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I miss seeing the sun. Qingdao is nice, but the nonstop fog and now death fumes are getting pretty old. On the plus side, we swung by some local grocery/department store and now I have tons of weird candy and drinks to try! Quick Tip: Pizza Hut steaks are exactly as good as you think they are.
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Dec 24, 2015 01:35
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Warbird posted:I miss seeing the sun. Qingdao is nice, but the nonstop fog and now death fumes are getting pretty old. On the plus side, we swung by some local grocery/department store and now I have tons of weird candy and drinks to try! You're in China and eating at Pizza Hut. Spotted the mistake. Go get some beer in a plastic bag and eat seafood outside, that's what you're supposed to do in Qingdao.
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Dec 24, 2015 02:46
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SB35 posted:You're in China and eating at Pizza Hut. Spotted the mistake. Print these out and order these- 香辣蛤蜊 锅包肉 地三鲜 干煸鱿鱼 拔丝地瓜 四喜丸子 That's probably enough for now. Eat some awesome shandong food. If you're sick of Chinese food, head down past May 4th Square and towards Qingdao University to the Japan/Korea town. You can get some legit Korean and Japanese food there since there's actually a large Korean diaspora in Qingdao and a weirdly large number of Japanese people live there for work since so many big companies (Haier, Hisense, Sinooec, etc) are HQ'd in Qingdao. It's basically centered around Yan'erdao road (燕儿岛路） north of Hong Kong Middle road （香港中路）If you find the AEON (formerly Jusco) and LOTTE on HK road which sprung up there in a weirdly opportunistic way, you're basically there. Also find dumplings. Qingdao has some of the best dumplings in the whole world since you can get anything from pork, to veggie, to lamb, to fish.
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Dec 24, 2015 03:12
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Beijing aside, we've spent most of my "vacation" in her parents' apartment. I'm not really bothered by this as Mom is a good cook and has made the octopus thing you recommended for us already. It would be nice to go out and look around a bit more though, the weather is supposed to clear tomorrow for Christmas so we may do just that. AEON is actually where we went shopping and next to the Pizza Hut I had the steak at. Once I get over this cold or whatever I caught I'm going to badger her into going for a walk with me. I may need to after I talk to Dad about marrying his daughter; thankfully Mom is ok with it.
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Dec 24, 2015 06:27
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Good luck man! When I asked my wife's parents if I could marry my wife, I had it on three cue-cards that I had written and know I made at least two mistakes because twice they burst out laughing. I'm lucky that it wasn't a tonal language like Mandarin, I imagine I could have really screwed up then. My wife also wrote a speech for her parents, asking for permission to let me marry her, and I don't think she messed up at all because all three of them were crying by the end of it and I was just there like "So uhm is this good or what exactly" because saying "Hey can I marry this guy?" and then everyone crying could kind of come off like a negative thing.
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Dec 24, 2015 09:07
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The Great Autismo! posted:Good luck man! When I asked my wife's parents if I could marry my wife, I had it on three cue-cards that I had written and know I made at least two mistakes because twice they burst out laughing. I'm lucky that it wasn't a tonal language like Mandarin, I imagine I could have really screwed up then. My wife also wrote a speech for her parents, asking for permission to let me marry her, and I don't think she messed up at all because all three of them were crying by the end of it and I was just there like "So uhm is this good or what exactly" because saying "Hey can I marry this guy?" and then everyone crying could kind of come off like a negative thing. She was probably just reading a speech about how the Chinese expected her to apologise for the establishment of the East Asian Co Prosperity Sphere
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Dec 24, 2015 09:23
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The Great Autismo! posted:"So uhm is this good or what exactly" because saying "Hey can I marry this guy?" and then everyone crying could kind of come off like a negative thing. Is there a username/post combo smiley?
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Dec 24, 2015 09:41
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Opposition would usually be expressed as quiet disgust, eruptions of doubt, and/or stubborn anger. (*｀Д´)ノ！！┻━┻
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Dec 24, 2015 14:20
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Warbird posted:Beijing aside, we've spent most of my "vacation" in her parents' apartment. This is pretty typical. Most Chinese kids would come home on break and just lay on the couch while their parents wait on them hand and foot. I know people who are nearly 30 who still do this! If you want to see things you should make plans and push to do it or go do some exploring yourself. I can't imagine you came all the way to China and want to hang out watching crappy TV and napping between meals.
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Dec 24, 2015 15:53
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Talked to dad, he's on board. Sister did the taking and I essentially just handed him the ring. Benefits of dating for like 7 years I suppose. The amount of Gumping/seat of my pants poo poo I do that works out is amazing. The father of her friend is also close to her parents and knew my plans. We were going to eat with them and it turns out we're at some 6 star uber expensive place full of private rooms and too much drat food. 61 or something. Friend's dad got REALLY toast happy and I do little to no drinking generally. Apparently I impressed him or something. I believe I'm drunk or something close to it. As I sit on the can and type this I've accidentally activated the smart shitter's bidet function. It's been a big night.
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Dec 24, 2015 16:03
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Warbird posted:As I sit on the can and type this I've accidentally activated the smart shitter's bidet function. It's been a big night.
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Dec 24, 2015 16:28
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Any idea what's actually happening in Beijing to make multiple embassies warn people to stay away from San Li Tun?
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Dec 24, 2015 20:54
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Cuatal posted:Any idea what's actually happening in Beijing to make multiple embassies warn people to stay away from San Li Tun? http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/25/world/asia/china-beijing-sanlitun-threat.html ?
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Dec 24, 2015 22:02
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davey4283 posted:We have never been to East Asia before. Most likely this will be our single big trip to China and Japan that we'll ever end up taking. We may go a second time in the future, who knows, but I'm not banking on it. We're living in Abu Dhabi right now so while we're here we wanted to knock this trip out especially since we we're making good money and while its on the same continent. Is there any decent Chinese in the UAE now? When my parents were living there, it was a desert. And also no Chinese. ZING! But seriously.
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Dec 25, 2015 03:16
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Cuatal posted:Any idea what's actually happening in Beijing to make multiple embassies warn people to stay away from San Li Tun? There have been attacks on westerners on Sanlitun over the past year, the biggest one being that dude with a sword who killed a Chinese woman and injured her French husband. He even said he was looking for westerners (americans specifcally, I think) to kill. There has also been an uptick in attacks and harassment towards Chinese (ie vaguely asian) women dating/married to western (ie vaguely white) men in the last year. I'm guessing they heard something, but Salitun on Christmas Eve is bound to be white people central for anyone looking to attack some white people so it's not a big jump to make. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Dec 25, 2015 |
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Dec 25, 2015 03:24
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People in my office are spreading a rumor that ISIS is planning to attack Shenzhen and Guangzhou today. Here's to hoping.
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Dec 25, 2015 03:27
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fart simpson posted:People in my office are spreading a rumor that ISIS is planning to attack Shenzhen and Guangzhou today. Here's to hoping.  In Shenzhen too, no less.
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Dec 25, 2015 07:02
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kenner116 posted:
Epic. FTW!
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Dec 25, 2015 07:19
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Switzerland posted:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/25/world/asia/china-beijing-sanlitun-threat.html ? Yeah I read a few articles like this but they don't actually say why. With stuff like this going on though now is a good time to mention that racism doesn't actually exist in China and even mentioning it hurts the feelings of the Chinese people.
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Dec 25, 2015 13:43
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It's a terrorism threat, not a nerd with a samurai sword threat.
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Dec 25, 2015 17:13
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Cuatal posted:they don't actually say why. No why.
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Dec 25, 2015 17:37
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bringmyfishback posted:Is there any decent Chinese in the UAE now? When my parents were living there, it was a desert. And also no Chinese. ZING! But seriously. Yea, I think so. Theres a few spots. I don't know how authentic it is but it tastes pretty good - Midwestern White Guy
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Dec 26, 2015 07:20
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So can anyone tell me about how to deal with Chinese weddings? I kind of have to know about this stuff now. Girl is a TERRIBLE judge of character.
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Dec 26, 2015 13:13
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Warbird posted:So can anyone tell me about how to deal with Chinese weddings? I kind of have to know about this stuff now. Girl is a TERRIBLE judge of character. Chinese weddings are super low key compared to western weddings tbh. There's only a banquet and they're usually weeks to months after the actual legal marriage. The lady needs like 5 dresses but that's about it. Lotta people gonna give you money, you need to remember who gave you how much should you ever reciprocate.
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Dec 26, 2015 13:26
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Usually there's someone at the entrance who handles the hongbaos, right? That was the case at the weddings I went to. Get a good trustworthy friend to handle that poo poo, (s)he'll write down the amounts given and by whom. And congratulations dude. Let us know how it goes, might have to go through this stuff next year 
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Dec 26, 2015 14:51
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Well poo poo, if we're playing the zero sum game they can keep the money and save me the trouble. I'm still worried how I'm going to repay the fiance's friend's father for trying to drink and eat me to death the other night. I don't think I've ever seen a restaurant that nice. I don't even know a frame of reference in the US to use to describe it to people. I'll let you know, but I've done everything so far via the Forrest Gump method and things have worked out pretty well.
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Dec 26, 2015 15:05
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When I went with my ex gf to a wedding here in Shenzhen, she gave them some gold jewelry as a gift. A week later someone "stole" the jewelry so they had to call her to find out how much it would cost to replace it
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Dec 26, 2015 15:13
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When I went to a friend's rural wedding basically the whole village came over and set up a tent because it was raining. The whole village showed up, and old shirtless men spent all day cooking stuff in giant woks, the old women sat around gossiping, and the rest of us sat around in the tent drinking baijiu and beer for like 14 hours. There were fireworks.
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Dec 26, 2015 15:16
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Warbird posted:So can anyone tell me about how to deal with Chinese weddings? The stupidity of it will make you be embarrassed to be alive. It's sooooo bad. Warbird posted:I kind of have to know about this stuff now. Unless your parents are Chinese you don't have to know this stuff. If your wife is Chinese 1) apologies 2) she knows about this stuff So pass it off to her
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Dec 26, 2015 15:24
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Forrest Gump is a far more accurate description than you know, I'm about as far from Chinese as you can get and the parents are even moreso. I was wearing jeans and boots when I proposed. I love reinforcing me some stereotypes. The inlaws seem to largely mind their own business from what I've seen and are pretty laid back. I can't imagine it would be any big todo. I HOPE it isn't some big todo.
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Dec 26, 2015 16:07
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Do one of those rural weddings that I went to. That was more fun and laid back.
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Dec 26, 2015 16:13
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Warbird posted:Well poo poo, if we're playing the zero sum game they can keep the money and save me the trouble. I'm still worried how I'm going to repay the fiance's friend's father for trying to drink and eat me to death the other night. I don't think I've ever seen a restaurant that nice. I don't even know a frame of reference in the US to use to describe it to people. It's not really a zero sum game, you'll end up ahead (maybe, I have no idea how much it all costs/etc). You're only really expected to match amounts with people who aren't married yet at their weddings, anyone older than you by a good bit isn't expecting to get paid back in those terms. It's more like "oh this uncle dude gave us a good amount, maybe when we visit we should bring him a special gift" kind of stuff. Overall I think you're way too worried about this. Chinese people in China are for the most part incredibly laid back about this poo poo compared to other parts of Asia and if they don't already hate you you're probably fine. Also since you're a guest in China they're just acting the host bringing you to nice places, don't overthink it so much. A big part of Chinese culture is trying to impress people and being a good host. Cause you're not Chinese, you probably aren't expected to ever reciprocate but If they ever come to your country to visit, bring them somewhere decent (like a place that has steak) or maybe bring over some nice scotch and cigarettes and it'll be fine.
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Dec 26, 2015 16:21
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I'll speak with the local Pizza Hut about their steak selection when I get home.
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Dec 26, 2015 16:26
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Warbird posted:I'll speak with the local Pizza Hut about their steak selection when I get home. Pretty much every decent restaurant there has a ton of private rooms. The host orders poo poo tons of food and it's all good. I mean, it's not cheap, but it's not an out of the ordinary thing either. You aren't really expected to reciprocate, it's on your in-laws if anyone. Same with all the money gifts. We just leave all the money there (plus as much as the wife feels appropriate) at the end of the trip. And it's a big thing with pushing envelopes of money back and forth and then hiding them so they can't be refused. You realize that you ARE gonna be on the hook to take care of your inlaws now, right? At least the parents. Mine are not demanding at all, but there are some crazy ones. And I know if/when they get sick, it could get really expensive and they could end up here. Medicaid sucks, but most chinese have much worse. Might also end up being a host for a niece or nephew or three for high school or college. So drink up now and don't feel guilty. Your local bbq spot will make a big impression when they visit.
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Dec 26, 2015 23:36
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I went to a wedding banquet in Hong Kong and there were still mainland "cousins" showing up at 10pm wearing tracksuits. Eat all the food, take all the money. We did a destination wedding in Hawaii so we got all the money without having to actually host every cousin, coworker and neighbor ever.  Everyone got macadamia nuts as return gifts.
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Dec 27, 2015 01:12
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I've been throwing enough pecans at them to make customs think I'm smuggling or something. Thankfully they love them and they literally grow on trees back home.
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Dec 27, 2015 03:57
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I went to about a billion of those fancy private room places in China and not once was the food ever noticeably better than places where the same dish was like 1/4 or 1/5 the price.
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Dec 27, 2015 13:46
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Also the only times I've ever had stomach issues with Chinese food was at fancy banquet places.
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Dec 27, 2015 13:53
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Cuatal posted:I went to about a billion of those fancy private room places in China and not once was the food ever noticeably better than places where the same dish was like 1/4 or 1/5 the price. If anything, it's usually worse in the private rooms compared to the street
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Dec 28, 2015 03:10
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angel opportunity posted:If anything, it's usually worse in the private rooms compared to the street Yeah I really can't think of any advantage of those places except showing off you can afford it.
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Dec 28, 2015 14:15
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