These were my goals for 2010. How much have I accomplished?
Make my own money
-Yes
Not lose interest in scuba
-Went scuba diving twice!
Go to these places:
Thailand
-Went!
Mongolia
-Nope
Philippines
-Yes!
Phase out flannel and bangs
-No comment.
Speak Chinese
-Technically, yes.
Its been a good year!
2011年的愿望
1。养一只猫 （最重要的!)
2。跟研究所有关的事 (是个秘密!)
3。存钱（不可能!）
Friday, December 31, 2010
笑话
This is a joke my 16 year old student told me. Her English isn't very good so her translation of it wasn't very clear, but it was good enough for me to get the gist of it.
Q. Why didn't [a famous terrorist's name] try to attack China?
A. Apparently he did.
He sent four men to do his dirty work for him. The first man is was told to blow up some famous bridge (I don't remember the name) but there were too many bridges and could not find it. The second man was sent to set a bomb off in a public space but before he did, someone stold his bag. The third man was to blow up a bus but failed to do so because there were too many people inside for him to even get on. The last man was sent to blow up a coal mine. This man was successful but no one heard about it because these coal mine explosions happen too often to be worthy of news.
-
Statistics show that the number of people who use the internet in China has reached over 450 million people, almost a third of the country's population. The Chinese government, notorious for its censorship, is scrambling to come up with ways to control what can get published on the internet. My teacher has told me that for every major city, there are thousands of people that monitor messageboards or forums and promptly delete or pursue these 'dissidents' to uphold 社会和谐- or social harmony. However, with the growing number of users online in China outnumber the number of people keeping them in line and news travels fast. I frequently visit a number of websites that are translated from Chinese to English (such as this and this) and while there are still some things posted by these netizens that make me uncomfortable (nationalism and gay issues), its refreshing to see that people have the ability and access to the social injustices that occur everyday. Its something I guess.
The popular catch phrase and story behind"我爸是李刚" or "my father is Li Gang" is an excellent example of the power of people online. Check it out!
Q. Why didn't [a famous terrorist's name] try to attack China?
A. Apparently he did.
He sent four men to do his dirty work for him. The first man is was told to blow up some famous bridge (I don't remember the name) but there were too many bridges and could not find it. The second man was sent to set a bomb off in a public space but before he did, someone stold his bag. The third man was to blow up a bus but failed to do so because there were too many people inside for him to even get on. The last man was sent to blow up a coal mine. This man was successful but no one heard about it because these coal mine explosions happen too often to be worthy of news.
-
Statistics show that the number of people who use the internet in China has reached over 450 million people, almost a third of the country's population. The Chinese government, notorious for its censorship, is scrambling to come up with ways to control what can get published on the internet. My teacher has told me that for every major city, there are thousands of people that monitor messageboards or forums and promptly delete or pursue these 'dissidents' to uphold 社会和谐- or social harmony. However, with the growing number of users online in China outnumber the number of people keeping them in line and news travels fast. I frequently visit a number of websites that are translated from Chinese to English (such as this and this) and while there are still some things posted by these netizens that make me uncomfortable (nationalism and gay issues), its refreshing to see that people have the ability and access to the social injustices that occur everyday. Its something I guess.
The popular catch phrase and story behind"我爸是李刚" or "my father is Li Gang" is an excellent example of the power of people online. Check it out!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
称呼
称呼 cheng1hu (n)- form of address
In China, it is considered impolite to refer to a person's name directly so it is more common to attach a title or "称呼" before their name, or even just calling them with a "称呼".
Here are some common ones
服务员 fu2wu4yuan2
waiter/serviceperson
小姐 xiao2jie3
Chinese equivalent to "miss", except that in the South, it can refer to a prostitute
老板 lao2ban3
boss (only for men); can refer to a man working in a shop
小朋友 xiao3peng2you3
"small friend"; refers to children
(my personal favorite)
阿姨 a1yi2
auntie, but usually refers to an older lady, as well as a cleaning lady/nanny
师傅 shi1fu
master, but refers to anyone with a skill. I've heard it commonly associated with taxi drivers.
大姐 da4jie3
big sister; an older lady but not that old. I call my landlord "大姐" because I don't know her real name.
In China, it is considered impolite to refer to a person's name directly so it is more common to attach a title or "称呼" before their name, or even just calling them with a "称呼".
Here are some common ones
服务员 fu2wu4yuan2
waiter/serviceperson
小姐 xiao2jie3
Chinese equivalent to "miss", except that in the South, it can refer to a prostitute
老板 lao2ban3
boss (only for men); can refer to a man working in a shop
小朋友 xiao3peng2you3
"small friend"; refers to children
(my personal favorite)
阿姨 a1yi2
auntie, but usually refers to an older lady, as well as a cleaning lady/nanny
师傅 shi1fu
master, but refers to anyone with a skill. I've heard it commonly associated with taxi drivers.
大姐 da4jie3
big sister; an older lady but not that old. I call my landlord "大姐" because I don't know her real name.
heard it through the grapevine
According to my Chinese source (aka a real Chinese person), if one was interested in purchasing a new car, whether it is domestic or imported, it would be impossible due to high demand and production constraints. Instead, one can make a deposit on the car and wait for three to six months for your desired car to be available. She also says that the demand for cars was a result of some sort of government regulation that will prohibit cars currently on the road from driving everyday. Current regulation says that on one day out of the week, depending on the last digit of your car's license plate, you cannot drive or else you will be fined. New legislation will increase the number of days to two days a week so, because the car lifestyle has made it into China, car owners are scrambling to buy a second car to insure that they can drive everyday.
I find this amazing- China with their unprecedented manufacturing ability and status being unable to satisfy domestic demands for cars. At the same time, cars in China are significantly more expensive than the rest of the world, even if they are local brands. And, according to "my source", these local brands are much poorer in quality despite being comparatively priced with their international counterparts.
But I'm sure your biggest concern is not China's car policies but this- what kind of car is "my source" in the market to buy?
She and her husband are planning (or have already bought?) a new Mini Cooper, which is appropriate since they both lived in England for a signficant amount of time.
And how much is she going to pay for this car (or have already paid?)?
Before tax, 290,000 RMB (about $45,000). And of course, since it is China and places extremely high taxes imported goods (according to some quick research, the tax on imported cars could range from 13-33% of the base price) , the price will have dramatically increased by the end of the transaction. This makes you wonder how people are able to buy a car, a house and pay for all that entails when average yearly salary is around 36,000 RMB/$4,500 (according to some quick search online).
Of course she and her husband didn't have to pay a dime, the car is a wedding gift from her husband's family. They're generous.
I find this amazing- China with their unprecedented manufacturing ability and status being unable to satisfy domestic demands for cars. At the same time, cars in China are significantly more expensive than the rest of the world, even if they are local brands. And, according to "my source", these local brands are much poorer in quality despite being comparatively priced with their international counterparts.
But I'm sure your biggest concern is not China's car policies but this- what kind of car is "my source" in the market to buy?
She and her husband are planning (or have already bought?) a new Mini Cooper, which is appropriate since they both lived in England for a signficant amount of time.
And how much is she going to pay for this car (or have already paid?)?
Before tax, 290,000 RMB (about $45,000). And of course, since it is China and places extremely high taxes imported goods (according to some quick research, the tax on imported cars could range from 13-33% of the base price) , the price will have dramatically increased by the end of the transaction. This makes you wonder how people are able to buy a car, a house and pay for all that entails when average yearly salary is around 36,000 RMB/$4,500 (according to some quick search online).
Of course she and her husband didn't have to pay a dime, the car is a wedding gift from her husband's family. They're generous.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Wikileaks
US embassy cables: African countries prefer Chinese aid to US-China cooperation
"Sunkuli claimed that Africa was better off thanks to China's practical, bilateral approach to development assistance and was concerned that this would be changed by "Western" interference. He said he saw no concrete benefit for Africa in even minimal cooperation. Sunkuli said Africans were frustrated by Western insistence on capacity building, which translated, in his eyes, into conferences and seminars (REF C). They instead preferred China's focus on infrastructure and tangible projects."Since they seem to be a crowd favorite in Africa, I won't be surprised if China becomes the new hot thing in international aid. I could only imagine what goes on in meetings between aid recipients and US aid organizations- a lot of buzzwords, synergy and empowerment workshops coupled with feasability reports and market research while China has built roads and power lines.
看热闹儿
看热闹儿 kan4 re1nao er - "To watch the fun". Usually used in reference to an event in which people crowd around to watch.
I’ve seen more street fights in a month in China than I have ever witnessed my entire life. The reason could come from many things- perhaps people in the States are more discreet about their first fighting or resort to passive aggressiveness (the spirit of the Northwest). What is more interesting than the fist fights, however, is the crowd that forms around these fights. From petty shouting matches to actual bloody fist fights, people have no shame in gathering around with their hands behind their backs and casually watch, spending a few minutes watching and then shuffling off with their miniature dogs. In America, this type of event would rarely happen, possibly because we are conditioned to believe that it is not polite to stare and that we should help those in need. So when encountering a fight, more often than not, bystanders become empowered with the spirit of the love for mankind and quickly put an end to these blasphemous actions. It’s another thing for the men of the law. In America, who isn't afraid of the cops? But in China, I’ve noticed the nonchalance as well as the blatant disregard by the police when it comes to disorderly conduct. Is this a no man’s land? Without guns, that is.
I’ve seen more street fights in a month in China than I have ever witnessed my entire life. The reason could come from many things- perhaps people in the States are more discreet about their first fighting or resort to passive aggressiveness (the spirit of the Northwest). What is more interesting than the fist fights, however, is the crowd that forms around these fights. From petty shouting matches to actual bloody fist fights, people have no shame in gathering around with their hands behind their backs and casually watch, spending a few minutes watching and then shuffling off with their miniature dogs. In America, this type of event would rarely happen, possibly because we are conditioned to believe that it is not polite to stare and that we should help those in need. So when encountering a fight, more often than not, bystanders become empowered with the spirit of the love for mankind and quickly put an end to these blasphemous actions. It’s another thing for the men of the law. In America, who isn't afraid of the cops? But in China, I’ve noticed the nonchalance as well as the blatant disregard by the police when it comes to disorderly conduct. Is this a no man’s land? Without guns, that is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)