expatlife26

Nov 15, 2013 11:52

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news From Miners to Manufacturers: China’s Most Dangerous Jobs

Foxconn catches a ton of flak for suicides, but seriously they employ over 900,000 people and had 14 suicides. Less than 10% of the national average. Those people are all employed and being paid a market wage. At almost a million people theres gonna be a few that have underlying problems that will lead them to ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Nov 12, 2013 11:30

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Teaching English in China: Is it Still Worthwhile?

I dont wanna put anybody down for wanting to teach and travel. And no, teaching esl doesn't mark you with a permanent stigma. But...the time you spend teaching and travelling, while fun, is time you don't spend building to something more long term. Sure take a year after school to travel and decompress, I did, but ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Nov 11, 2013 16:21

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Teaching English in China: Is it Still Worthwhile?

haha yeah...point taken my friend, it's a nice thought, but in practice recreational fishing and subsistence fishing are two very different things. Success to me is about having choices and options. I'm 26, and I can't believe how much my goals have changed in the three years since i graduated. Who is to say what I ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Nov 11, 2013 12:05

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news The Best School in China is a “Super Gaokao Factory”

If i had to pick one problem with modern chinese culture/education, it would be the emphasis on the superficial over the substantive. The gaokao itself is a manifestation of this, being a standardized test with only moderate correlation to real-world performance, but it is revered as the ONLY way to achieve success ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Nov 11, 2013 09:12

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Teaching English in China: Is it Still Worthwhile?

yeah but your friend is upwardly mobile so it's not a fair comparison. At close to six-figures he's probably around 30 (give or take) in an Associate role at an investment bank. He puts in a few more years good work and he's making 250K as a VP. The ESL teacher might have an *acceptable* income and living standard ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Nov 07, 2013 17:19

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Teaching English in China: Is it Still Worthwhile?

It's BS, the economy in the west hasn't been bad for over 3 years. If you don't have any valuable skills you can't get a good job, don't blame the economy. ESL teaching is bunk cause you don't learn any good skills or experience. Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Nov 07, 2013 12:06

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Teaching English in China: Is it Still Worthwhile?

Definitely, like with all jobs if you only pay peanuts you'll only hire monkeys. The chinese just don't care. Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Oct 25, 2013 15:52

Blogs : expatlife26 commented on littlemissmoo 's blog Contact

MissMoo...I like your articles and I really sympathize with the plight of a trailing spouse. There really isn't much to do here if you weren't hired from the west (or HK in my case) that isn't, well...at least a bit degrading and generally involving unacceptably poor conditions (ESL teaching) or boring ("face" jobs ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Oct 25, 2013 10:35

Blogs : expatlife26 commented on Sinobear 's blog An Open Letter to Job Applicants (from a Recruiter)

probably 65% of ESL teachers are very marginal people that almost by definition don't have what it takes to make it in the real world. That's why they work as ESL teachers in China. It's a joke industry and suitable for jokers who don't have their shit together. These are people who cannot get a job doing anything ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Oct 24, 2013 15:12

Around China : expatlife26 commented on news CCTV Criticizes Starbucks For Higher Prices in Mainland China

Just more xeno-phobic garbage from CCTV...remember their "dishonest americans" column? They would run stories about someone in the US getting ripped off by a locksmith and other petty nonsense. Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Oct 22, 2013 07:28

Around China : expatlife26 commented on news CCTV Criticizes Starbucks For Higher Prices in Mainland China

yeah starbucks prices are the biggest social problem in china! Forget about profit margins, labor costs, equipment etc, prices/wages are set by the market. Chinese people are clearly willing to pay more than Indians for coffee, and there's nothing evil or wrong about that. The reasons why are pretty ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Oct 13, 2013 08:48

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Expat Exodus: Why Foreigners Are Leaving China

I'm not religious but I see how christian values have had a positive impact on our society in a few ways, like the idea that what you do is being judged, so even if you are not punished for putting melamine in the baby formula it is still WRONG to do so, and of course the whole do unto others thing. Both of those ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Oct 11, 2013 10:44

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Expat Exodus: Why Foreigners Are Leaving China

Yeah I really think that's a big part of it. They wanna get rid of the awe the previous generation had for foreign things and an easy way to do that is to make sure that the foreign people that chinese people meet from an early age aren't exactly the most ambitious and successful types. I agree there is something ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Oct 07, 2013 10:17

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Expat Exodus: Why Foreigners Are Leaving China

I think China is trying to drive out professional expats and leave only esl teachers. Notice how the perception of westerners has changed over the past 5 years from awe and reverence to disdain. They don't want foreigners here managing them and producing things, they want people, especially the kids growing up, to ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 20, 2013 17:29

Blogs : expatlife26 commented on pepo36 's blog wai guo ren's behavior in China

This is an interesting discussion, and I agree that criticism based on race, i.e. saying that the chinese simply aren't as good as other people, is out of line and simply incorrect. However, we can't making excuses for bad local behavior just by saying it's part of their 'culture' and acting like outsiders are wrong ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 20, 2013 09:05

Blogs : expatlife26 commented on Rencin 's blog Annoying Curiosity

that sounds pretty funny. Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 17, 2013 10:15

Blogs : expatlife26 commented on chamaflauge 's blog Are the Changguan Really That Bad?

Like you i just wonder if it's really advantageous for them to be in the first tier cities...for their sake as well as ours. Maybe they can make a little more but they have to be constantly reminded of their place at the bottom. At least in their village they have family, social connections etc with people who don't ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 17, 2013 09:40

Blogs : expatlife26 commented on chamaflauge 's blog Are the Changguan Really That Bad?

Yeah...I guess it's human nature to always try to find the good and bad guy in every situation. The street vendors aren't these wonderful angels bravely standing up for their rights and the chengguan aren't just jackbooted thugs picking on law abiding citizens. It's rarely that simple. I look at it like this, these ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 15, 2013 21:28

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Dangerous and Out-of Control ? Understanding China’s Fu’erdai Generation

look it up. whatever military japan claims not to have is o of the most advanced and largest in the world. they have more f15s than china has homemade copies of the soviet era russian equivalent. their navy is nearly as big as chinas and much more modern. china could not be conquered at home, but any air/naval clash ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 13, 2013 18:02

Blogs : expatlife26 commented on chamaflauge 's blog Summer House Buying Blues: The Impending Doom of the House Slave

You know it's crazy to me that China isn't even in the top 25(!) countries for density (even excluding super dense city states like singapore etc that don't count)...tons of what we consider to be 'normal' countries like germany, uk etc. are more dense. China has a ton of space it's just that everybody tries to pile ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 13, 2013 14:40

Blogs : expatlife26 commented on chamaflauge 's blog Are the Changguan Really That Bad?

Great blog Chamaflauge! I agree with all of your points, I think the Changguan get a really bad rap but honestly they ARE enforcing laws. The people whos things they confiscate and stalls they smash are breaking the law! Yeah they are corrupt scumbags in some way, but they can't extort protection money from someone ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 13, 2013 11:38

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news It’s Not All About the Sights: Luxury Tourism in China

hope you have a good trip! Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 13, 2013 09:35

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Dangerous and Out-of Control ? Understanding China’s Fu’erdai Generation

Aggression only works to distract people if it is successful. Losing a bunch of ships and men in an ill-advised sea clash with japan isn't going to stabilize things. Argentina tried that against the UK Falkland islands and they lost half their navy and air force and their government collapsed. Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 12, 2013 09:03

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Dangerous and Out-of Control ? Understanding China’s Fu’erdai Generation

I doubt china will start a war, remember that chinese tend to be more pragmatic, if there is a civil war or coup here a chinese leader can simply leave for a life of luxury abroad. If they start a major war the leadership will be in a position where they can't win outright and will also be unable to simply just go ... Full Comment>>

expatlife26

Sep 11, 2013 11:25

Articles : expatlife26 commented on news Dangerous and Out-of Control ? Understanding China’s Fu’erdai Generation

well said Full Comment>>