http://www.duolingo.cn/ maybe. I know Duolingo is great for learning Spanish.
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# ? Jul 19, 2015 10:59 |
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# ? May 28, 2024 15:08 |
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Okay goons, I will be in Beijing in 7 hours. Juuso suggested a Beijing goon meetup and it would be awesome if anyone else wants to come. It sounds like we're going to do it in Huilongguan, though I don't know when. I will be in Beijing for at least 4 days, probably 5. I have been too busy to upload pics correctly so I haven't posted any stories of my travels from the last two weeks but here is a list of some of them I can tell when we attend Juusocon 2015: -Climbing Tai Shan -The Penis Men of Shanghai -Prostitutes, Pimps, and Madams Galore -Getting Tea Scammed -Climbing on The Outside of a Moving Bus -Getting Unsolicited Job Offers As a Professor -Meeting Lent -So. Many. Girls. -Also. Many. Guys -Being Partially Gay Molested in Taipei -Smuggling Drugs to Melbourne -China, Fart Jokes, and Me -Being Tipped For Being A Cool American -The Craziest Night of My Life -Nearly Bludgeoning a Child With a Cane
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# ? Jul 19, 2015 14:08 |
Is the tea scam the one where cute girls invite you to a tea house, they overcharge you an insane amount and the girls act scared?
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# ? Jul 19, 2015 14:12 |
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a7m2 posted:Is the tea scam the one where cute girls invite you to a tea house, they overcharge you an insane amount and the girls act scared? Did that actually happen? I thought people were joking.
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# ? Jul 19, 2015 14:46 |
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Let us English posted:Did that actually happen? I thought people were joking. It's a real scam, yeah.
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# ? Jul 19, 2015 15:00 |
Let us English posted:Did that actually happen? I thought people were joking. Yeah a friend of mine fell for it. We all had a good laugh about it.
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# ? Jul 19, 2015 15:32 |
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Zipline posted:Okay goons, I will be in Beijing in 7 hours. Juuso suggested a Beijing goon meetup and it would be awesome if anyone else wants to come. It sounds like we're going to do it in Huilongguan, though I don't know when. I will be in Beijing for at least 4 days, probably 5. I have been too busy to upload pics correctly so I haven't posted any stories of my travels from the last two weeks but here is a list of some of them I can tell when we attend Juusocon 2015: Any order is good
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# ? Jul 19, 2015 17:07 |
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Zipline aren't you happy that you are doing this solo instead of paying a bunch of money to do it through a university? Enjoy and stay safe
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# ? Jul 19, 2015 23:29 |
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Let us English posted:Did that actually happen? I thought people were joking. Okay, you are not allowed to walk around by yourself when we get there.
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 02:38 |
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It's actually really easy to avoid scams if you know what type of scams people run, and if you are remotely competent.
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 02:40 |
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goldboilermark posted:It's actually really easy to avoid scams if you know what type of scams people run, and if you are remotely competent. Best scam story I have experienced: I first went to China on a high school trip. My roommate was dumber than a small bag of hair. We were at the Jinguo hotel (sp?) which is pretty near the Silk Market. Or was, dunno if they moved it (haven't been in Beijing for ten years or so). Anyways, most of students went there every day or so, under strict orders not to go alone and to be wary of pickpockets and various scams. Anyways, my roommate comes back to the room after one such Silk Market trip, laughing hysterically. Apparently, she had walked INTO a stall, been held down by the lady who owned it, and forced to pay 600 yuan for three "Cucci" brand scarves. She didn't try to break away because "she didn't want to be rude." Same girl also got stuck in the elevator because she "thought it would open on a different side,"stupidly ate berries purchased on the street, and tried to buy a pair of jeans that laced up the crotch but was told "You are too Western-sized." She was a mess, god bless her.
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 02:56 |
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I went along with the art show scam when I was in Beijing because the dude was super interesting. He had been living in Beijing since 1930 and was sharp as a tack with good English, we talked for an hour and then I bought some paintings that I negotiated down to 20 yuan each since I needed gifts for family anyway. Wasn't much of a scam. I had a lot of people try to get me to go to teahouses or bars, and there were some guys who asked me if I wanted to meet a bunch of Mongolians (??? the gently caress scam is that) and the usual attempts to rip off. That's Beijing though. The biggest scam anyone's tried to run on me in Chengdu was a fruit seller asking me to pay five times as much as the guy before me for some apples, unaware that I understand numbers and heard what the actual price was.
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 03:34 |
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Grand Fromage posted:It's a real scam, yeah. I know it's a real scam. I meant did it actually happen to Zipline?
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 03:36 |
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One time I got scammed into joining a group of goons for a thing!
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 03:36 |
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Is pickpocketing actually as common in bigger cities as you hear about? In all my years here I've only encountered one incident from anyone I know which was when a Korean friend of mine got his wallet lifted on the MRT in Taipei. Conversely, people seem to lose/forget their bank cards in ATMs like once a week over here. I'd consider charging tourists stupid prices for things a little different than a scam, though. Before I came to China I read tons of horror stories online of people getting hustled by triads to pay thousands of dollars for having a beer with a girl at a bar, or the tea house stuff, which I've never even heard of happening anecdotally since getting here. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 03:46 on Jul 20, 2015 |
# ? Jul 20, 2015 03:44 |
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Zipline posted:here is a list of some of them I can tell when we attend Juusocon 2015: i cant remember if i admitted any crimes and the tea scam is great because the setup is EXACTLY like a guerrilla marketing thing for pitching digital cameras in new york that I learned about in a class once
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 03:48 |
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My buddy got taken by a bar scam. The girl was hot, apparently. I've overpaid for things but never felt like I was ripped off. Like I was with a girl one time and we were buying a hair dryer and the lady said 30rmb and the girl negotiated down to 27 and said the lady was trying to cheat us. I was like "I don't give a poo poo can we just get out of here"
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 03:51 |
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Magna Kaser posted:Is pickpocketing actually as common in bigger cities as you hear about? In all my years here I've only encountered one incident from anyone I know which was when a Korean friend of mine got his wallet lifted on the MRT in Taipei. I just remember when I was an exchange student in Shanghai around 2007, about 20 of us went out to some club the first weekend. Out of around 20 of us, 6 had their phones stolen and a couple others lost their wallets. None of us ever had any problems while on the street but maybe that's because everyone started being a lot more careful after that first week.
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 03:52 |
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Bloodnose posted:One time I got scammed into joining a group of goons for a thing! One could say you were shanghaied.
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 03:53 |
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aeglus posted:I just remember when I was an exchange student in Shanghai around 2007, about 20 of us went out to some club the first weekend. Out of around 20 of us, 6 had their phones stolen and a couple others lost their wallets. I guess the phone thing would be impossible now as everyone always is looking at their phone all the time. 2007 was a simpler time
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 03:58 |
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I simply can not fathom someone having their phone stolen now. Like you said, people simply walk around bumping into things looking at their phone. How the hell is someone going to steal it?
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 04:01 |
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goldboilermark posted:I simply can not fathom someone having their phone stolen now. Like you said, people simply walk around bumping into things looking at their phone. How the hell is someone going to steal it? I was at a club this weekend and like half the people were using wechat while on the dance floor haha. Interestingly, the average phone is now worth a hell of a lot more. I remember having to cough up like 120 bucks for a RZR back in 2005 or so which I used for like 4 years, compared to like 800 for my current phone which I will probably upgrade in 6 months.
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 04:02 |
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Magna Kaser posted:I was at a club this weekend and like half the people were using wechat while on the dance floor haha. lol
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 04:03 |
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goldboilermark posted:How the hell is someone going to steal it? chopsticks
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 04:11 |
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Grand Fromage posted:I went along with the art show scam when I was in Beijing because the dude was super interesting. He had been living in Beijing since 1930 and was sharp as a tack with good English, we talked for an hour and then I bought some paintings that I negotiated down to 20 yuan each since I needed gifts for family anyway. Wasn't much of a scam. I did the art scam in Beijing too, and bought a painting for cheap that I gave as gift to my parents. I had read about it beforehand and knew what was happening, and I didn't really feel scammed. Also I went along with the teahouse scam and walked around the Forbidden City and talked with the girl for about a half hour, until she said she was thirsty and knew a good teahouse. I said I don't feel like going, see ya, and left. fart simpson fucked around with this message at 04:16 on Jul 20, 2015 |
# ? Jul 20, 2015 04:14 |
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I had someone come up to me in the Forbidden City too, I thought it was a scam at first but turned out he wasn't lying, he was just a college student visiting it too. It was cool having someone who could translate and understood the whole thing more than I did. Then we ate an inhuman amount of lamb at a Hui restaurant.
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 04:20 |
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goldboilermark posted:
welcome to my marriage
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 13:17 |
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i've got an old-rear end 720p TV and a lovely swivel chair stuck in my office because my wife won't let me throw or give them away; i have to try to sell them on craigslist, and i have to ask for ridiculous prices also, so they just sit there instead of getting sold.
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 13:18 |
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I'm having flashbacks to getting the little SMS notification for bank activity thing on my phone. Round and round negotiating and checking with me if I was sure I was willing to pay the monthly fee for it, and me assuring that yes, I am willing let's just finish this and leave. Then more negotiating to try to get the fee waived while I beg to just finish it and go. The fee in question is 2 RMB a month. I would have paid ten times as much just to get the gently caress out of that bank.
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# ? Jul 20, 2015 13:27 |
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Bloodnose posted:One time I got scammed into joining a group of goons for a thing! Happen to me multiple times. Be glad that you are actually a gweilo. EDIT: caberham posted:If you want Japanese ramen there's Jeek fucked around with this message at 16:53 on Jul 20, 2015 |
# ? Jul 20, 2015 16:45 |
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Get on wechat/check your PMs, inscrutable stranger.
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# ? Jul 21, 2015 01:35 |
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Ceciltron will you have time tomorrow afternoon or night? Edit: Sorry make that night. hong kong divorce lunch fucked around with this message at 09:50 on Jul 21, 2015 |
# ? Jul 21, 2015 09:38 |
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augustus gluten posted:Ceciltron will you have time tomorrow afternoon or night? We'll be in TST catching the light show! Wanna join us? Lights watching is best with beer and good friends/joyboys.
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# ? Jul 21, 2015 18:08 |
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Sure, what time is it? And also, do you have PM to send me your number so I can text or whatsapp? If not I can ask Caberham because I don't have wechat. edit: also, my dinner plans fell though, so if you want to eat or something that can happen, too hong kong divorce lunch fucked around with this message at 06:11 on Jul 22, 2015 |
# ? Jul 22, 2015 06:00 |
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a7m2 posted:http://www.duolingo.cn/ maybe. I know Duolingo is great for learning Spanish. Thanks, m8. I sent it to her. Now to see if she actually has the initiative to use it. a7m2 posted:Is the tea scam the one where cute girls invite you to a tea house, they overcharge you an insane amount and the girls act scared? There are so many version of this, but it's usually dependent on strangers inviting you somewhere, or you being somewhere with someone you don't know. Newbs think the Chinese are super friendly or like them, and go with them, or they end up in some situation sharing something with someone else (or being alone with a worker) which is all a set up to bilk money out of the round eye. The common one people tried on me is the restaurant scam where they're like "Let's all practice English, my brand new best friend. We are hungry, let's go eat. We know a very wonderful restaurant" and then they eat and order a ton of stuff and then will dine and dash and leave the foreigner with the huge bill. I hear tourists fall for it all the time.
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# ? Jul 22, 2015 09:50 |
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angel opportunity posted:i've got an old-rear end 720p TV and a lovely swivel chair stuck in my office because my wife won't let me throw or give them away; i have to try to sell them on craigslist, and i have to ask for ridiculous prices also, so they just sit there instead of getting sold. Your wife is running the oldest scam in the book on you.
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# ? Jul 22, 2015 20:53 |
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angel opportunity posted:i've got an old-rear end 720p TV and a lovely swivel chair stuck in my office because my wife won't let me throw or give them away; i have to try to sell them on craigslist, and i have to ask for ridiculous prices also, so they just sit there instead of getting sold. She didn't stop you from breaking them though, and I am pretty sure she will allow you to throw away a bunch of burnt scrap.
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# ? Jul 23, 2015 01:39 |
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I asked this already but some of you aren't in chat so. I am suddenly in the market for a laptop. This is a work computer so it does not need to be anything fancy. Web, powerpoint, HD video, that's about it. It does not need any sort of gaming capability. I'm looking to spend under 1800 and get it online. An SSD would be great because the roads to my school suck and I'm afraid of the amount of damage a normal had drive takes on them but it's not necessary. Are there better places to look than Taobao? Does anyone have a Taobao seller you've used before and had good experience with? At the moment this is what I'm inclined towards: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.47.vmkegP&id=45520098678&ns=1&_u=u24b8p9j3366&abbucket=20 It looks to suit my needs and the seller seems legitimate. I can't find a description of what the different models are, though. It has six types with different prices but there doesn't seem to be any detail what the difference is.
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# ? Jul 30, 2015 12:21 |
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I say just buy from newegg.cn It's only a small price premium and you deal with them directly. THere's also tmall.com Or get a chromebook
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# ? Jul 30, 2015 12:41 |
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# ? May 28, 2024 15:08 |
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fart simpson posted:I did the art scam in Beijing too, and bought a painting for cheap that I gave as gift to my parents. I had read about it beforehand and knew what was happening, and I didn't really feel scammed. That's the scam. They spread out info about the scam and bad of one it is, so you come in and you end up buying a painting and pay them standard retail mark up on something in the end anyway.
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# ? Jul 30, 2015 12:44 |