK SAR/UK is possible.

As far as am aware, the only advantage of a Chinese citizenship is the Hukou, and this makes local schooling easier. Other than that, I can see only barriers.

Regards the certificate that you have no kids back home. As far as I am aware, there is no agency in the UK capable of (or mandated) providing such a document.
Probably the usual case of the admin person not knowing what they are doing. Try saying to the family planning that the UK Embassy needs them to provide a letter, making the request and it must cite the relevant regulations.

If you go to Shanghai you may find it easier.

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Forums > Study > Where can I learn Chinese online?

Chinesepod.com
Owned by Praxxis I think. A lot of stuff is free, but the pay for packages offer a lot more. Not too expensive if I remember.

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Forums > Study > Best Chinese school to study Business language out of office hours ?

Here are some suggestions for self study, but you will need to become your own teacher. Some of this you will know, and so forgive me if I am trying to teach my granny how to suck eggs.

For a quick start, don't even try to write. Remember that there are many people around the world who can function in business who are illiterate.
Social Chinese will help you a lot, and business Chinese is for advanced learners.

Most books will start you reading using Pin-yin (Romanized notation) but move you up to reading Hanzi (Simplified Chinese Characters) before you get through beginner level. This I found to be a major barrier. The same is true for many online courses.

You can learn to read, without having to learn to write. You can be semi-literate.

I can recommend Pimsleur Mandarin I-III audio. It is expensive, but lots of very naughty people download it free from the internet. This is very naughty and should never be done (snigger). Pimsleur has a good mix of social and professional Mandarin. Level III will take you to intermediate level, without the need to learn to read Chinese characters.

Getting a Chinese teacher also helps with the audio courses, as they can help you practice your pronunciation. Pronunciation is critical in Mandarin, change the way you say a word and change its meaning. For example, to the untrained ear the words for 'buy' and 'sell' sound identical.
Another advantage of a teacher is that they know the vocabulary that you will know, for your level. For example a beginer will have a vocab of about 600 words at the end of the course. Most people you meet will use a full vocabulary, this is frustrating and demotivating.

Find yourself a friend, not a language partner. Ideally someone who speaks almost no English, but likes the idea of a western pal. Make sure it is someone you have something in common with. I talk my wife's driver about cars and sport. If you get a language partner you may spend most of the time speaking English.

You can go with a Chinese speaking person to the market to buy stuff. There is more than this to haggling. Once people know you are not a spy and want to practice Chinese you can speak about buying, selling, trading, transport, lead times, import and export (in the fruit market), supply chains; its not all about prices and haggling. It might also help to become boozing buddies of local traders (trading company).

BUT you will need to pre-learn essential vocab first. You will need to be your own teacher.

In short. My recomendation. Pimsleur audio, with occasional input from a teacher to correct pronunciation, don't try to read, and find a buddy who speaks poor English. Then find a buddy who speaks better English to trawl the markets and befriend some local businessmen.

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You don't understand why the good students need so much attention.
What I am saying is the good students don't get attention. And they are often the ones who could return that attention in manifold ways. Other students will just not do that to anywhere near the same level. Some of these disadvantaged smart kids could really make a difference to their communities and DESERVE every opportunity. Others will just squander the opportunity. You talk about the world class football players who started rough, but even the coaches could see potential. But for every Ronaldo there are a million or more wannabes who could never be. Imagine if Ronaldo was never given the encouragement or coaching, because the coach was spending all of the time on the weakest players.
If we could divide our time and effort equally amongst all the students, that would be at least egalitarian, but if we allow the no child left behind philosophy to rule, then all we are doing is nurturing the weakest at the expense of all, and limiting the potential of those who could be excellent, and thereby denying excellence to some students.
Some students, like Twain, will not let there schooling get in the way of their education. But for others, well meaning thinkers, will.

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I work in a school that delivers a full curriculum, to larger than ideal class sizes (a normal pattern for most schools in the world). Each teacher gets the students, for class time, for just a few hours a week. In the hours that we do have we barely have time to deliver the basic content. There are lots of extension activities we would love to do with the students who get ahead because they are more able. Sometimes classroom management then becomes a higher priority, because dealing with students of mixed levels in a class of 20 or more requires more attention (to the group). However, we don't have time to nurture every individual student. Time is a resource you cannot buy more of. This is a big part of the frustration. There are also meetings to go to, and developing lesson plans for the differentiated group of students in a blended classroom setting. Then there is admin, and meetings. Some of us get to go for lunch, and have a family on the side as well. This is the reality for many school teachers around the world.

If we had small classes, in a tutoring type environment, we would have time to coach and encourage individual students. But there are few such ideal opportunities in larger schools, although it might be possible in smaller establishments.

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Fixit, if you have carved yourself a niche and a personal style, good for you. However, not all teachers who don't do that are bad teachers. Additionally, some people would consider adults in positions of authority, building personal relationships with young people, inappropriate. In your case I am sure it is innocent, but missionaries use if for their own purposes, and other people use it for grooming. Some schools even have a policy against teachers forming personal relationships with students, that goes so far as meeting off campus.

Reviews

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A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.

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Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.

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In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.

They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.

They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.