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Vernacular posted:...[considering] how many well-qualified American/European PhDs get funneled [to Asia] for work due to market saturation in their home countries. I don't have PMs so I have to reply here. You already seem to know why going to Asia for a PhD is a bad idea: many good researchers with US PhDs move to Asia because they can't find decent jobs at home. If you get a PhD in the US you can always move to Asia later, but going the other direction is extraordinarily unlikely. Unless you have very strong reasons to want to stay in Asia forever, don't do your graduate work there because you won't get out.
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Mar 28, 2019 16:31
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Oakland Martini posted:I don't have PMs so I have to reply here. You already seem to know why going to Asia for a PhD is a bad idea: many good researchers with US PhDs move to Asia because they can't find decent jobs at home. If you get a PhD in the US you can always move to Asia later, but going the other direction is extraordinarily unlikely. Unless you have very strong reasons to want to stay in Asia forever, don't do your graduate work there because you won't get out. I've already basically decided on CUHK so I guess I'll keep defending myself here. My reason for going to CUHK is that it's only a 4-5 year program where I'll get to go right into the research I want to do, advised by a strong collection of faculty, including a potential supervisor with whom I've really hit it off. It's also well funded. I already have my Master's and the thought of starting a 7-8 year PhD program (including a pretty intensive 2 year MA of its own) in my early thirties at a US school that is ranked in the same tier subject-wise as CUHK is not exciting, and this is all considering a very unkind job market where basically nothing is guaranteed anymore for my discipline anyway. If I had gotten into a top program, it wouldn't be as much of a debate, but since the programs are about the same ranking-wise, it didn't feel like the cut-and-dry decision you're making it out to be. And also quite frankly I'm not even totally decided on wanting to be in academia forever, and a shorter program seems like a fair way to hedge those concerns. So yeah, I’ll be starting there in the fall and would be down to meet up with HK goons 
Vernacular fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Mar 28, 2019 |
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Mar 28, 2019 19:38
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Hell yeah op plz enjoy fully-funded life in a wonderful city! Don't listen to the haters trying to min/max grad school stats. You will grow 〜as a person〜 through this international living experience.
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Mar 28, 2019 23:21
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Vernacular posted:So yeah, I’ll be starting there in the fall and would be down to meet up with HK goons HK goons are loving insanely cool so have a good time with them Shenzhen goons, on the other hand, are a dodgy lot, so if you hear of any of them coming to any of the meets, be careful. If you see one that looks like a sociopathic elf, kick him in the shin for me.
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Mar 29, 2019 00:16
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Finally a TGA post I can agree with 100%. How's your language skills, Vernacular?
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Mar 29, 2019 08:10
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Appreciating the help and encouraging words, y'all! Bloodnose posted:How's your language skills, Vernacular? They are non-existent! Not sure how much time I'll have to devote to learning the language(s) but would certainly like to learn the basics, schedule permitting. I know Cantonese has been the official language of HK but I've also heard less people are learning it. Better to focus on Cantonese or Mandarin?
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Mar 29, 2019 20:20
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neither lol
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Mar 29, 2019 20:48
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the chad cantonese vs the virgin putonghua
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Mar 29, 2019 21:01
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Jeoh dont go and ruin what I said about you in the other thread
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Mar 30, 2019 01:01
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Vernacular posted:I know Cantonese has been the official language of HK but I've also heard less people are learning it. Better to focus on Cantonese or Mandarin? You would have a bad time studying Mandarin in Hong Kong. Cantonese is more fun and more useful there but English will get you by just fine most of the time so don't sweat it. The only question is whether or not a lack of Asian language ability will be detrimental to your studies in Asia.
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Mar 30, 2019 01:39
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Tom Smykowski posted:Jeoh dont go and ruin what I said about you in the other thread you callled him wrong in the other thread?
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Mar 30, 2019 02:22
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simplefish posted:you callled him wrong in the other thread? 
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Mar 30, 2019 02:25
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Bloodnose posted:You would have a bad time studying Mandarin in Hong Kong. Cantonese is more fun and more useful there but English will get you by just fine most of the time so don't sweat it. The only question is whether or not a lack of Asian language ability will be detrimental to your studies in Asia. Good to know, and it’s not. Program’s all in English.
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Mar 30, 2019 05:49
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The Great Autismo! posted:HK goons are loving insanely cool so have a good time with them
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Mar 30, 2019 15:53
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Vernacular posted:I know Cantonese has been the official language of HK but I've also heard less people are learning it. Better to focus on Cantonese or Mandarin? No goon meet invites, goon chat, goon translate, goon navigate, goon eats, goon trips, No goon drama history exposition and bad hell dump stories No Netflix and not lettuce wrap burgers! You just have to say 3 magical phrases to wish away the bad stuff 1. Hong Kong is not part of China (least the currency) 2. Cantonese is a great language to learn, there’s always VTC Actually 1 and 2 can be ignored if you just say 3. West lake is very beautiful.
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Mar 30, 2019 16:04
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peanut posted:Hell yeah op plz enjoy fully-funded life in a wonderful city! Each time seeing you was a very nice experience and memorable, please continue to send me new year cards! Oh and some people you meet are not that great and interacting with them makes you question your humanity. I think in a span over 8 years, the percentage of meeting a horrible person for me is 4/80? Goons in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand Well fart Simpson should be on the list too for wishing me to die in a planecrash but he’s actually quite caring in person
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Mar 30, 2019 16:12
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WEST KOWLOON CULTURAL DISTRICT IS VERY BEAUTIFUL
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Mar 30, 2019 16:21
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Jeoh posted:WEST KOWLOON CULTURAL DISTRICT IS VERY BEAUTIFUL Xihu Xiqu
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Mar 30, 2019 16:34
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caberham posted:
I have heard excellent things about the VTC canto course but it was always fully booked when I was looking.
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Mar 31, 2019 00:02
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sincx fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Mar 23, 2021 |
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Mar 31, 2019 08:11
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I agree. The problem with Cantonese is it's useless anywhere outside Guangdong, it's so different from Mandarin it's not at all mutually intelligible. Mandarin you can theoretically use anywhere in China. The reality is often quite different but at the least it's more useful than Cantonese. The flip side is the PRC is a terrible place and you won't want to live there, but Hong Kong is still good so you should just stay there anyway and if you feel like learning a language why not learn Cantonese? Other flip side is Cantonese has like a billion more tones than Mandarin and is an insane language to learn if you aren't really good. E: Another factor is that since Cantonese people essentially study Mandarin as a foreign language the way you would, I found they tend to speak a "clean", easy to understand Mandarin compared to my local Sichuanese mainlanders who at best had a mushy toned Sichuanese-Mandarin hybrid language. So another point in Mandarin's favor. Grand Fromage fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Mar 31, 2019 |
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Mar 31, 2019 13:20
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I don't think anyone can understand mushy toned Sichuanese-Mandarin hybrid language besides other native mushy toned Sichuanese-Mandarin hybrid language speakers. I'm half convinced the few people I know who speak it are just loving with everyone and pretending to understand each other.
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Mar 31, 2019 14:20
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1 thing that is a dangerous derail but I have to address is that French is a super important language worth way way more than Spanish with the only slight possible exception in the Americas. But French is a working language of countless international bodies and organizations, an official language in a huge number of countries, a critical language of diplomacy in general, and ultimately not at all comparable to the situation of Cantonese from any linguistics discipline. Be nice to French. As for Cantonese people speaking anything close to approximating good Mandarin: lol. Cantondarin is just Cantonese except yi means 1 this time. Cantonese people are just as bad about assuming they can speak Mandarin because "hey it's Chinese and I speak Chinese" as Sichuan people are. Do we have to pull out that Fernando Chui video?
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Mar 31, 2019 17:07
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This post was brought to you by the year 1872
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Mar 31, 2019 22:29
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Man bloodnose, we watched this video together 9 years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwOemRiuO5A
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Apr 1, 2019 03:27
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Seriously though, if you are thinking of moving to Hong Kong, just learn Cantonese because no one wants to speak Mandarin with you unless you hang out with new mainland immigrants. You can actually practice Cantonese in Hong Kong and makes learning the language a lot easier. Sure you can learn mandarin and its pinyin system, mandarin would probably easier for you to learn as a beginner because the tones are simpler and all, but there's no one else outside the classroom for you to practice mandarin. And once your cantonese is good enough, or that you know enough characters, you can then transition into mandarin and be a true big bay citizen and speak 两文三语
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Apr 1, 2019 03:33
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Learn just enough to barely get by but also enough to get drunk with people and make jokes
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Apr 1, 2019 05:17
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I have been in 7-11s and Maccy Ds in the New Territories where the shop assistants didn't speak English at all, never mind if you wanna grab breakfast at a local place on your way anywhere. Learn canto if you are living in HK, esp NT. Learn mandarin if you are living in Bad China or Good China E: for the record I just barely scrape by with very situational Cantonese, I sure as hell wouldn't say I "speak" it. But holy poo poo I know people who moved to HK 11+ years ago who don't know more than "m goi" and "MTRlo". They still function fine in English but they stick to the island and southern kowloon mostly simplefish fucked around with this message at 07:17 on Apr 1, 2019 |
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Apr 1, 2019 07:14
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Yeah if you don’t ever go to The Dark Side you don’t really need Cantonese
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Apr 1, 2019 08:25
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I am going to be in Chengdu and Chongqing for a couple of days in late August (about 1.5 days in each). Does anyone have any recommendations on a central area to stay around, or good hotels, hostels or guesthouses? I prefer things to be somewhat walkable, but understand that China generally does not lend itself to that kind of situation. Also, any recommendations for hot pot or other things to do? Also is 4-days in Chengu too much? Trying to avoid Chongqing since its august and it is a bit of a "meh" city from what I have read; only doing a night there before our train out. I have the issue where there is a direct flight from my previous city on two days of the week. I can either spend a day and a half in Chengdu, or four. Trying to determine whether to allocate those days somewhere else or whether there is enough to do in or around Chengdu. From my initial impression there are lots of day trips around there. Cheesemaster200 fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Apr 1, 2019 |
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Apr 1, 2019 14:53
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where are you coming from?
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Apr 1, 2019 16:22
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fart simpson posted:where are you coming from? Istanbul or Tel Aviv.
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Apr 1, 2019 16:26
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Chengdu's subway is quite extensive now, you won't have trouble getting around. I lived there so I have no idea about hotels or anything. There's nothing to do but get fat, however Chengdu is an excellent city for getting fat. If you're into history the Leshan Buddha and the Dujiangyan irrigation system are neat. Also the Jinsha museum in town. August will be Literally Hell but the air will be clean at least.
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Apr 1, 2019 19:26
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Grand Fromage posted:Chengdu's subway is quite extensive now, you won't have trouble getting around. I lived there so I have no idea about hotels or anything. There's nothing to do but get fat, however Chengdu is an excellent city for getting fat. From what I understand it is a hot and muggy climate, but rains a lot in August. This was the same weather as my last visit to Beijing and Shanghai in July, though there was no rain and the pollution was horrible. I actually like the rain in the summer. Was also looking to do Mt. Emeishan for a day, so I am assuming that is a little cooler.
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Apr 1, 2019 22:23
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Climate change has thrown things around but typically the rainy season is June. August will be 150% humidity but otherwise just baking hot with little rain. It's real weird nowadays though. Two years I lived there we had normal rainy season, one year it didn't really rain at all the entire summer, one other year it didn't rain much except a few times we got basically an inland typhoon that flooded the whole city. Sichuan in general is rainy as gently caress so you never know, but July and August typically are just humid. Emeishan and Leshan are close by so you will probably do that together. The Buddha doesn't take too long to visit, it's a big rear end statue and once you've seen it that's about it. There's nothing of interest in Leshan itself. Bad thing is the best view is from the river boat, but if the weather is even remotely threatening rain the boats don't run.
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Apr 1, 2019 23:04
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sincx fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Mar 23, 2021 |
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Apr 2, 2019 05:59
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Istanbul or Tel Aviv. I ask because cities in china seem way more “walkable” to me than nearly anywhere in north america
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Apr 2, 2019 06:27
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Grand Fromage posted:Climate change has thrown things around but typically the rainy season is June. August will be 150% humidity but otherwise just baking hot with little rain. So would you think 4 full days is too much? If I fly through Doha the next day, it would bump it down to 2.5 days. Also, should I even bother with Chongqing for a night? Cheesemaster200 fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Apr 2, 2019 |
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Apr 2, 2019 15:03
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Cheesemaster200 posted:So would you think 4 full days is too much? If I fly through Doha the next day, it would bump it down to 2.5 days. Also, should I even bother with Chongqing for a night? I mean it just depends what you want to do. If you're looking for a place to chill out and eat amazing food then Chengdu's worth four days for sure. Two days is the barest minimum I'd spend anywhere, and Chengdu is real big. I never went to Chongqing so I have no opinion. As far as I know it's just Chengdu But With Hills so it never grabbed me enough to bother.
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Apr 2, 2019 22:18
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I think Chengdu is better to visit than Chongqing for sure. 4 days is fine. Depends what you wanna do. If you wanna see both the Buddha at Leshan and Emeishan, you could: 1. Morning, go to Leshan. It's a v. quick train from Chengdu south station. Then you can get a cab or bus to the Buddha. 2. See the buddha in the morning. I strongly suggest the boat compared to climbing the Buddha itself. It's easier, quicker, and you get a way better view of the thing. 3. Once you do that, take a train to Emei. Again, it's quick and there's like a bajillion trains a day. 4. You can get to Emei around noon if you started early enough (chengdu->leshan->buddha->Emei is like 3ish hours tops), and then you can opt to head up immediately. I'm assuming you don't mean the hike the whole thing, which is like a 8-9 hour hard trek. You can bus your way up, see the temples, take a cable car, etc... it takes a few hours to do everything. 5. Stay in Emei overnight, or head back to Chengdu in the evening. I did this with my almost 70 year old (but very active) father and he was fine with it. Alternatively, you could get to Emei, chill out, stay overnight, and go up in the morning then head back to Chengdu the next afternoon. Emei and Leshan are actually famous for cured pork and sausage (la rou 腊肉 and xiang chang 香肠） so if you can get those I'd grab it. Sichuan sausage is v different than Cantonese and other Chinese style sausage and goes bad really fast so you see it exported and outside Sichuan less. It's spicy + good imo. For Chengdu itself, unless you really love crowds I'd stay away from the wide and narrow alley since it's just throngs of people and overpriced shops. I personally like the Wuhou temple, which is good for 3 kingdoms nerds. It's a big open temple/museum with lots to explore and it's where Liu Bei's mausoleum is. Skip the Jinli pedestrian area next door though, it's just another wide and narrow alley tourist trap. It's also right in the Tibetan quarter. I would suggest A Re Tibetan restaurant as it's the easiest and most tourist accommodating while still being good and tasty. Tibetan food is pretty unique as it's entirely yak-based. Jinsha is another decent Chinese museum with a lot of cool stuff to look at. The location is kinda lovely in the north with nothing else around though. Beyond that I think Chengdu is a very good and walkable city. The Yulin and Tongzilin areas in the southeast have a lot of restaurants, cafes, bars and street food you can lazily go around eating and hanging at. The Jiuyanqiao area is also OK, and where all the good Xinjiang restaurants live. For where to stay, if you want hostels people really liked the Flipflop hostel, Mrs. Panda Hostel and Mix Hostel. These are all relatively central, near the subway, and very clean. I lived in the Mix hostel for 2 weeks when I first moved to Chengdu before I got settled, and had friends stay at the others. Not sure your budget but nicer hotels are not super expensive in Chengdu. My dad stayed at the Holiday Inn (lol, but it's a nice hotel in China) at Dongmen Daqiao which is very central for like 80usd a night when he visited a few years ago. Basically if you stay anywhere between the city center and the and second ring road you'll be able to get around easily. Even the airport is very well connected now, it's maybe 30min on the subway to the city center. If you want food recs I have about 50000000 cuz Chengdu is a very good food city.
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Apr 3, 2019 05:51
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