User Comments - roscovanbasten
roscovanbasten
Posted on: Scams and Bus Culture
January 31, 2008 at 10:08 AMDaolin, To respond to your comment regarding the bike incident; when I first went to buy the bike I was brought by a fellow student from my University who was going to get me a second hand bike. I was in China just 3 months and wasent clued into the fact that alot of second hand stuff is stolen here. Looking back, I should have walked away sooner - but this is why it I mention it as a kind of scam. They convinced me it was all above aboard. In fact, many goods here in normal shopping areas that are "second hand" are actually stolen products. I think alot of shoppers may suspect they are stolen but still go ahead and buy them. The fake markets here, for example, have fake goods and smuggled goods (水货). Many foreigners don't blink an eye in buying these goods. So, maybe they are "not so innocent" either. All in all, I was never intending to help the business of stealing bikes, but was caught up in the moment to find a cheap bike on a student budget. When you don't speak Chinese, are in China for the first time, brought by a squeaky clean University student to a bike market, you may make the mistake of going along with it, too. P.S. I am Irish, and am from Dublin, but am not Ken. Ross is my name.
Posted on: Scams and Bus Culture
January 29, 2008 at 7:27 AMAlso, here is the story about the coffee shop scam - http://www.chinaeconomicreview.com/quirkies/2007/12/14/tourist-cheated-for-huge-bill-at-coffee-shop/
Posted on: Scams and Bus Culture
January 29, 2008 at 7:25 AMIf you are in Shanghai, another scam of sorts to be wary of is the "woman with the baby" scam..In the same area that people often get accosted in 人民广场, there are often young women in groups each with a baby strapped on to their front. These women walk around the busiest parts of People's square, where people are squeezing past one another (due to construction etc) and steal their stuff. Some people dont think they could be thieves, because they have babies with them...but they are very wrong as I was nearly robbed myself and have seen them planning "pickpocketing attacks" on foreigners and locals alike. Watch out for the baby holders!
Posted on: Bachelors, Acting, and Game Shows
January 8, 2008 at 4:56 AMjackolish, be sure to try some of the expatriate websites in town, like the following: http://www.enjoyclassifieds.com/classifieds/jobs/tv_film Sites like asiaexpat.com, shanghaiexpat.com are the easiest places to find fun tv or film jobs and get paid for it.
Posted on: Bachelors, Acting, and Game Shows
December 3, 2007 at 1:41 AMBecause there are so many opportunities in China to find English teaching jobs you can be picky about your location and salary to a certain extent. Take your time choosing the right place and do research on the going wages in that area (expatriate websites like cityweekend and chinaonline.cn.com)
Posted on: Bachelors, Acting, and Game Shows
December 3, 2007 at 1:38 AMI dont know about Dandong, but when I was working in Guangzhou a few years ago, I was offered around 6-7,000 RMB per month. For the smaller cities, this is an ok wage because the cost of living there is extremely cheap compared to a place like Shanghai. Because there is nothing to do in places like Dandong, you can also save a lot of money - but you'll probably be bored out of your tree!
Posted on: 城市的乞丐
December 1, 2007 at 6:03 PM2005年时候, 上海政府出版了一个"Recognizing Phonies Guide" - http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1577793,00.html
Posted on: 城市的乞丐
December 1, 2007 at 5:54 PM我一般来说不给乞丐钱..可以的话我就给他们吃的东西或饮料...那样我觉得我是直接帮助那些小孩们, 老人等等, 不是让什么组织赚钱.. 有时候我也给了乞丐吃的东西, 他们拒绝了我..让我觉得他们是一个组织的团伙..
Posted on: NBA在中国
November 23, 2007 at 5:40 AMGood idea trenchantly..
Posted on: Dublin
March 17, 2008 at 2:45 AMIf anyone is wondering who Molly Malone is (mentioned in lesson introduction) check out this link to the Irish folksong - http://ingeb.org/songs/indublin.html, which can often be heard at Irish rugby and football matches