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I'm actually less self conscious, because, well...China. Then again, I belong to a pretty nice gym and do all my working out there, so I don't need to exercise outside in the polluted booming metropolis of Tianjin.
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Sep 8, 2013 02:57
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Magna Kaser posted:There will be plenty of gyms in Suzhou, but monthly the gyms here tend to border on highway robbery. My gym (not in Suzhou but a city of comparable cost) offers a year for about the same as three months if paid at the per-month rate. Still, there could be some in Suzhou that don't fit this mold, so good luck. Listen to Magna, he's the swolest!
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Sep 8, 2013 03:08
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FearCotton posted:Be prepared to have to play with the weights a lot though, especially if you're a serious lifter; the typical thing at my Beijing gym seemed to be "guy lifts 15 pound weight six times, pauses for iphone, flexes in mirror, adjusts polo, resumes rep once, repeats." Let's be honest this is the typical thing at most gyms anywhere. My gym is full of swole as gently caress Chinese dudes and ladies. I actually see this kind of thing here way less than I did in Ohio or New England.
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Sep 8, 2013 03:12
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Magna Kaser posted:Let's be honest this is the typical thing at most gyms anywhere. Yeah, you're probably right--probably also had more to do with the fact that it was Wudaokou, so student central. Also, because I didn't make this clear, the lifting offenders were both locals and foreigners. Just depended on what time you got there: foreigners during the day; locals at night; girls only seemed to roll in around class time. New gym in Yuyao is full of crazily strong ladies, though.
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Sep 8, 2013 04:48
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Having people stare at me all day every day has made me less self-conscious somehow, but I still have bouts of it bothering me.
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Sep 8, 2013 04:51
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Rabelais D posted:I think living in China tends to make people more self-conscious. Ma On Shan is different though. It has different ones labelled for elderly and non-elderly.
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Sep 8, 2013 05:58
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Are there are good gyms in Chengdu, either off a bus stop or subway line that aren't too expensive? Looking to pay like... 1800 a year tops. Need free weights and a squat rack, preferably not crazy crowded. I've heard good things about Megafit, and that's probably about my limit for traveling distance from where I am (right around the IKEA)
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Sep 8, 2013 08:05
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VideoTapir posted:I use those things for dips, pull-ups and sit ups. Don't even know what they're SUPPOSED to be for. You don't even need equipment. To get the REAL CHINESE WORKOUT EXPERIENCE you have to walk backwards. Once you master that, add in some forward claps. After a few years, you can really show off your experience by walking backwards and clapping forwards AND backwards. Its pretty intense and you can really feel the 5000 years of culture flowing through you. If you really need equipment though, try using a tree. Put your back against it and bump your butt. Do this for 45 minutes and you're good for the day.
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Sep 8, 2013 09:13
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Magna Kaser posted:Also fake eggs are common so you gotta be on the lookout for that. Whaddaya mean fake eggs??!! D:
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Sep 8, 2013 09:44
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peanut posted:Whaddaya mean fake eggs??!! D: Turns out raising chickens for eggs is more expensive than combining just the right chemicals and colorings so they set into a gelatinous emulsion that looks surprisingly like a real egg! They even have a way to convincingly fake the shells!
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Sep 8, 2013 10:15
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Monkey Fury posted:Are there are good gyms in Chengdu, either off a bus stop or subway line that aren't too expensive? Looking to pay like... 1800 a year tops. Need free weights and a squat rack, preferably not crazy crowded. I've heard good things about Megafit, and that's probably about my limit for traveling distance from where I am (right around the IKEA) I have no idea if it's a decent place or not. Some guy was handing out fliers for the place (on the opposite side of town) and gave me a card for a free visit if you want it. Though I'm pretty sure you could just walk in and ask to try it for a day, that's what I did at my (terrible) gym. There are no swole people in any of the ad pictures.
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Sep 8, 2013 10:15
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Hey just wanted to say I had a good time at the goon meets the last few weeks, good job everyone! I asked a Chinese friend about Old Meat and he said it's just pork butt. I tried to take some friends to Mike's Pizza the other day but we were waylaid by a crafty pizza establishment that had cunningly situated itself much closer to our movie theater. Can anyone confirm or deny the rumors that Mike's uses slave labor and or/beats and tortures its employees?
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Sep 8, 2013 10:25
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I've heard that and I've heard he's a nice jolly man who is wonderful to his employees. But I heard that from a friend who eats there a lot, so I really have no idea. Good food, though.
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Sep 8, 2013 10:35
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Mike's pizza is really good and he seems like a pretty decent dude, and I've heard good things. Plus I don't know if anyone who sells homemade ice cream in Chengdu can be too awfulTom Smykowski posted:There's a gym in that mall next to Ikea, I guess. 清健身 Qingjianshen is the name, the address is 成都市高新区天府大道北段8号. Thanks. I'll have to check it and the gym in 9 Square out, my only fear is that anything out here is really expensive but maybe not
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Sep 8, 2013 11:33
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Monkey Fury posted:Are there are good gyms in Chengdu, either off a bus stop or subway line that aren't too expensive? Looking to pay like... 1800 a year tops. Need free weights and a squat rack, preferably not crazy crowded. I've heard good things about Megafit, and that's probably about my limit for traveling distance from where I am (right around the IKEA) I'll always tell people megafit is probably the best. A year is 1600ish RMB, and it's worth it. They take care of the equipment, it's good equipment, there's a sauna and a steam room. It's nice. It's literally a 2 minute walk from the Chunxi subway stop. The only issue is during peak time for Chinese working folks people it's crazy crowded. This tends to be any time between 5 and 8pm M-F. Weekends are pretty dead and anytime before 5 and after 8 it clears out a bit. On weekends it tends to be only hardcore Chinese swoleberts and a large number of laowai, but everyone is really nice. There is probably a decent-ish one closer to you though. Megafit has some sister franchise that just opened one in the high-tech zone, if I can find the name I'll let you know. Arglebargle III posted:Hey just wanted to say I had a good time at the goon meets the last few weeks, good job everyone! I asked a Chinese friend about Old Meat and he said it's just pork butt. I tried to take some friends to Mike's Pizza the other day but we were waylaid by a crafty pizza establishment that had cunningly situated itself much closer to our movie theater. Can anyone confirm or deny the rumors that Mike's uses slave labor and or/beats and tortures its employees? This is a bit of Chengdu laowai gossip, but there are numerous claims of him screaming and yelling and even beating his Chinese employees. Screaming and yelling don't really phase me cause I worked in a kitchen for years and screaming and yelling is pretty much how anything gets done in that kind of work, but supposedly he's an rear end in a top hat maybe?!?! I've heard him screaming while in his place, but honestly it seemed more like AHH GET THIS poo poo DONE DELIVER PIZZAS and less AHH gently caress CHINESE PEOPLE I AM A WHITE OVERLORD. I dunno, I also don't think his pizza is that great for the price. I'd rather have Papa John's or even Prince Pizza which tend to be a good deal cheaper and bigger. If you like his pizza, and a lot do, I think you can go for it guilt free. I also think the Spot is terrible overpriced and not that great too (honestly BK is a better burger and cheaper, and I can cook a better burger in my house for 1/3 the price of their burger) but most non-Chinese people think it's pretty much the bee's knees. My favorite expensive laowai food in Chengdu is: 1. Lazy Pug - Just reopened on Renmin Lu a bit south of the Tongzilin train station. It's pricy but legitimately a great restaurant. Run by two Americans from Chicago I think??? They do the only good "fusion" food I've ever had anywhere, and make poo poo like taro nachos with special spicy dip that is amazing. 2. Kaminarimon/雷门拉面 - I eat here way too much. Two locations of a Japanese ramen place run by a real Japanese guy who is nice as hell and loves making ramen more than anything in the world. One is at Jiuyanqiao right behind the 7/11 next to the Underground bar, the other is at Silver Square at Chunxi Lu on the 5th floor. The ramen is great and cheaper than Ajisen and other lovely places, but the other stuff like beef bowls is also good. 3. Cakey Butta - Also super pricy, but the most legit cheesecake you can get in town. It's in Tongzilin about 500m west of Mike's Pizza. They also import craft beers from overseas. It's run by two American girls I believe. 4. That bakery in Yulin - This is some bakery in Yulin that doesn't even have a name I think. It's hidden down a road by the Yulin Highschool. Run by a German woman, also has amazing Cheesecake and other stuff. 5. Rice Plus - Curry place also right next to Mike's Pizza that is run by a friendly Japanese fellow. He's really committed to making a quality product and not using low-grade poo poo. His stuff is amazingly priced, a large order is more than most people can handle and tends to be under 30rmb. When I lived in Tongzilin I had delivery from this place way too often. e:whoopsss Ailumao fucked around with this message at 12:36 on Sep 8, 2013 |
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Sep 8, 2013 12:04
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The owners of Lazy Pug are cool but the whole drama about them shutting down last time was a bit 
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Sep 8, 2013 12:22
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Arglebargle III posted:Having people stare at me all day every day has made me less self-conscious somehow, but I still have bouts of it bothering me. It doesn't bother me as much as the constant talking about me as if i can't understand them, even if they know full well that I can. My halfbreed baby seems to be on a first-name basis with everyone in my community and my cousins-in-law don't even know my name. It's often innocuous poo poo like "I see he bought yogurt today. He didn't buy yogurt yesterday." but it often makes me feel like I'm being group stalked or something, I had a friend here who was a super-nice guy and really very fat. Everywhere he went people were gaping at him and saying poo poo like "oh gently caress look at that big loving fat foreigner" but he couldn't understand them, and I could. One time a taxi driver in Beijing started fretting about his suspension and wouldn't let him into the taxi. We told him the guy said no foreigners. I think if my friend understood Chinese he would have been really freaked out by constantly being the subject of public conversation and ridicule. I know that hanging out with him and overhearing these conversations I always felt very uncomfortable, and he definitely got the sense that this sort of thing was going on and tried to brush it off. Eventually he got kinda weird and panicky and went home. I don't mind it - probably I'm the most visible guy in my community - but I certainly think it's creepy and don't necessarily revel in the attention. "Welcome to China" is the only that really bugs me. I know it is more of a token "you are welcome here" but when you've already explained to someone how you have been living here 5 years and they come back with "welcome to china" it makes you think they haven't been listening to you at all.
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Sep 8, 2013 14:56
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This evening I was taking out the trash and walked by some guy with his son. The guy said "Say Ha-lo!" to his kid and I was annoyed because the way they do this it's like taking their kids to see the zoo. You know, the Lion says "Roar!" the Dog says "Woof" and the Laowai says "Ha-lo!" But then I thought about it and realized that kid is probably going to grow up, and when he's 16 he's going to see a foreigner and maybe he'll have done okay in English class or even had some contact with the outside world through the internet. And one day he's going to be out with his dad and he'll see some twenty-something foreigner who looks pretty cool to a 16 year old kid, and he's about to say "What's up?" and his dad is going to nudge him and say "Say ha-lo!" and he's going to be so embarrassed. Really what I did there is redirect my scorn from China onto dads.
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Sep 8, 2013 15:07
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So which one of you is the fat one
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Sep 8, 2013 15:20
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Isn't 'ha-lo' some form of 'idiot' in Guilin Hua?
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Sep 8, 2013 16:17
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Hold on I'll ask all the people in my circle that speak Guilin Hua.
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Sep 8, 2013 16:56
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Bloodnose posted:Hold on I'll ask all the people in my circle that speak Guilin Hua. Got a bunch of those huh? I think it is an inside joke in Guilin. You courteously say 'ha-lo' when if fact you are saying 'idiot'.
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Sep 8, 2013 17:04
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For the Beijing -> Shanghai high speed train is it a better idea to book the tickets in advance or could I just walk in and easily figure it out?
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Sep 8, 2013 22:20
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FearCotton posted:Yeah, they're not so much "gyms" as they are "playground equipment"; where is your work putting you up for those two months? If you're staying at a hotel/fancy-ish western place, there should be a gym available for you to use. Be prepared to have to play with the weights a lot though, especially if you're a serious lifter; the typical thing at my Beijing gym seemed to be "guy lifts 15 pound weight six times, pauses for iphone, flexes in mirror, adjusts polo, resumes rep once, repeats." I don't think it'll be a hotel, probably some kind of temporary apartment type thing. That would be cool if there was a fitness center in the complex but I don't know how common that is, I don't feel like it's all that common over here. I am a pretty serious lifter but for 2 months I'll settle for just being able to at least do some basic things and not lose too much - I'll check out what's in my area the first few days I'm there. This is going to be in January/February so I'm guessing it would be too cold outside to use park gym equipment. I'll definitely eat lots of pork and tofu though, maybe bring a 5lb jug of whey, and hopefully I can find a place that sells real eggs.  For language stuff, does anyone know if the Pleco "point camera at sign with characters and it will translate in real time to English" app is any good? I've been using audio tapes to learn lots of basic stuff like I don't want it, I'd like to order a beer, Where is the hotel, Would you like to eat dinner with me, etc. but in terms of reading characters I will know precisely zero.
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Sep 9, 2013 01:20
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xenilk posted:For the Beijing -> Shanghai high speed train is it a better idea to book the tickets in advance or could I just walk in and easily figure it out? Buy online, go to any agent, pay 5 kuai, skip the ticket line at the station.
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Sep 9, 2013 02:10
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If you're going to an agent you don't even need to buy online, you can go to the agent and buy it there, takes like literally 30 seconds.
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Sep 9, 2013 02:11
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Rogue posted:I don't think it'll be a hotel, probably some kind of temporary apartment type thing. That would be cool if there was a fitness center in the complex but I don't know how common that is, I don't feel like it's all that common over here. I am a pretty serious lifter but for 2 months I'll settle for just being able to at least do some basic things and not lose too much - I'll check out what's in my area the first few days I'm there. This is going to be in January/February so I'm guessing it would be too cold outside to use park gym equipment. I'll definitely eat lots of pork and tofu though, maybe bring a 5lb jug of whey, and hopefully I can find a place that sells real eggs. I dunno, bro. Those two things don't really go together. The Pleco OCR is really good though, from what I hear. I know people who live here and basically survive off of it. I think it is the worst thing ever if you're actually trying to learn the language, but for people just traveling it is a godsend.
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Sep 9, 2013 02:17
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goldboilermark posted:If you're going to an agent you don't even need to buy online, you can go to the agent and buy it there, takes like literally 30 seconds. True, except that getting it online means that you know in advance, 100% that you have the ticket you want/need.
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Sep 9, 2013 02:21
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Magna Kaser posted:I dunno, bro. Those two things don't really go together. Yeah, I don't drink very much so I probably won't use that one too often anyway. But I'm guessing I'll have a lot of social events where people will be drinking. I'll be sure to pick up the camera reader. I guess this is something more for the language thread, but can anyone give a guide on how to differentiate/speak words starting with x/j/q/ch/sh/zh? Some of them I can sort of tell what they sound like and try to imitate when I speak, but I dunno.
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Sep 9, 2013 03:09
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There's an agent literally next to my building so it takes like a minute walking home from work. Those dudes are everywhere, I can't imagine having to go far to get a ticket at one of them.
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Sep 9, 2013 03:12
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If you already know your traveling dates then yeah buy beforehand. Normally getting a ticket on the spot is doable but becomes a nightmare during national holidays. And do bar starz like AfroNinja. Go to random parks and do pull ups!
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Sep 9, 2013 03:13
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caberham posted:If you already know your traveling dates then yeah buy beforehand. Normally getting a ticket on the spot is doable but becomes a nightmare during national holidays. Hahaha! Yeah I guess I'll take it in advance, once I'm sure which date I'm planning to go to Shanghai! Thanks everyone
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Sep 9, 2013 03:27
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Rogue posted:how to differentiate/speak words starting with x/j/q/ch/sh/zh? I just made a big post in the language thread about that. quote:"I see he bought yogurt today. He didn't buy yogurt yesterday." This defines being a foreigner in China.
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Sep 9, 2013 13:07
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systran posted:This defines being a foreigner in China.
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Sep 9, 2013 14:52
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You should be making your own yoghurt anyway.
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Sep 9, 2013 14:56
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Tom Smykowski posted:I'm pretty sure everyone here does that about everyone. At least in the building I live in, constant gossip about every possible thing. My parents-in-law do this poo poo all the time, I start to think that "他“ actually means “你”。 Several plates are laid out on the table, I grab the beans first, "他吃菜！他不吃肉。“ I chew the beans quickly, wanting to grab some of the pork next so that I can prove them wrong. "他不喝汤么？“ It goes on and on like this until I have eaten every single thing on the table. Whatever I eat the least of is commented on non-stop, as if I can't hear them, and when I finally finish eating they tell my wife “他吃了不够，没吃包了！” "我吃包了，真的。[name of something]我特别喜欢。“ ”哎呀，他吃了不够。“ Then it's time to go out in the middle of summer. "石康(me)!" *mother-in-law hands me a jacket* I say, "今天很热，32度，我不穿。“ my wife says, "妈妈，他一直不穿夹克。他很喜欢冷的天气。” “哎哟，感冒了。“ Then they force my wife to wear a jacket. We are walking outside and the sun is beating down on us, my wife is sweating and takes her jacket off and has to carry it around. I clear my throat, and my father-in-law says, "感冒了。“ We visit four different relatives' houses, all give us water melons and other fruits full of seeds. I eat watermelon in the first house, and don't want to eat more watermelon in the second house. Everyone comments on how “美国人不吃水果吗？” In the third house they tell the relatives "他不喜欢吃西瓜。“
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Sep 9, 2013 15:33
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systran posted:My parents-in-law do this poo poo all the time, I start to think that "他“ actually means “你”。 My in-laws are awesome... we just get hosed up and play majiang. No one cares that I'm foreign.
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Sep 9, 2013 15:38
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My in-laws are from a super small town and are so traditional Chinese. To their credit they are really nice to me when they are actually talking to me directly and the whole fussing about everything is at least trying to help me even though it annoys the poo poo out of me. They don't actually speak Mandarin so imagine everything I typed in some goofy Shandong dialect. They want us to have a kid since we have been married for several months already and my wife is unemployed, so that is clearly the best time to have a kid. Every time we talk about our dog, who we think is just awesome, they tell us to get rid of it so we can have a kid. 石康，你对牛牛（our dog) 的爱情，以后给小宝宝的。。。恩，就行。 Mother-in-law then says, "狗很脏，不要宝宝生病了啊! 明年生孩子！“ My wife and I say nothing, and then for the rest our visit people keep telling us "下一次带宝宝吧," to which my mother-in-law informs them, "明年了！他门还要等几个月啊！” which is news to us because we have no plans to have kids for the next several years.
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Sep 9, 2013 15:52
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Just a reminder, guys, this is the Tourism and Travel thread. Please translate your Chinese for the tourists.
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Sep 9, 2013 16:49
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gently caress, I thought this was the CHINA! thread  There is no way I'm going to go back and translate all that poo poo. Basically they comment nonstop on what I am eating as I eat it, say I'm not eating enough. Then they ask me to wear a jacket and I tell them it's a hot summer day and they say I'll catch a cold. If I make any noise from my throat they say "He caught a cold!" Then they force feed me watermelons and when I finally stop eating them they say, "Americans don't eat fruit!" Also I must kill my dog and have a human baby.
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Sep 9, 2013 16:56
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