• more about #diplomattraining more comments →
    Pender: "For instance, did you know that the Shanghai subway transports more than the entire population of San Francisco every morning during rush hour? Crazy... more »
    GadgetPlayPissedSomebodyOff: Great post, Elaine. I don't understand the carping about "China bashing." Your snarkiness was mild compared to many Giz posts, and you had your fact... more »
    GTgeek: I wish there was some sort of class you could take to prepare you for traveling to foreign countries. I'd hate to be the tourist that accidentally dis... more »
    Red_Flag: 谢谢, Elaine. However, the "Second China Project" has my interest piqued. First I've ever heard of it. more »
    Giz Has Lost It: I'm a fan of Asian culture and have always thought it would be great to visit China (among other places) and experience it first-hand, but there's alw... more »
    Abor: Reading a lot of your articles, it seems you can't help but include some of the biases you have. Not surprisingly, they're mostly US-centric views of... more »
    friend-o: Isn't this where the latest Olympics were filmed? more »
    anonymousryan: I imagine most diplomats do their interneting through VPNs, so I don't think internet censorship would be an issue. I wonder how that works, though. more »
    scoopjones: My experience with China was that anyone who speaks English is doing so to sell you something. But they all know three English words: "Hello", "bye-by... more »
    dosthebos2: man Elanie loves that rocket/dildo phone...she should have just bought it! more »
    zebek: For what it's worth, I'm from HK, and I've spent two years in China and three years in the US. As a percentage of the population, I'd say that the US... more »
    professor: Careful Elaine, your bias is showing through! -Bargaining: This is not something you do at department stores or the supermarket... this is something y... more »
    chamychan: ok you just missed a HUGE point up there: Everything you eat or drink run the risk of it being poisonous and carcinogenic. more »
    redspectre: does this second life have the nsfw elements as the original? more »
    blue4130: You missed the key points. Things that are rude here (in China) are not taboo. Pissing in the street a$$l3ess pants on kids so they can crap in the st... more »
  • #secondchina

    Things Virtual Reality China Will Not Prep You For (And What You Can Do Instead)

    The U.S. is injecting a good $1.25 million into a new “virtual training ground” for American diplomats who plan on working in China called “The Second China Project.” It's a pretend city in Linden Lab's Second Life that purportedly will help almost-expatriots get used to the environment in the world's most populous nation. While some of the training activities sound useful (for instance, what to give as a gift, how to seat guests), as someone who's lived in this country for years, I can tell you there are things that diplomats should get ready for that the virtual world doesn't even seem to touch on. More »