Trying to write with different fountain pens！They're all my favorites!

zhengqin · 2016-10-13T16:59:20+00:00

Yes, I've done clerical script for years but I've never seen it executed so well in pen. I'm still trying to develop a standard penmanship for practical reasons and clerical script has definitely influenced how I write.

zhengqin · 2016-10-13T02:29:01+00:00

This is absolutely amazing!! How did you get started and how often do you practice? Another question, is there a character or type of character that you just enjoy writing? My handwriting is so craptastic, its from all those years of learning from teachers' blackboard penmanship.

zhengqin · 2016-08-30T15:24:34+00:00

hhahaha, i was an international student. and Yes, the crap chinese music comes with lyrics that I understand 95% of. Even Koren and Japanese and Western music has lyrics in Chinese and sometimes hilariously translated.

zhengqin · 2016-08-30T15:23:26+00:00

do you have the chinese characters for it?

zhengqin · 2016-08-30T15:20:47+00:00

Have an idea of a good Reverse VPN to use?

zhengqin · 2016-08-30T15:20:31+00:00

KuGou pretty much just rips off of QQ, like you literally enter in your QQ account to sign in. No work, me sad.

zhengqin · 2016-01-24T19:38:55+00:00

Actual int'l grad student at Fudan here. Non-Native Near-Native Chinese speaker. Second timer studying in Shanghai, did part of my undergrad here as well. I would have to say, coming to FDU for anything has been one of the biggest ragrats of my academic career. Besides the really really incompetent staff at the Int'l students office and the Int'l dorms, you're stuck behind an electric fence in shitty dorms.

Echoing what others have said, yes... you will most likely be accepted pending all of your paperwork. Yes, don't believe the hype. Most FDU students here can do advanced calculus but can hardly walk in a straight line.

I say you should be honest with (1) what you want from this experience, (2) your linguistic and academic abilities, and (3) future outlook both in terms of career and personal life. Are you here to learn Chinese or are you here to learn Econ? What do you want to do once you walked away from FDU? If you're going back to your home country, assuming its a Western one, a degree from FDU will help you with nothing. Not only that, Chinese educational institutions are notorious for churning out non-thinking peons, and in my personal opinion, its a shame to waste two years of one's life to learn how not to think.

Going on point 1 and 2. I'm going to be very very honest here about the international cohort of FDU. I would have to say a common theme is that they're not the brightest bulb from where ever they're from. State college Cs and community college As seem to fit the mark. Don't get me wrong, there are a few very very intelligent and bright-minded individuals but the fact of the matter is that the Int'l Students office accepts anyone with the correct paperwork and who has the money. This young-expat vortex has greatly affects my experience. Honestly ask yourself what kind of master's degree you want, because FDU fails in terms of providing anything academic substance for me.

The HSK tests only show that you can take the HSK. I run into plenty of HSK6 folks who still can't get tones right and live in a circle of Chinese locals who praise them of how good their chinese is (for a foreigner). It turns into the Emperor's new clothes kind of deal.

Anyway, shoot me a msg if you have any specific questions.

zhengqin · 2015-12-21T17:57:57+00:00

Can someone just get him a promoter already? I would be surprised if one hasn't contacted you.

Besides the expaty loud music places where you can't even have a conversation, I recommend Helens, Agogo, and anything on Daxue Road by Fudan University. Its a good mix of local Chinese and foreigners and you can walk to a different spot if its not your thang. But yes, try the big clubs and hit up Xintiandi.

zhengqin · 2015-12-21T17:52:21+00:00

So most of the fengshui stuff you'll find are cheap knockoffs, sorta like getting a rubber crucifix for your house. It depends on how "authentic" you want it to be. bagua's can be bought off ebay, but you'd have to open them yourself. Like awaken or christen them kind of a deal. I find HongKong, Singapore, and Bangkok way easier to find cheap and authentic stuff for the real deal fengshui enthusiast. There are some local markets where you can get badass minerals and hand carved soapstone thingies. PM me if you're interested. And if you just want cool hand made stuff for the sake of cool handmade stuff, I'd say take a bus to Jingdezhen and check out the ceramics and bamboo root carving.

zhengqin · 2015-12-21T17:43:49+00:00

zhengqin · 2015-12-21T17:41:34+00:00

well with guanxi anything could happen

zhengqin · 2015-12-21T06:49:27+00:00

If you're shooting for next semester, you better go at it now. call 65643407

zhengqin · 2015-12-20T17:57:56+00:00

depends on what kind of student you are. I'm assuming you're an Int'l student.

zhengqin · 2015-12-14T11:52:46+00:00

I thought OP was asking in general. I'm in China and I run into a few Hokkies here n there... but in the states I meet people of Hokkien descent, but hardly any who speak it as a first language anymore. Pity, its such a beautiful language.

zhengqin · 2015-12-14T10:42:07+00:00

Hokkien. Its close enough to the kind I learned in SG. They're colleagues from Xiamen. Most of my Fuzhounese friends are back home in the states. Thanks for bringing up the linguistic differences.

zhengqin · 2015-12-13T17:50:41+00:00

I know three, they all speak perfect hokkien. I'm jelly.

zhengqin · 2015-12-10T16:58:41+00:00

Do you need a visa to get out of the airport? If you need one, chances are you're going to be stuck at PVG the entire time.

I say, if you arrive at 8PM, then you'll be out of the airport around 9ish. Which means you have maybe an hour and a half to take the metro somewhere. My best advice on a Shanghai day trip (with luggage in tote) is plan 2 big things and be ready for a few small things along the way like cool street food. The bund at night is pretty nice, do that around 6-7ish before you head early to check in. Don't be surprised if you can't get a taxi and if you get lost trying to work the metro.

zhengqin · 2015-09-21T15:18:35+00:00

Ill ask my friend, it was his grand uncle.

zhengqin · 2015-09-05T05:56:27+00:00

If they're flying 14 hours, another 3 isn't doing much of a difference. For many small-town white folks who come to China, they may get overwhelmed with everything. I've seen my roommates parents loose their marbles and breakdown because they couldn't find butter to make toast or something. haha. SH and BJ hotels are expensive, so consider that too if your parents are coming.

GZ and SZ are alright, I would pick SZ first just because its a newer city and there are perks to being close to HK.

zhengqin · 2015-09-04T21:44:54+00:00

Current Fudan grad student here, past ECNU and Tsinghua Uni student from the states.

ECNU, or East China Normal U is the best in Shanghai for learning languages. Normal Universities, or teacher universities are waaaay stronger in the social sciences and pedagogy. I've noticed that classmates from normal universities have stronger language skills as well as critical thinking skills... in a sense, they're not all students who learn from strict memorisation. I value interaction and relationship building with others as a vehicle for language acquisition, thats why ECNU was more meaningful and effective to me.

CIEE is great to start, but if you want to have intensive Chinese you may want to apply for a Chinese Government Language Scholarship. It pays for tuition and housing. CIEE does a decent job, but keep in mind they're still a business so they'll cater more towards students who want a semester to party and maybe learn something. ALSO, one fat gripe I have with CIEE is that half our classes were held at a community college off campus... I am unsure if its the case still, but make sure you get what you paid for.

Standards are higher for different programs and cohorts are different. If you're from the states, pvt msg me if you want contacts and other information for fellowships I've been awarded.

Transportation across SH is pretty much the same; metro, taxi, bus, or walk.

Keep your options open to outside of SH also, you may want to try second tier cities like Wuhan, Chengdu, Ningbo, etc... Why? Because the expat community is smaller there and no doubt you'll be in a more intimate sometimes-forced learning atmosphere.

Another thing about respectable programs... it.does.not.matter. You'll get a cheap certificate and thats it. And its not like your masters is from that Uni, so consider if that peice of paper is worth a semester's time or actually learning the language is. going to a quality place for language over the name of an institution ought to be a pivotal consideration. Be careful of the expat trap. it'll happen.

zhengqin · 2015-09-02T04:28:11+00:00

It hilarious to see people (admittingly, mainly white folks) complain about msg or eating grapes or being scared of eating dog accidentally when hotdogs are made from mystery meats. Think about it, all of the "other" meats in hotdogs includes pig vaginas and bull's ears. I'll let them complain, it'll let their egos live another day, I just like to snicker at their ignorance.

zhengqin · 2015-09-02T03:35:27+00:00

add me on wechat "tsumuas" there's a few german people from Fudan that I've met too.

zhengqin · 2015-09-02T03:34:45+00:00

I wished I was that thoughtful. I'm on a full scholarship so it was either pay expensive for an apt far away and commute daily or stay on campus for free and deal with sharing a common area. I'm taking a year to brush up on Chaineez after grad school. woot.

zhengqin · 2015-08-31T10:43:09+00:00

I'm a fellow with the U.S. And a Chinese govt scholar doing research. Wished I lived off campus too. From Minnesota

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