Global village

More bitter tea

It seems everybody has been a teapot scam victim. New expats are tricked into buying a 400 yuan ($53) serving of so-so tea after being lured into a caf on the premise a young Chinese student wanted to practice her English.

Another expat was strolling inside a Wangfujing mall when two young women started a conversation that began with the typical well-rehearsed lines: Where are you from? How do you like China? The answers didn't matter. The conversation quickly led to learning English and moving to a caf.

A coffee-lover, he reluctantly suggested a place inside the mall but the women insisted the sunshine was too good to pass up and the caf, about four minutes away, was nicer. He followed them for about 100 meters until he realized something wasn't right. They were making a bee line to the place. He said goodbye and turned around and the women seemed to have realized he was on to them and disappeared.

A few weeks later, in the same mall, another young woman made a similar pitch. Having remembered the first encounter, he decided to have some fun and started to ask her questions and suggested a stroll in a record shop on the same floor instead. After five minutes, she became frustrated at this man's lack of interest in rushing to her favorite caf outside the mall and went to find another victim.

Cop this

Two friendly police officers wandered along Wenhuaxiang in the sunshine handing out notices written in Chinese and English announcing an open day at the Wenlin police station in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunan Province, last month. The event allowed interested public to "visit officers' offices, living rooms, dining room, and other places" and "learn basic circumstances about China's police". Visitors were also able to ask questions and were welcomed to bring cameras with them.

Why Yantai is paradise

Yantai is located on the northeast coast of Shandong, 1.5-hour flight from Shanghai and 1 hour from Beijing.

Lars Holenbeck says "for someone that has lived in China for 10 years, it came as a great surprise to find such a place in China that has been relatively unspoilt, retaining its clean beaches, clear waters, and rich historic culture".

Yantai-Life Service Club is an organization that offers services to expats in Yantai, such as house-hunting and interpreter services for travel, shopping, or business. Check out website for more information

http://www.yantai-life.com

AND ANOTHER THING...

English teaching is the most common form of employment for many expats, and the contract is pretty standard. It details exactly what happens if a person quits. The employee must pay a penalty to the university of up to $2,000. The school collects the passport and foreign expert certificate and has the visa/residence permit and the work authority cancelled.

However in a desperate bid to break a contract and avoid the fine, some teachers have lied about a death in the family. According to the desperate teachers, this story would never be doubted, as no one in their right mind would tempt fate by saying their father had died.

(China Daily 10/19/2007 page20)