User profile: Geezer

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Forums > Study > Statement from KCEL about the tuition

tigertiger, while I agree that market forces should dictate prices, I suspect that price fixing, in the interest of harmony and to avoid competition, plays a larger role than the market. Remember the 2011 well organized doubling of tuition?

I suspect the low pay teachers of Chinese get is also well organized. We as consumers benefit from low teacher pay, but, can expect prices to behave in a similar harmonious way.

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Forums > Study > Statement from KCEL about the tuition

chris8080, I think you are right. Before coming to Kunming I was in Beijing for six years and it was my impression Chinese classes were pretty expensive. I checked the adverts on the internet and see the same rather high numbers you do. It would be nice if The Dudeson's could tell us how many weeks of classes and where we could find a low priced school in Beijing.

KCEL is about 20RMB/hour per student for classes and the teachers get about 25RMB/hour for teaching. Teachers get paid a lot more in Beijing.

Clue is the "greedy laoban" remark. Some people have no idea what costs to run a business. You know, of course, any profit is exploitation and anyone that makes a profit is greedy!

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Forums > Living in Kunming > What are your useful apps.?

Blobbles has a good list, I use most of them.

Also:

Adobe Reader, AccuWeather, Documents to Go, Kindle, Chrome, AK Notepad, Calendar, Offline Dictionaries, Gmail, Swype, and several Chinese related apps.

News: CNN, Drudge, FT. Fox, Al Jazeera, WSJ

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Renting vs subletting a room

Registering and getting a Foreigner's Residence Permit is your responsibility.

You may let the school, or someone do it for you but it they screw it up, or don't do it, you bear the consequence. First school I worked at, I was in my room and answered a knock on the door. Two cops informed me I was going to be deported. It took a little while to get the story but the short version is, the guy that was supposed to registration didn't do it on time. At the second school, I was told to go to the office. When I got there, the three cops told me to sign a "confession." Why? Because you did not register your residence on time. Again, the lowest guy on the Chinese food chain had screwed up. I protested until I was told "Sign it, it is easier for everybody."

Your Passport, your visa, your work permit, and your residence registration IS ALWAYS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. Usually the school does it to save you the trouble but if the school screws it up, you suffer. Pointing at a Chinese person gets you squat. TIC

Since 2003, I have done it myself. It takes only a few minutes, the people are friendly, helpful and usually do most of it, filling out the form, for you. Every place I have done registration at has had something in English on the wall telling you this is where it is done. Best part is no knocks on thew door.

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34 years ago, when entered China, China was a poor country with most people living under the $1.00 per day poverty line. The 100's of millions of people raised out of poverty in China reflect improvement to above that line. I leave it to you as to how realistic $1 per day is.

Since 2008, $1.25 has been used as the global line. As of October 2015, the global poverty line was updated to $1.90. It seems China is holding the long outdated $1 which is a lower hurdle.

I cringe when I hear of relocation schemes that move poor uneducated unskilled people, living at a centuries old subsistence level, being uprooted and forced into a cash economy. Incomes may rise a few yuan per day so fewer are "counted as poor" while the now "not poor" work at low wages. Real poverty exists in urban areas too.

Yuanyang needs more than one day for sure.

Best time of year is around Spring Festival after the terraces are flooded and before they are planted. You also need a car/van and driver.

Best times of day is dawn and sunset to get light reflecting off the paddies. You only have about 15 minutes with the best light. My experience was mixed. At sunset there was a lot of haze and smoke from farmers burning whatever they had cleaned out of the terraces. The driver showed up late in the morning then insisted on breakfast.

I got my best shots at Dou Yi Cun and Bada at sunrise and the morning.

I was there in 2010 as the lookout platforms were being built. It does get crowded with Chinese tourists who tend to bump and push. I was using two cameras on tripods. People had no problems touching, looking through and moving the camera I wasn't looking through. I was disappointed with my terrace photos.

I spent the daytime hours wandering in markets, streets and alleys. Got many great shot of minzu ladies in their finest 'go to market' dress, kids and some cool old faces. I was pretty much ignored taking people photos. I took over 2500 photos in three days.

@nnoble is right to get off the photo platforms and into the villages and markets. There many minorities, Yi, Hani, Eastern Dai, and others I could not recognize at Sheng Cun.Xiang,

The trick in enjoying hotpot and not smelling like boiled mutton is to change your clothes within a day or two. Me, I would never go much longer than a week wearing the same clothes. Showering at least once a month will also help the stinky foreigner problem.

Reviews

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Good for quality, but pricey, hand tools.

Be aware they will push whatever they are selling. Some of the staff have no idea about the technical side of appliances.

I went there to buy a stove. I repeatedly told them I would be using bottled gas. They sold me a stove. When I went to my local gas guy, I learned there are at least three kinds of gas sold. Luckily, B&Q did not deliver as promised. I went back to the store and discovered they had sold me a stove they needed to be hooked up to the gas main. I got my money back.

The sales lady was almost in tears, 没有问题!I don't know if it a safety or design issue, but I would think B&Q would know and care.

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Last week had an 8:45am flight.

Subway starts at 9am. I have no idea where to catch an airport express bus. Eight taxis refused to go to the airport. After almost an hour standing on Beijing Lu took a black taxi, this dude drives slower than my mother, 120 yuan.

Flight back was delayed so I learned the subway stops running at 6:10pm.

Getting a taxi back was easy, more taxis than customers. Taxi was 87 yuan including 1o yuan toll, airport to Beichen area. Yes, he took a longer route than necessary.

Kunming imagines being a gateway for international travelers. New airport but hard to get to and from it.

World Class Airport, NOT!

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Tonight "Peacock", a performance by Yang Liping (杨丽萍), to begin her world tour, 8pm, 100-1680 yuan at Yunna Haigeng Auditorium.

Saw this lady perform at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, in California, in 1995. Quite a good and interesting show.

I'm going to try to make it.

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Not so good. Kimchi had a very sour taste. Other food was nothing to brag about. I don't think I would go back.