http://www.due-east.org Wed, 28 Sep 2011 05:54:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en   Allow me to vent for a second about a sterling example of typical Chinese customer disservice I ran into today. Last week, I lost my wallet getting out of a taxi. That was my own dumb fault; I should’ve been more aware of my personal belongings when I got out. [...]]]> http://www.due-east.org/2011/09/27/bank-of-stupid/   I love life here in China. I’ve met a lot of really great people since coming here, and there’s a whole lot to love about this country. Unfortunately, the concept of face just gets in the way far too much for my comfort (and health) sometimes. Let me explain… [...]]]> http://www.due-east.org/2011/06/23/no-smoking-please/   Chengdu Living just posted an article entitled Five Must-See Websites to Advance Your Chinese. If your Chinese has become stagnant, why not check it out?   ]]> http://www.due-east.org/2011/06/09/chengdu-living-five-must-see-websites-to-advance-your-chinese/   Anybody who’s been to China knows that sights like the one above are extremely common here. It seems that the whole diaper thing that the rest of the world uses never really caught on here in China. So it’s not uncommon to see small children (and even children who seem [...]]]> http://www.due-east.org/2011/06/06/the-whole-worlds-a-uhh-toilet/   What follows is the third and final installment of our interview with expat Steve Holt…   Q: What are prices like in China? A: That depends on what kind of money you make. If you’re rich in the US and making US dollars, things are really cheap to you. Your money goes a [...]]]> http://www.due-east.org/2011/05/27/ask-an-expat-part-3/   Dear China,   If one more of your citizens tells me that Chinese people are of poor quality, I’m going to scream. Not because I wholeheartedly disagree – neither do I totally agree, because I’ve met a lot of great people here – but because I’m sick of people complaining about things and not [...]]]> http://www.due-east.org/2011/05/27/dear-china-take-action-or-quit-complaining/   Below is part 2 of our interview with expatriate Steve Holt…   Q: What’s health care like in China? A: Cheap! It’s really, really inexpensive to go see a doctor. Things that would cost an arm and a leg in the United States are really cheap here. I know very few Westerners [...]]]> http://www.due-east.org/2011/05/11/ask-an-expat-part-2/   Recently, a friend of mine who is having a ‘bad China year’ has been complaining a lot about how uncreative Chinese society as a whole is. I can understand where he’s coming from. He’s an extremely creative person in his own right: he’s a graphic artist who has his [...]]]> http://www.due-east.org/2011/05/10/bringing-chinas-creativity-to-light/   We recently interviewed expatriate Steve Holt (names may have been changed to protect the innocent) about his thoughts about China. Steve is a relatively new transplant to China, but in his short time here, he’s experienced quite a bit. This is part 1 of that interview. Let’s see what [...]]]> http://www.due-east.org/2011/05/05/ask-an-expatriate-1/ this BBC article about how China is enacting a new law on May 1st that will officially ban smoking “in places like bars, restaurants, and buses, but not workplaces.” Please, oh please, let this work. There are about a zillion “no smoking” signs around this country, but [...]]]> http://www.due-east.org/2011/04/30/public-smoking-ban/