The company behind my Chinese summer teaching job unilaterally terminated my contract after several months of using my name and record to advertise their program to students. I need help understanding the situation.
[more inside]
posted by deadweightloss
on Apr 25, 2013 -
6 answers
Hey Mefis! I am asking this question on behalf of my brother-in-law who recently got laid off. Does anyone here have advice to give to a guy with a degree in Chinese and minor in business who would like to work in manufacturing/ sourcing for a US company either in the US or China?
[more inside]
posted by catrae
on Apr 25, 2013 -
6 answers
My partner and I are looking to invest in a dish set, but we've been struggling to find anything we agree on. After several department store visits, we
finally glimpsed something that both of us really, really love. "Look at that!" we exclaimed in unison. Unfortunately, the "that" was
Hermès' "Cheval d'Orient" series, which sell for hundreds or thousands per plate. This is way,
way beyond our means. Can you recommend some budget alternatives in a similar style?
[more inside]
posted by Marquis
on Apr 5, 2013 -
19 answers
Twenty or so years ago Grams passed on and I got some very nice looking plates and cups made of china with gold trim, (I don't know if it's real gold but it looks nice) Since Gramps gambled most of his pay away I reckon the stuff was passed on to her as well. I've used it twice and its time for me to downsize (vinyl LPs go last). Can anyone recommend a place in the tri-state area (NY-NJ-Conn) where there are parties interested in such ware?
posted by daveo'h
on Apr 3, 2013 -
8 answers
My grandmother's heirloom china set (now mine) was stored for a while in an area that apparently cooking grease must have vented to. Below the standard layer of dust is a sticky film that I can scrape with a fingernail.
[more inside]
posted by juniperesque
on Mar 26, 2013 -
24 answers
Would you happen to know of any articles originally written Mandarin about Bolaño's popularity in China? Or Latin American literature's popularity in China in general?
posted by slowlikemolasses
on Mar 26, 2013 -
0 answers
I am travelling to China from Canada in the near future. I have hundreds of questions and concerns but mostly just need reassurance that I'm not forgetting anything. Bonus, what should I do for carry-on?
[more inside]
posted by sarae
on Mar 13, 2013 -
19 answers
A friend and I are cooking a big Chinese meal for some friends, and ideally we'd like to have a bottle of baijiu to share (even more ideally, it would be something other than Moutai (most perfect would be a bottle of Fenjiu from Xinhuacun in Shanxi, but we recognize that that's unlikely)). Are there online liquor stores we could order from? Or a brick-and-mortar store reasonably close to Madison, WI?
posted by Vibrissa
on Mar 10, 2013 -
5 answers
Just picked up some cool paper cuts. And was wondering if metafilter can help me translate them. I believe they are Chinese but honestly I am not sure. Two images are below:
Paper Cut One
Paper Cut Two
Let me know if you have any trouble with the images. And thanks again Metafilter!
posted by WickedPissah
on Mar 4, 2013 -
6 answers
Asking on behalf of two friends in China: one (not a Chinese national) wants to loan a large amount of money to the other (who is Chinese). The problem is the foreigner's account (even though it's a Chinese bank account) is in Euros. They tried to go to the local (Chinese) bank and do a transfer, but were told that it was illegal to transfer a foreign currency to a Chinese person like that, and that they would have to first convert all the money to RMB and then could give it to him, but that gets pretty expensive with exchange rates and fees, since this is apparently a pretty large sum. So the question is: What's the best way for a foreigner to transfer his money, in euros, at his Chinese bank account to the Chinese bank account of a Chinese national? Is there any bank card or service which the Chinese national can apply for to make it easier?
posted by jef
on Mar 2, 2013 -
7 answers
So I'm reading the 17th-Century Chinese novel "The Plum in the Golden Vase" - which, by the way, is incredibly good - and I'm having trouble picturing something.
[more inside]
posted by facetious
on Mar 1, 2013 -
6 answers
I leave for a two week stay in China (Beijing), on Friday. I would like to take a laptop with me. I have heard however, that there is a significant risk of becoming infected with malware or spyware. Is this true? I will not have the laptop on me at all times.
[more inside]
posted by oddman
on Feb 25, 2013 -
4 answers
A team from our office is heading over to a number of China cities and they want to be active on social media the whole time to promote it. But given that China blocks twitter and Facebook, I need some workarounds. Is there a client like Hootsuite or tweet deck or buffer that ISN'T blocked? And what are my other options? Does instagram work? What about Linkedin?
posted by rileyray3000
on Feb 21, 2013 -
10 answers
Tell me what you know about building a Wordpress-based site in English, but with Chinese-language content. Or any other language, really, if it applies to this situation.
[more inside]
posted by cilantro
on Feb 5, 2013 -
3 answers
Is it common to add salt when cooking plain boiled or steamed rice? Specifically, is this widely done in India, China or Japan?
posted by dontjumplarry
on Feb 4, 2013 -
23 answers
I'm from the U.S. and I've been invited to an academic conference on "Religion in Modern Society" at a university in PRC. I need a visa.
[more inside]
posted by reverend cuttle
on Feb 1, 2013 -
8 answers
Inspired by all these threads (
1,
2,
3) I was wondering which products are much cheaper than other products in the same class, but offer comparable, or exceptional performance. Generally, I would suppose these would mainly come from
Chinese companies that aren't very well-established internationally.
[more inside]
posted by titantoppler
on Jan 20, 2013 -
17 answers
Why do all (or at least, the vast majority) of flights between Sydney and the U.S. this July/August have layovers in China or Korea? How can I best go about finding a budget ticket that takes a more direct route?
[more inside]
posted by jrobin276
on Jan 7, 2013 -
15 answers
Going to Shanghai for the first time for three weeks in Jan/Feb. Where should I go/eat/do?
[more inside]
posted by bluelight
on Dec 19, 2012 -
7 answers
Is it still moral/ethical to buy cosmetics from companies who have decided to enter the Chinese market? If not, are there any mainstream/high-street options left?
[more inside]
posted by mippy
on Dec 12, 2012 -
16 answers
I've decided that I want to buy new, "smart" and/or "fashion-forward" clothes, and in my travels through sites like Pinterest I've discovered the phenomenon of the online Far-East retailer (sites like theleesshop.com and top-dresses.com). Specifically for menswear, has anyone bought from places like this, and how have the results been? Buying a nice-looking coat for $22 plus shipping almost seems too good to be true, but I'm sure that's still profitable for the manufacturer and saves on all the uplift that gets added by the retail universe (and western world in general).
posted by clicking the 'Post Comment' button
on Nov 21, 2012 -
11 answers
I saw this tall teapot in the British tv-show Wartime Farm, so it's possibly British and from the 40s. I'd love to know what style it is, or anything that could help me find something similar - I've had no luck searching myself.
Screencap of teapot
posted by Signy
on Nov 6, 2012 -
7 answers
Chinese pop music question. What is the background music in
this video? It doesn't identify in Shazam or SoundHound. I looked through 50 pages of the YouTube comments and it's all a lot of arguing about HAARP and ice crystals, so I guess I'll need some help from Chinese MeFites. Thanks.
posted by crapmatic
on Oct 25, 2012 -
2 answers
I'm new to China and I have been told by my employer that I can only deduct laundry and restaurant bills from my income tax. that sucks since I was planning to purchase a lot of photography/computer gear that's relevant to my job. is there really no way for me to get a tax deduction on these items?
posted by krautland
on Oct 23, 2012 -
9 answers
Can you recommend me podcasts, books, TV documentaries, articles or journals (in English) where I could learn more about China, such as Chinese politics, history, culture and other important things?
posted by EatMyHat
on Oct 15, 2012 -
8 answers
My new roommate just declared to me that there is a rule in our apartment: No dates are allowed to ever sleep over. Can you help me figure out how to have a productive discussion about this with her?
[more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Sep 14, 2012 -
63 answers
I received
this swan teapot for Christmas 2011. Now I'm on a mission to turn it into a tea set by buying a tea tray, sugar bowl, creamer and half a dozen cups and saucers that go with it.
And I also need to learn to make tea properly, as opposed to thowing a tea bag in hot water, Canadian-style. I think my best bet for getting a swan tea tray is to keep an eye out for a secondhand wooden tray I can paint with a swan motif, but I haven't found the other items yet. Super Shoppers of MeFi, what items can you suggest that will be perfect for my swan tea set?
posted by orange swan
on Aug 21, 2012 -
10 answers
How can I become expert at distinguishing a person's home province in China, based on their speech patterns (accent)?
[more inside]
posted by crawltopslow
on Aug 21, 2012 -
7 answers
Please help me understand, or point me to resources that will help me understand, what is going on in the
Japan/China Senkaku/Diaoyu dust up: analysis of root causes, ideas about the broader implications, particular reasons why this is so fraught, &c. Thanks.
posted by davidjmcgee
on Aug 19, 2012 -
12 answers
Recommendations for Chinese literature that presents average Chinese citizens in context of a modern Chinese urban setting
[more inside]
posted by TheOtherSide
on Aug 12, 2012 -
4 answers
Having completed my research in Malaysia early, I find myself with two weeks to travel in South-East Asia. Where should I go? I have many options and not enough time to plan. Please guide me!
[more inside]
posted by reren
on Jul 19, 2012 -
14 answers
What is there to do in Urumqi in the next few days on a restricted budget and with limited local language skills?
[more inside]
posted by Quinbus Flestrin
on Jun 19, 2012 -
4 answers
I am traveling to China on July 17th to teach English to academics, having been invited by a college there. I'm applying for a Business F visa. Co-travelers have successfully received their visas through consulate X. Consulate Y is telling our agency that we need two letters, but the requirements for an "F" visa clearly state that one will suffice. It gets worse.
[more inside]
posted by mecran01
on Jun 18, 2012 -
13 answers
I may be going to Shanghai for a couple of weeks later this year. I do not speak the language, my partner has food allergies. What preparations can I make?
[more inside]
posted by epo
on May 29, 2012 -
6 answers
How much should I charge someone who wants me to do a special errand while travelling abroad?
[more inside]
posted by ditto75
on May 7, 2012 -
25 answers
