If you are coming to shanghai being a non china chinese, you are bound to get a shanghai girlfriend sooner or later. You will. trust me.
Many people loves to have a shanghai girlfriend, many advises against it. The following are some of the pros and cons that you might need to know.
PROS:
1)Most of them speaks a little english (they will because many of them wants a non China boyfriend, preferably white)
2)They are smart
3)They will definitely chat with you a few sentences (as long as you are white) no matter how lousy her english and your chinese is.
4)they dress better compared to chinese girls from other provinces.
5)They know how to make a guy happy. *wink*
CONS:
1)Most of them treat guys, especially boyfriends, as a walking ATM
2)materialistic (very)
3)looks down on chinese from other provinces, sometimes even chinese from other countries.
4)some of them do not feel speaking shanghainese in a group outing where there are people do not understanding it as rude.
5)they like to lie
6)many of them likes to keep a few boyfriends, one for marriage consideration, one for money, one for "love" etc etc.
I will add on to this list when I think of more. whether to get a shanghai galfren, its all up to you.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
How to survive in shanghai - queueing
Many foreigners arriving in shanghai for the first time in their life cannot get used to the locals not queueing.
they do not queueing when buying food, buying tickets for subway, going up the subway, etc etc.
of course, not all Chinese in shanghai do not queue. So if you are particular about queueing, here is how you should brainwash yourself.
If you are spending less than USD 1 on a meal of fried rice, fried noodles, spicy soup, do not expect the people who are buying the same thing to give a damn about queueing. Same for the subway, they shanghai subway caps at less than USD 1 for the longest ride, so if you meet people who are queueing, you should feel privileged.
If you HAVE to see people queueing, please go to places where a simple meal would costs about the same as they would charge in New York City or Tokyo or London or Paris. Even if the customers do not queue, whoever is attending to the customers will ask them to queue.
Having said that, taking a cab in shanghai, although it costs more than USD 1 for the starting fee, no one is gonna let you get the cab first during the rush hours. It's the same in New York and other big cities during the rush hours.
In shanghai, queueing is all about how much you are willing to spend.
they do not queueing when buying food, buying tickets for subway, going up the subway, etc etc.
of course, not all Chinese in shanghai do not queue. So if you are particular about queueing, here is how you should brainwash yourself.
If you are spending less than USD 1 on a meal of fried rice, fried noodles, spicy soup, do not expect the people who are buying the same thing to give a damn about queueing. Same for the subway, they shanghai subway caps at less than USD 1 for the longest ride, so if you meet people who are queueing, you should feel privileged.
If you HAVE to see people queueing, please go to places where a simple meal would costs about the same as they would charge in New York City or Tokyo or London or Paris. Even if the customers do not queue, whoever is attending to the customers will ask them to queue.
Having said that, taking a cab in shanghai, although it costs more than USD 1 for the starting fee, no one is gonna let you get the cab first during the rush hours. It's the same in New York and other big cities during the rush hours.
In shanghai, queueing is all about how much you are willing to spend.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Shanghai Scam #1: Friendly locals asking defenceless foreigners for tea
Where this scam usually takes place: People's Square area
Who: Usually 2 gals aged between 17-22, looks like university students and probably knows a little english
what they do: this 2 gals will usually try to strike up a conversation with a foreigner walking alone or at most, 2 foreigners.
Scam: after striking up a conversation with the victim/s, the pair of gals will suggest to continue to chat in a tea house nearby. the usual excuse is they want to practice their english and the girls will tell the victim/s more about shanghai
when they are at the tea house, the waiter will show you a menu showing you probably pots of tea ranging from 25-35 RMB / pot. The victims or the gals will order a kind of tea.
after the tea is served, the gals will find an excuse to go away for a while, very often they will say they need to go to the washroom. the unsuspecting foreigners would probably say fine.
then the gals will never come back.realizing its a waste of time, the foreigners will ask for the bill, if not, they will be showed one.
the pot of tea now costs 7000RMB. the victim/s will deny, but now their menus shows the tea prices range from 5000-8000RMB.and suddenly, the once secluded teahouse is filled with many gangsters and probably security guards too.
some victims got away with paying half the amount after some serious bargaining, some victims used their credit card for the too expensive tea.
beware!
Who: Usually 2 gals aged between 17-22, looks like university students and probably knows a little english
what they do: this 2 gals will usually try to strike up a conversation with a foreigner walking alone or at most, 2 foreigners.
Scam: after striking up a conversation with the victim/s, the pair of gals will suggest to continue to chat in a tea house nearby. the usual excuse is they want to practice their english and the girls will tell the victim/s more about shanghai
when they are at the tea house, the waiter will show you a menu showing you probably pots of tea ranging from 25-35 RMB / pot. The victims or the gals will order a kind of tea.
after the tea is served, the gals will find an excuse to go away for a while, very often they will say they need to go to the washroom. the unsuspecting foreigners would probably say fine.
then the gals will never come back.realizing its a waste of time, the foreigners will ask for the bill, if not, they will be showed one.
the pot of tea now costs 7000RMB. the victim/s will deny, but now their menus shows the tea prices range from 5000-8000RMB.and suddenly, the once secluded teahouse is filled with many gangsters and probably security guards too.
some victims got away with paying half the amount after some serious bargaining, some victims used their credit card for the too expensive tea.
beware!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Amazing shanghai "love" story
I heard this from a make up artist that I worked with.
All names are changed to fictional names.
-----------------------------------------------------
Amy is a shanghainese gal studying in Japan. Her aim in life is to marry a rich husband since her days in the university.
Amy had a boyfriend called John. John is an american born chinese(aka ABC). While amy is still doing her university in japan, she broke up with john. just 2-3 days before their brokeup, they had sex. and just after a few days, she met Peter (another ABC). and just after 3 days, they are together as a couple and start having sex.
1 month later, the doc said amy was pregnant.
Amy told both John and Peter about her pregnancy. at this moment, amy has no idea who is the real father of her child. Both John and Peter do no know the existance of each others. thus, both of them thought they fathered amy's child.
Both of them suggested amy to abort the baby, as they never thought of marriage yet. But amy insisted to keep the child (indirectly implying to the guys to be responsible)
John's reasoning is they are already broke up, so even if amy insist, he should not be so obliged to marry amy. but on the other hand, he felt guilty to make amy an single parent even before she finish her university.
Peter's reasoning is since they are still together, and amy wants to keep the baby. no matter how reluctant he was, he HAVE TO marry her. whats more, Peter's parants think the baby is a continuation to their family line. So peter decide to marry amy.
Now what amy had been waiting for came through. for its common knowledge that most ABC come from a well to do family, so is Peter. Amy requested the following
1) She must go to San franscisco to give birth, so that her child will have american citizenship.
2) She should go to san francisco now so that she can start to take good care of herself as the baby grows in her tummy. she requested to stay in "hotels" especially made for pregnant ladies. that means the "hotels" plan the pregnant ladies' diet, exercise, check ups etc etc
3) Peter's family is suppose to pay for all these.
Of course, despite knowing these request are largely amy's own desire to enjoy like a queen during his pregnancy days, Peter's parents also know its good for the baby too (professional caretaking for the baby and american citizenship).
Peter's family agreed to the requests.
Amy gave birth to a boy, which to many chinese families, is a blessing over a baby gal.
Amy informed john about her safe delivery of the baby. This make John even more guilty (John still do not know about Peter). John offered to give amy some monthly allowance to help her tide thru this difficult period of a new born and a jobless mum.
On the other hand, Amy requested to go back to shanghai with her baby to stay. reasons being amy's mum have not seen amy for more than 8 months, and amy's mum could help her take care of her baby. amy also claimed that America is too foreign a culture to get used to, and since her baby already has american citizenship, her baby can leave the country now.
Peter's family thought its only human for a daughter to want to see her mum after 8 months of seperation, and its reasonable for amy's mum to want to see the baby too, so they agreed.
Amy request the purchase of a condo in downtown shanghai and an european car to settle down in shanghai. reason being her house in shanghai is not big enough to take care of a baby, and a car would also be convenient for them to go around as she is still weak after giving birth.
Peter agreed to all these.
In the mean time, amy is also receiving the monthly allowance from John, which by shanghai standard, is half as good as an expat package.
Please also take note that up to this point, amy and peter had not yet go through any legal procedure as a married couple.
I am still waiting for any updates to this story, this is what i have witnessed so far.
All names are changed to fictional names.
-----------------------------------------------------
Amy is a shanghainese gal studying in Japan. Her aim in life is to marry a rich husband since her days in the university.
Amy had a boyfriend called John. John is an american born chinese(aka ABC). While amy is still doing her university in japan, she broke up with john. just 2-3 days before their brokeup, they had sex. and just after a few days, she met Peter (another ABC). and just after 3 days, they are together as a couple and start having sex.
1 month later, the doc said amy was pregnant.
Amy told both John and Peter about her pregnancy. at this moment, amy has no idea who is the real father of her child. Both John and Peter do no know the existance of each others. thus, both of them thought they fathered amy's child.
Both of them suggested amy to abort the baby, as they never thought of marriage yet. But amy insisted to keep the child (indirectly implying to the guys to be responsible)
John's reasoning is they are already broke up, so even if amy insist, he should not be so obliged to marry amy. but on the other hand, he felt guilty to make amy an single parent even before she finish her university.
Peter's reasoning is since they are still together, and amy wants to keep the baby. no matter how reluctant he was, he HAVE TO marry her. whats more, Peter's parants think the baby is a continuation to their family line. So peter decide to marry amy.
Now what amy had been waiting for came through. for its common knowledge that most ABC come from a well to do family, so is Peter. Amy requested the following
1) She must go to San franscisco to give birth, so that her child will have american citizenship.
2) She should go to san francisco now so that she can start to take good care of herself as the baby grows in her tummy. she requested to stay in "hotels" especially made for pregnant ladies. that means the "hotels" plan the pregnant ladies' diet, exercise, check ups etc etc
3) Peter's family is suppose to pay for all these.
Of course, despite knowing these request are largely amy's own desire to enjoy like a queen during his pregnancy days, Peter's parents also know its good for the baby too (professional caretaking for the baby and american citizenship).
Peter's family agreed to the requests.
Amy gave birth to a boy, which to many chinese families, is a blessing over a baby gal.
Amy informed john about her safe delivery of the baby. This make John even more guilty (John still do not know about Peter). John offered to give amy some monthly allowance to help her tide thru this difficult period of a new born and a jobless mum.
On the other hand, Amy requested to go back to shanghai with her baby to stay. reasons being amy's mum have not seen amy for more than 8 months, and amy's mum could help her take care of her baby. amy also claimed that America is too foreign a culture to get used to, and since her baby already has american citizenship, her baby can leave the country now.
Peter's family thought its only human for a daughter to want to see her mum after 8 months of seperation, and its reasonable for amy's mum to want to see the baby too, so they agreed.
Amy request the purchase of a condo in downtown shanghai and an european car to settle down in shanghai. reason being her house in shanghai is not big enough to take care of a baby, and a car would also be convenient for them to go around as she is still weak after giving birth.
Peter agreed to all these.
In the mean time, amy is also receiving the monthly allowance from John, which by shanghai standard, is half as good as an expat package.
Please also take note that up to this point, amy and peter had not yet go through any legal procedure as a married couple.
I am still waiting for any updates to this story, this is what i have witnessed so far.
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