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Forums > Living in Kunming > Thai visas no more?

My experiences at the Chiang Mai consulate have generally been better than those with Chinese immigration officials in Hong Kong, and the folks there are friendlier.

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Forums > Travel Yunnan > One night love? to heaven or to hell?

I think laotou's advice is good advice to a Christian. I don't begin to buy what Gracejin says but I do believe that Christian ideology can be usefully directed to deal with social concerns. It can also be used to promote bunk. Fact that I look for a different rationale to deal with human problems doesn't mean I have to negate decent efforts by decent people, Christian or not, to deal with them. Christianity has a mixed record in dealing with social problems, as does every other ideology. It's worth the trouble to argue about ideologies, but it's stupid not to accept decent goals and results, regardless of where they're coming from. We're never all going to agree about everything, and if we did I'd really begin to worry about widespread brain control - in fact I already do, evidence is everywhere (read Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent, on the US media) - in SOME ways Chinese media control is more honest - everybody knows it exists, and that's an advantage.
Like I said, I think Grace's focus is pretty nonsensical, but there is plenty of Christian work going on that is not nonsensical - Grace, look around, & don't buy ideas just because they either come or don't come from some category you happen to think 'must be' correct.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Air quality.

@HFCampo: Sorry, I still don't understand why metal particulates in the air won't blow away like everything else (dust, etc.) in the air.

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@ Dazzer: At what age does it become definitely known that students have or haven't the capacity to benefit themselves and society by going to university? And is this something to be decided by their English teacher? If my university Spanish teacher had been empowered to do so, he might well have prevented me from getting my university degree.

@ tiger: Is that school/program one of those that are quite expensive for students' families? Seems there are a number of schools who focus on not-particularly-good students simply because their parents have the cash to have them study there.

I see no point in dealing on a tilted table. Social mobility is indeed a relevant social goal, and there are barriers to it everywhere. Schools should, I think, be part of the effort to remove them. I have no problem with the idea of helping students achieve their full potential, including 'smart' kids. Will involve a lot, and of course it can't all be done by the school.

I don't understand what is necessarily wrong with devoting more resources to educating those who may well be disadvantaged by their social backgrounds. Having 20% 'achieve a lot more' doesn't strike me as the only relevant social goal in a competitive society. The game table is not flat, and we all know this.

Seems to me the problem with street markets is not that they exist, but that there seems to be a lack of control over how large they grow. Licensing of marketers should be able to control this, if there is a will to do so.

Reviews

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Not quite what you'd call a jumping place, but not bad at all for rather standard US-type meals, not overly expensive, and with a really good salad bar that's cheap, or free with most dinner dishes after 5:30PM. You can get a bottle of beer or even wine if you really want to, but I've never seen anybody do it - maybe that's just to take out. Chinese Christian run, and they hire people with physical disadvantages, who are pleasant and helpful. Frequented by foreign (mostly North American) Christians and Chinese Christians - was started by a Canadian couple associated with Bless China (previously, Project Grace), who are no longer here, but no religious pressure or any of that. Steaks are nothing special, and I avoid the Korean dishes, which I've had a few times but which did not impress me.

As a shop and bakery, it's very good bread at reasonable prices, of various kinds (Y18 for a good multigrain loaf that certainly weighs well over a pound. Other stuff too, like granola and oatmeal that is local, as well as imported things, including American cornflakes and so forth, which some people seem to require.

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Large portions, seriously so with the pizza, which is Brooklyn/American style, I guess. Convivial, conversational, good place to drink with good folks on both sides of the bar, especially after about 9PM.

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Really good pizza and steaks. The wine machine fuddles me when I'm a bit fuddled, & seems unnecessary. Good folks on both sides of the bar.