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Great Expatations

Health clinic Beijing International S.O.S on connecting foreigners with the right health care in China
Posted Nov 3rd 2008 12:46p.m. by lilkuo (Great Expatations)

CW columnist gets the stories from foreign doctors taking care of expats in China

The problem foreigners have with Chinese hospitals is not the level of treatment available. China has first-rate doctors and medicine. If you're getting major surgery China's not necessarily a bad place. The problem is the way this treatment is presented. In the West we rely on the general ... Read more »

  • liminalspace Hmm.. this is not so much a blog as a free advertisement for International SOS... But, for the record - I think International SOS are THE BEST in Beijing!!!
When do the Chinese plan to start planning?
Posted Sep 8th 2008 3:01p.m. by milse (Great Expatations)

Why is it that most Chinese people and institutions have so much difficulty with planning ahead? Is it a deep-seated cultural difference or something that comes with modernization/ capitalization/ wealth/ whatever you want to call it?

I believe that no claim, especially one so large as suggesting an entire nation ... Read more »

  • milse It's the "ticket agencies" that I've been buying from. (I miscalculated the days and went to a different one yesterday only to be told to come back on ...
  • jux Neither lack of desire nor lack of ability I'd say. You can actually book and buy train tickets more than 3 days in advance, just not at Beijing Station ...
And the next Chinese internet star is... me!
Posted Aug 22nd 2008 11:57p.m. by milse (Great Expatations)

My friend and his girlfriend pointed this out to me: My picture is all over the Chinese internet.

A couple days ago I went to the Bird's Nest to try to buy a ticket to the handball semi-finals. I don't care about handball, but I had some free ... Read more »

  • nancy0925 U did good job.awesome.all the people are disgusted with scalpers.but there is no one reacted like u. u pic saw on several big net in china.they ...
  • spencer awsome guy!~~
  • pjsheeps hahahah! awesomeeeee
  • davidfeng good one... Mind the yellow cows, though.
  • siennapc HAHAHAHAHAHA! ^_^
What is (expat) Beijing’s ambition?
Posted Jun 10th 2008 6:32p.m. by steve_lee (Great Expatations)

Came across this interesting fimoculous.com post on this Paul Graham (venture capitalist, artist, techie and writer) article.

The premise is that great cities attract a certain type of person and those people combine to exert a certain message. Examples include New York: you should make more money; Cambridge (Mass ... Read more »

  • graffaite Beijing: you really should start raising your standards
  • leemack People with delusions of grandeur!
New York Is Better Than Beijing
Posted Apr 5th 2008 7:51p.m. by milse (Great Expatations)

Alright, another question for all you out there.

Beijing has a population of 8 million people. That's the same as New York City. (The Beijing municipal population is 17 million, but that includes all the people living in places like Miyun and Shunyi. You can count them if you ... Read more »

  • alishan Nice to see a balanced comment :)
  • anyixin I'm from NJ, near NYC, so I know what it's like there. I love Beijing and I'd HATE to see it turn into a US-like city... but ...
  • davidfeng I used to live in Zurich from 1988 to 2000. No subway. No KTV (hey, I'm into this thing!). 9 to 10 train stations, tops. Shops shut on Sunday ...
  • alishan Haha, Well, that's true that no place on earth is perfect as we always find some unpleasant aspects everywhere we go. But, this does not mean a city or ...
  • leemack It's an old question and still relevant, but for the record I disagree that America (or, by natural extension, an American) has forsaken its right to being critical of ...
Why Don't Expat Women Like Chinese Men?
Posted Mar 24th 2008 6:05p.m. by milse (Great Expatations)

Yes, this is a sleazy survey. Yes, I don't expect to learn anything useful. On the other hand, I do expect to stir up some rancor. But sometimes the only thing that keeps me going is the rancor of strangers. Plus, I am stating my premises in a fair ... Read more »

  • clarkkent chinese men r usually skinny or chubby, bad eating habits, usually long nails.. bad mouth smell, bad teeth.. usually, little bit feminine,,and till now i didn;t speak about ...
  • nancy0925 u brought up a good topic,Many chinese internet talked this subjuct many times.but they seems didn't find the ture reason.many chinese men want to communicate with ...
  • milse Beautiful Nat, beautiful. 16 percent acceptance rate by white women. Those poor, poor Asian Columbia students. If you can't get Nat's link to work try typing it yourself ...
  • natk hey milse, just thought i'd throw out a bit of wonky science on the subject. http://scienceblogs.com/gnxp/2008/07/why_does_race_matter_for_women.php
  • chinadriving China driver license for foreigners hongkong zhongde is a professional company to apply china driver license for foreigners, taiwan,hongkong,macao citizen and who hold Chinese passport.It only takes ...
EDISON CHEN SEX SCANDAL (the links)
Posted Mar 3rd 2008 5:03p.m. by milse (Great Expatations)

Alright, I know this is low-class, but it deserves more than 254 words in the beginning of the national section of the magazine. This is the biggest sex scandal in the history of digital media. This is four times as big as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee or Paris Hilton ... Read more »

  • juhuacha hey tombschrader, your link is broken. ;)
  • tombschrader www.edisonchenforpresidentofcanada.com
  • stonebanks How could I not be happy to be associated with this. Love the photo juxtaposition. Alright, I'm going out for ice cream.
I Am a Ping Pong Ball Lost in a Sea of Beer
Posted Feb 22nd 2008 11:30p.m. by milse (Great Expatations)

The first place I ever played beer pong in Beijing was at the Rickshaw. It was May, a good four months before Pyro's tournaments started. I had just gotten back to China and was catching up with old friends, sort of sifting through them trying to remember who I ... Read more »

Floating (Uncut)
Posted Feb 18th 2008 6:03p.m. by milse (Great Expatations)

The Great Expatations column is limited to 400-500 words. That's never as much as I'd like. This is the first of what will be occasional postings of uncut versions of the column. The published version of "Floating" came out on February 14th. Perhaps I'm egotistical, but I ... Read more »

I rode my bike
Posted Feb 13th 2008 9:50p.m. by milse (Great Expatations)

to Carrefour to pick up some bread. As I chained it up outside the attendant at the bike parking lot, a stumpy middle-aged man wearing a grey hat with ear flaps waved in my direction. He walked over. His thick, white surgical mask couldn't hide the smile beaming from ... Read more »

  • anyixin I once rode my bike to work, parked it along the sidewalk with hundreds of others and a guy collecting 2mao, and then after work.... took the subway home and ...
  • milse I thought that it was important to get one positive blog entry to start. I feel like there are going to be some pretty negative ones coming.
My Peeps Interview: Bread of Life Bakery
Posted Feb 1st 2008 11:20a.m. by tombschrader (Great Expatations)

Recently we spoke with Keith and Cheryl Wyse of Bread of Life Bakery in Hebei Province. Click the "play button" to hear the audio version of the interview, or check out the transcript below. Apologies for the poor audio quality, we're still getting the kinks worked out of the ... Read more »

  • leemack Here I am globbering down cinnamon rolls and contributing zilch to the betterment of mankind. I feel guilty. Pass the pecan pie please. No seriously, it's a great story ...
Yabao Crew Diaries
Posted Jan 29th 2008 6:31p.m. by tombschrader (Great Expatations)

This journal entry by Nikolai Chuvashov, one of the Russians mentioned in Sienna Parulis-Cook's Great Expatations column in Issue 2 of City Weekend, recounts his experience in Beijing. Many thanks to Inna Levinson for the translation from Russian

China… you know, it’s not stinky!

Sure I was at ... Read more »

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