Walking near Columbia, I once met an older Chinese man trying to talk to some black dude in Chinese, both clearly frustrated since the latter had no idea what he was saying. I was dragged into the conversation and though I could not help the man with his problem, I walked with him back to the university. He told me he is studying at the business school under a Chinese government sponsored program–and that his government stipend is so little that he’s living someplace in Chinatown for $100 a month.
I thought a rent like that was impossible until I read the Village Voice today:
