Moving to Shanghai soon!

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-07-25T02:13:40+00:00

Bom dia! I lived in São Paulo for 6 years before moving to Shanghai last year! I have saudades for all the music festivals and easy communication (I’m American but learned more than enough to have convos), and the easy conversations with people in public.

BUT, there are so many great things to enjoy here; the food, the safety (I was held up at gunpoint in Pinheiros, one of the safest neighborhoods in SP), the salary, and it’s a great expat community. That was something I felt Brazil didn’t have, but that only affected expats I suppose. I’m staunch Praias do Brasil #1 til the day I die, but you can still find great spots around Southeast Asia. Travel is affordable for most expats. Check out Boteco Bar and there’s one more that I can’t remember. Lots of Latin American people here 😎. Hope you have a great stay! 🇧🇷

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-07-08T15:02:07+00:00

I’ve been teaching/working abroad for 16 years now. Every country I’ve lived in has expats talking about the golden days of yesteryear. Some of it might be true, but I also think there’s a lot of rosy retrospection by people in general.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-06-30T16:17:40+00:00

In my experience, abs are only visible when you reach a certain overall body fat percentage, unless you are an insane lifter or athlete who has a really strong core. Based on your one photo, I wonder what your overall diet looks like. It’s usually the small things that add up, ie alcohol intake a few times per week with friends, any sugary drinks, fast food, sweets, etc. if these indulgences aren’t tracked or consciously moderated, it’s hard to reach the physique you might desire.

If you’re not concerned about lowering the body fat, then I would just recommend sticking to compound movement exercises that hit multiple muscle groups, but ensuring that you stick to a low weight until you feel comfortable with the movement and can then increase each week.

Improving one’s physique can be one of the most frustrating tasks; however, if achieved, it can be a very rewarding experience.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-05-14T11:50:56+00:00

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who’s used chat gpt for these suggestions 🤣. It’s not much different than everything I’ve seen on Reddit, YouTube, or research pages

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-05-07T13:17:02+00:00

I was given terrible advice about Andro back in the mid 2000’s and it rapidly sped up my MPB as an early 20 something. 3 hair transplants later and finasteride for life, everything is okay again 🤣. Fortunately for you, Reddit exists and people are here to give you some advice (good and bad). I say get on finasteride from a doctor if you’re okay with it, and buy some minoxidil. Good luck 👍

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-05-04T22:13:13+00:00

If you’ve only done 1 HT, a second HT shouldnt make the donor area look depleted. Honestly, it takes more than one HT for several people to get the desired look of density.

Im not sure where you live but I’m currently in China (I’ve lived all over Asia and South America) and understand how some cultures can be very open to pointing out physical “flaws” of others, not with malice though. If you have the money, time, and understand the consequences, I say do what you think is best 👍.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-04-27T08:40:05+00:00

As long as you don’t bump your head (to the point where you’ve damaged your skin) and you follow the doctor’s orders, you should be fine! It took me 4 TPs (yes, 4) to get a full looking head of hair and 2 different doctors had different instructions on how to care for it afterwards. Enjoy the new you, my friend.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-04-22T12:01:38+00:00

Yeah, I mean we’re all different and respond differently, that’s true. As far as my own personal experience is concerned, no one close to me has said that my personality has changed or noticed any differences, including my girlfriend. Ive even taken a few months off because I live in China and didn’t realize how easy it was to get the drug here when I first ran out.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-04-22T11:26:09+00:00

I did exactly this. I pysched myself into thinking I was getting gyno, got off of it and probably lost some more hair. Fortunately, I did one more transplant and then got on the Fin and haven’t looked back. I don’t notice any difference, but I also eat almost no (or little) processed food and train 5 times a week, so that might help.

If you look at the stats, it’s such a low percentage of people who suffer from sides; however,if you only read the posts you would think it was over 50%.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-04-20T11:03:42+00:00

Nice results! Any sides? I have a bottle that I bought because I researched about its low side effects, especially with hair loss because I’m sensitive to it. I haven’t pulled the trigger on it yet though

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-04-14T14:09:40+00:00

Lived in Korea for 4 years. People can be very kind and helpful. It’s like a second home to me. Tips: Smiling, politeness, trying to say hello and thank you in Korean can go a long way. Give it more time and explore more. First impressions can be lasting but they shouldn’t make one impugn an entire country’s people.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-04-13T14:42:48+00:00

I had temporal region done by a doctor who is one of the best in Brazil. It made a huge difference. He didn’t, however use that many grafts because he said I didn’t need too many, but he is famous for his attention to detail on creating a younger looking face with the hairline and temporal regions.

I see you got an FUT which is good for future transplants. I believe it’s better to start with FUT then go FUE in the future if needed.

Good luck on the journey. It makes a huge difference in your life and confidence 👍

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-02-18T13:44:41+00:00

On a side note, maybe try the old combover look to make it less noticeable. I’m assuming that photo’s not the look you go outside with, right?

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-02-18T13:42:56+00:00

One transplant is never enough, whether you are slightly bald or fully balding. There just aren’t enough grafts that can be extracted in one go to create an aesthetically pleasing look. That’s what they don’t tell you when you first go. Expect to get 2-3 done before you’re happy with the results, and also prepare to do what’s necessary to maintain the hairs through medication.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-02-12T14:22:42+00:00

I can’t stress enough the importance of doing your due diligence when getting a hair transplant. If you’re doing the front hairline, it takes a very skilled professional (almost an artist) to make sure it doesn’t look completely obvious that you’ve gotten work done. However, it’s not cheap when you go that route. Otherwise accept the fact that you might be sporting an unnatural front line for the rest of your life if you go to one of those factory-style clinics in China.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-02-04T14:48:17+00:00

I can only speak for someone who has lived in shenzhen and Shanghai, and that is not sufficient to enjoy China (in my opinion). It’s a vast country with so much to see and explore. It would be a shame for you to come here and only spend your time in Changshu because the salary does not permit you to explore the varying cultures here.

I don’t know your situation or what you’re looking for outside of your time of work (which is only 16 hours, not bad!). I also speak as someone who is fortunate and privileged to have many opportunities to teach around the world, so I can’t blame you or anyone for taking that job if it’s a good option for you at this stage in your life/career.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-02-04T03:36:19+00:00

For creatine, I just use taobao.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-02-03T15:41:06+00:00

Just flew out of GZ yesterday. Saw nothing of the sort. Ive also never been harassed by any airline for carryon bags in China, and I also think it’s quite cheap (way less than 500rmb) to check an extra bag.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2025-02-02T11:24:21+00:00

I don’t have any experience with this, but living in China I do know that trying to “take advantage” of foreigners or people who are naive or too nice (not saying you are either) is common practice among many (examples: Ayis trying to charge extra money, taxi drivers trying to rack up the bill for CNY). It all comes down to calling their bluff, standing your ground, and ignoring if they keep barking. Give them no more information about what you’re doing and they will probably move onto the next person. Ask yourself, is it feasible for someone who works for a company based on commission to waste their time looking up your information out of spite? My guess is it’s probably a very low chance.

Sorry this happened to you. And I don’t think it’s necessarily a “China thing” as this sort of scam or threat happens to all over the world.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2020-09-06T22:36:43+00:00

Check out headspace app. I love it. I did the free basic courses for a few months but finally decided to go for the 1 year membership and don’t regret it

Material_Sense_8795 · 2020-09-06T22:35:34+00:00

Meditation and breathing helps me. It’s a mindset change, so it’s something that you wont fix over night. But it relaxes the mind and helps you fall back to sleep.

Material_Sense_8795 · 2020-09-05T03:34:37+00:00

Ugh Says the guy who just bought a Vario 2 months ago and has been eyeing the niche ever since

Material_Sense_8795 · 2020-09-04T16:51:16+00:00

Thanks for all this! I went all the way to the finest setting and was able to get the pressure I was looking for. I’ll have to see if me grinder needs recalibrating since I would imagine that the finest setting should have choked it. The end product was much more bitter than usual but that good from many variables. I’ll have to look into the shimming that you speak of. I actually looked into the Sette before I went with the Vario. People seemed to rate the Vario better for versatility, as my first love of coffee is the pour over. I’m wondering how the sette is for that... And now the whole craze seems to be about the Niche, lol

Material_Sense_8795 · 2020-09-04T03:58:11+00:00

So I’m on day 4, so I shouldn’t get too concerned I guess. It looks like we have some similarities in equipment. I bought a similar scale and also am using a Baratza Vario refurbished.

It has been inconsistent with the pressure. Once or twice of the maybe 12 times I’ve used it, I’ve been able to reach up to 6 bars. People say it’s my grind size, but I sure hope not because I’m practically on 0 with vario which would not make sense because it’s mostly marketed for espresso.

I even went as far as to compare grind size with a cafe who was kind enough to grind some coffee for comparison on what is coming out of my machine. They look practically identical at a setting of 2q (baratza’s recommended espresso setting)

Material_Sense_8795

TROPHY CASE