By Charlie Schroeder 3/26 4:49pm

A New Yorker in China

A Chinese classroom. (Photo: MIKE CLARKE /AFP/Getty)

Eye of the Tiger Mom: For Chinese Kids, Overscheduled is an Understatement

One night after my Cantonese class, a fellow student approached me to let off some steam. Like me, Jean-Baptiste was struggling mightily with the tonal language. “These evenings,” he said in a thick French accent, “would be much more enjoyable if I stayed at home and was a potato couch.”

I couldn’t have with him more agreed. Our instructor, a 60-something former “office creature,” is decidedly old-school. She follows the textbook to a T, and asks us to repeat after her. It’s immensely boring. Read More

By Charlie Schroeder 2/19 7:02pm

A New Yorker in China

Chinese New Year display in Hong Kong. (Philippe Lopez/Getty Images)

Cheap White Guy Confronts Lai See, the Chinese Custom of Giving Money Away

A few weeks ago, my wife, Wendy, came to me with some troubling news. “Don’t freak,” she said. “But we have to give Lai See for Chinese New Year.”

Lai See, which literally means “Good Luck,” are red envelopes that elders give to juniors. There are lots of different traditions, but in general, married couples give them to unmarried relatives, friends or colleagues.

This might not sound like something to freak about, until you consider that the envelopes are filled with money.  Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/29/12 6:01pm

Starchitects

Video

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Even in Hong Kong, Frank Gehry Demands Top Dollar for His Top Apartments

We already know that Frank Gehry has some of the most expensive apartments in New York, but it appears that is a universal trait for the awesomely over-hyped architect. According to a video report from the Wall Street Journal, an apartment at Mr. Gehry’s recently completed apartment tower in the hills overlooking Hong Kong’s inner harbor has just sold for $61 million. Read More

By Matt Chaban 1/05/12 10:51am

Planes Trains & Automobiles

Walder works the crowd. (MTR)

First Day in Hong Kong, Jay Walder Pats Himself on the Back for M.T.A Leadership

Tuesday was Jay Walder’s first day on the million-dollar job in Honk Kong, and while the focus was on fair hikes there in his first press conference, the former M.T.A chief did not hesitate to take a swipe at New York, where frustrations with the politics and finances of the system drove him away.

“New York, when I arrived there, was in a financial crisis,” Mr. Walder said. “The system simply did not have enough money to continue to operate. The assets were not being renewed. And the infrastructure was in terrible condition.”

“What I did,” Mr. Walder continued, “was to be able to right that financial basis and to be able to put the system back on firm financial footing.” Read More

By Tom Acitelli 7/22/11 8:54am

Surviving In

It looks pretty at night, at least.

Jay Walder in Hong Kong: If He Thought the Upper West Side Was Pricey…

Last year, The Observer reported that relatively new (he was nine months in) M.T.A. chief Jay Walder and his wife had bought on the Upper West Side near five subway lines. The couple paid $1.599 million for a condo with three bedrooms, a lot of natural light, a big master suite with double sinks, and a walk-in closet. It was the sort of apartment a New Yorker could settle into for the long haul.

Now, though, with Mr. Walder decamping for Hong Kong, what of it? We don’t know yet. But we do know that he might find $1.599 million a steal for a nice three-bedroom in his next city. Read More

By Julia Halperin 12/23/10 10:04pm

Weird Art

Damien Hirst’s New Art Even Creepier Than Usual

What’s creepier than a platinum, diamond-encrusted human skull? A platinum, diamond-encrusted infant skull, of course!

Shock-jock artist Damien Hirst is notorious for his 2007 sculpture “For the Love of God,” a human skull cast entirely of diamonds which he tried (unsuccessfully) to sell for £50 million.

Now, he’s at it again. Perhaps out Read More