URLLesson Introduction
Take a ride with ChinesePod on the Freeway of Love to Detroit, Michigan. We get to Motown, the Motor City, the 3-1-3. Though we're slightly apprehensive due drive-by shooting cliches, we hang in there practicing our tones to stay calm as we drive though Greek Town and past Joe Louis' arm. Now, you may be on Nanjing Road or 8-Mile Road, either way, this is the lesson for you. Learn in Mandarin about a place far, far away from your dumplings and rice... Detroit.
shinade says
April 5, 2008
Great lesson, albeit depressing. However, Detroit isn't ALL bad.... The situation here is grim, though, and people are fleeing the city in great numbers. One thing you neglected to mention is that Detroit has the distinction of being the 2nd least sunny city in the US after Seattle. I can easily attest to that as I'm from NYC, where the sun shines most of the time. Detroit is suffering, but it will rise again someday.
schreck says
April 5, 2008
I agree the lesson was a bit depressing. Detroit has other things going for it other than 60s Motown music. Eminem and Kid Rock are a bit more current examples of Detroit's pop music contributions. Detroit also has very good baseball, hockey and basketball teams. Finally, in the China-Detroit category, Mandarin is offered as a foreign language in ALL the public schools in Oakland County (the neighboring county). It is the first county in the US to do that. So there will be more and more Chinese-pod subscribers coming from here.
elro says
April 5, 2008
I'm new to ChinesePod and just wanted to say to Jenny and John how impressed I am with the quality of their intermediate and upper intermediate lessons. Thank you! I also wanted to ask the group if anyone knows of good materials that can be used to teach Chinese to young children. I've tried videos (such as Follow Jade), but have found them expensive and of limited use. The Chinese for Children textbook series I ordered was horrible! My children are 4 and 6, and I was hoping to find something that would guide me in teaching them some basics of spoken Chinese. If anyone's had any experience with this, I would love to have your input!
lester says
April 5, 2008
I've never had the opportunity to visit Detroit. The closest I've come it to pass through/by on the freeway. But, my vote for the most depressing city is Cincinnati. Its the only place on earth where all the motels have perpetual "no vacancy" signs up, as if to say to the tired traveller, "go away". 窝说的是事实。
lester says
April 5, 2008
typo! 我说的是事实。
obitoddkenobi says
April 5, 2008
My home town! You have redeemed yourself Jenny Zhu! I had a big smile on my face all through this lesson. Was that almost laughter that I could detect at times. Unfortunately, Detroit is pretty po' (Hey a confluence of po...Detroit is so po', it couldn't afford the or on the end of poor. It is also very 破）。I should have been the last to tease you about your former comments. In the 70s, I was laid off (事业了）from a Chrysler plant and eventually left to seek shelter in the San Francisco Bay Area. Every third or fourth house in my old neighborhood (Highland Park) lie in ruins. Last I saw, some of them are still standing, but leaning so heavily that you'd think the force of gravity would bring them down at any minute. In Detroit, of every entering ninth grader, only one in four graduates from a high school. It is a stark reminder of what can become of a once vibrant community when Industry abandons. There are still kind hearted people in Detroit who have been through a lot. But mostly it is memories for me, from the warm hearted legacy of the Brown Bomber, Joe Louis, (a little before my time, but I met his sister!).... People singing acapella on street corners, wanting to be the next discovery. Aretha Franklin's father lived a block away... never met her or Marvin Gaye, but never think of a spring baseball season without hearing the words from his song, "Will the ball club win the pennant? Do you think they have a chance?... Ohhh, What's happening brother?" And yes, even still now, the Red Wings, (and don't for get the Pistons) like a phoenix, still rising. May the city of my birth see better days ahead. Thank you for your kind mentioning my home town.
lordstanley says
April 5, 2008
Ahh, my old stomping grounds. Another ex-Chrysler worker here - 30 years by my dad, 3 for me. Not quite my hometown of Sarnia, Ontario 50 miles away (that would have been TOO much "Mandarin on your terms" for me to expect), but close enough. I've got a pair of old seats from Tiger Stadium in my den as I type this. Believe it or not, tons of fond family memories there, from stories from my grandpa of building airplanes in shop class in the basement of Cass Tech in the '30s (future alum would include Diana Ross and Lily Tomlin), to celebrating Hall of Famers and pennant winners and the Bird at Michigan & Trumbull, to attending concerts by locals Seger to Nugent to Iggy to Jack White. Yes, there may now be coyotes roaming E.Gratiot, and the "Renaissance" Center is already over 30 years old with the renaissance yet to come, and current mayor Kwame is living down to the legacy of corrupt mayors of decades past, but Detroit is still a U.S. top 3 sports city and top 3 music city, in my opinion.
maggiec says
April 5, 2008
Well, this is my first time to comment on one of your lessons though I've been listening for quite some time. Chinese Pod is the best on-line learning I've found. You offer useful language, entertaining and informative commentary, and quality broadcasting. It's the best! Thanks. Now the reason that provoked me to write is that Detroit is my home town too, although I left in '71. Yeah I'm that old. Anyway, we still get back to the Detroit area, namely Livonia, to visit family every year. Yes Detroit proper is pretty 'po,' but the suburbs are decent and there are some great aspects of the city such as the museums, zoo, theater, Greek town and other interesting cultural offerings. After leaving Detroit we moved out west to California and later Reno, Nv. and Woody Allen was right, their idea of culture is putting Velveeta cheese in the deli section of the super market. Detroit has some dynamite Jewish Deli's that you can't find out west, not to mention Greek coney island hot dogs that are impossible to duplicate. Well, some day I hope to be able to talk about all this stuff in Chinese. Hopefully, through CP I'll be able to do that. Btw, I have been living in Beijing China teaching English for 9 years. I love Chinese food but I am tempted to iopen a Greek Coney Island diner if only I could find an authentic Greek cook!
andrewm says
April 5, 2008
Thank you John and Jenny for answering the question that agentchuck asked in a previous lesson(s). If you remove “可 kě” from the sentence doesn’t the meaning become too direct and sound abrupt? It seems that “可 kě” at least, offers the possibility of something to be accepted or to occur. However, if you remove the “可 kě” from the sentence the possibility is not even considered.
andrewm says
April 5, 2008
Sorry. I meant, if you remove the “可 kě” from the sentences that use “可不 kě bù” then possibility is not even considered. As in this lesson the sentence "我可不想去 wǒ kě bù xiǎng qù" is used.
obitoddkenobi says
April 5, 2008
User 40659, Thanks for reminding me of the Jewish Delis and Greek Cony Island hot dogs! Lord Stanley, my union (UAW) brother, I have fond memories of Canada too, including what I remember as the beautiful Blue Water Bridge to Sarnia. I had relatives in Ontario. Two of my best friends went to Cass Tech (a different time than your grandpa). It was good to live in a border city.
kontraband7 says
April 5, 2008
Do SINGAPORE NEXT
zaneclaes says
April 5, 2008
Nice taste of home from here in Beijing. Thanks :)
obitoddkenobi says
April 6, 2008
kontraband7, look at the commentary here too. Lots of love for Singapore. http://chinesepod.com/lessons/singapore/discussion
maggiec says
April 6, 2008
Yeah, Obitoddkenobi, I am getting hungry thinking of them. Good to connect with old home 'boys.' And I agree about the Canada border thing. I have made many trips to Ontario and regularly visit my bro. in law's cottage at Redondo State Park on Erie. Toronto is also one of my favorite places to visit. Talk about an international city. How about Toronto or Vancouver for a Chinese pod lesson? Btw, can someone tell me how to change my user name to something more human than a number? I have tried and can't seem to figure it out.
danjo says
April 6, 2008
First Peter, Bjorn and John (intro music for Dear Amber) and now Radiohead--你们对音乐真有眼光。
changye says
April 6, 2008
The Chinese transliteration of Detroit, 底特律 (di3 te4 lv4), seems to be as disastrous as Japanese one, デトロイト (de-to-ro-i-to). Can anyone think of a better transcription for poor Detroit?
user35460 says
April 6, 2008
I'd like to see you talk about Bangkok ( Man gu) if possible. There are a lot of Chinese learners in Thailand. I am a hua qiao who can't speak gua yu very well. My zhong wen has improved hen duo since I signed up with your po ke.
auntie68 says
April 6, 2008
I completely, utterly support this suggestion for a podcast on Bangkok. I hope that it will reflect the authentic character of the "Land of the Free", as well as the Thai people's very deep love for their King, who celebrated the 60th anniversary of his reign last year. Although I am not Thai, my heart feels very full whenever I see a photograph showing a sea of yellow shirts being worn by Thais out of love for their King. This is a very special King who is a jazz musician/composer (--> Hua Hin Jazz Festival), water engineer, cartographer, and conservationist. It's worth a podcast, please go for it! Princess Maha Chakri Sirindorn, who is very well-loved by the Thai people, is reputed to be fluent in Mandarin. The podcast doesn't only have to be about klongs or tourism...
auntie68 says
April 6, 2008
Please? Btw, I understand that many of the Thai Chinese -- "luuk jeen" -- are of Chaozhou origin (Teochew/Swatow). The shark's fin soup, meat floss snacks, and even the brews (Singha Beer, Chateau de Loei white wine) are all incredibly good.
wolson says
April 6, 2008
I was thrilled to hear an intermediate lesson about Detroit; but after hearing it, I was not so happy. When I first heard the Chinese word, "破" (po4) I thought the word was po' like in "those po' people." I live about 50 miles South of Detriot. I often drive to Detroirt for both professional and recreational purposes. While central Detriot is 破, there is much about Detroit that is positive, very interesting and would have made this a better lesson. Unfortunately, the authors decided to stick with stereotypes rather than provide actual information. If you are going to comment on a city like this: you need to do better research. Your lesson introduction above would have been better in Chinese than the actual dialogue. Most of the time, I like CPOD's lessons but I think you blew it on this one. I know you are capable of much better and factual information than was given in this lesson.
henning says
April 6, 2008
Did you know Cologne has more citizens than that Detroit place? http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ln http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BA%95%E7%89%B9%E5%BE%8B_%28%E5%AF%86%E6%AD%87%E6%A0%B9%E5%B7%9E%29 OK, there may currently not live that many poddies living there, but if you go by MAU points this metropolis is surely in the Top 10... Maybe wait with that one until Feb 09, the next Carnival season. Kölle Alaaf!
obitoddkenobi says
April 6, 2008
I should have mentioned my Armenian neighbors and the Armenian bakery, "people up from the South", Eastern Market, Polish and Albanian neighbors in Hamtramck. There were Mexican American neighbors and great food in Southwest Detroit. There was only one Chinese man who lived around the block from me that I recall growing up. He taught me math at the high school and tennis at the park, Mr. Li. He spoke Cantonese, but knew enough Mandarin to encourage me when I came back from College and talked to him on the street. I remember my father helping me cross the big divide of the mystery of the other. Detroit had, and still does have many Arabic and Iranian immigrants who came and worked in the factories and also set up shop. My dad had served in the Army during WWII as a Quarter Master in what was then called Persia (at least here it was called that). It was there that supplies were shipped to Russia. For some reason, the corner store started as a place of anxiety for me and I think it was about language. Until my dad came, the merchant almost never spoke English, and often had friends and cousins who spoke to him in what seemed so other a language to me as a small boy. Then my dad took me to the store and greets the man saying, "Salam Aleikum" (I'm not even sure that was the right way to say it, but it was recognized by the man as the greeting, Peace be upon you). The man responds with what I remember as Aleikum Salam, (And unto you, peace). The magic of the transformation, as my father spoke of the beauty of this man's land, and now the man, speaking in beautiful lilting English calling him, "my friend", became in my eyes someone transformed from the stranger to someone to get to know. Growing up in Detroit had its difficult times too, but the beauty and wonder of human connection that I first found there is something I hope I will always hold dear.
chand says
April 6, 2008
Hey guys...let's shock everyone and have a podcast on Halifax, Nova Scotia...Canada. Why bother? Where is that you say? Just an oasis nestled inside one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. The top city in North America in terms of universities per capita, education level per capita, and dance bars per capita. Voted one of the top 10 places to live in North America, as well a historic and naval tour de force. We have hosted the world G8 summit, world junior hockey championships, bid for the Commonwealth games and recently hosted the Rolling Stones, Eagles, ZZTop, and Elton John. We house the world's second largest natural harbour (only surpassed by Sydney Australia) 加油 加油 加油.
sushan says
April 6, 2008
How do you say 'soul food' in Chinese? can I say 底特律的建筑学很有意思 dĭtèlǜ de jiànzhúxué (or just 建筑 jiànzhú) hĕn yoŭ yìsī , for the architecture tells one of the most distinctive stories in North America? And that blatant Canadian baiting at the end, tsk tsk. In return I am requesting a lesson on how to explain the whole 'octopus on the ice' tradition in Chinese.
rjberki says
April 6, 2008
Ah Detroit is "po" all right. Since I grew up near Cleveland which is not too far from Detroit, I have been there but not since I was a boy. Cleveland is not doing much better than Detroit. The "mistake on the lake" did better for a while but then economic forces have led to a mass exodus. I think we have the only river in the world that ever caught on fire, and a mayor (Ralph Perk) who is famous for his hair also catching fire. We were until recently the world headquarters for BP which like many others, left a few years ago. Poor city management and political infighting have led to a failure to attract new business.
grancher says
April 6, 2008
In China I'm from Detroit, which has an NBA team called the Pistons, Eminem, and three of the biggest car companies in the world, but a lot of people don't recognize anything until I say it's about an eight hour drive from Chicago. Really I'm from Ypsilanti, which is just beyond the suburbs of Detroit, I didn't even spend much time there, so it's not my town, but I'm always happy to hear any reference to Michigan. user40659 I've been thinking about the possibility of opening a diner too, though not very seriously, and sadly I'm no greek chef :-( You can change your name in Your Profile which is found under Conversations at the bottom of this page.
jennyzhu says
April 6, 2008
Many 底特律朋友/Detroitans? out there. The city series has turned out to be a great glue that brings people together and prompts first time comments. Thanks for sharing your experiences! PS The Pistons/活塞队/huo2 sai1 dui4.
rsmith91 says
April 6, 2008
The cities series is by far my favorite CPod series. It's great that you've spread them over several different difficulty levels so that a wide range of people can enjoy them. I hope you've got more in the pipeline!
brent1953 says
April 6, 2008
Lets hear it for Washington DC....
calkins says
April 6, 2008
Grancher, speaking of Chicago, I'd love a lesson on my beautiful 芝加哥 !
rjberki says
April 6, 2008
Chicago has more bars per capita than any other city in the US. I vote for the "second city" to get a lesson.
calkins says
April 6, 2008
Good to know RJ....I live here and didn't even know that! Sad to say that I don't make it out to the bars much anymore.
gesang says
April 6, 2008
may i guess why calkins...? why not take your laptop with you and check out chicagos bars WHILE spending time in chinesepod ;-)
wennytao says
April 6, 2008
Alright, I'm even surprised by the lesson; out of all the cities in the world, Detroit get picked :) I currently work here at the Motor City, and I must say that the auto industry is facing a lot of pressure. Still, major players such as GM is starting to comeback. GM's latest car lines are quite robust and attractive. I love the new Cadillac CTS that was completely revised from the ground up. Still, I feel the manufacturing base will continue to leave, and in the end, only the R&D and corporate functions will stay in Detroit. Chinese worker is a lot cheaper than UAW workers, sadly but true. I tell ya, it's globalization at work.
mikeinewshot says
April 6, 2008
Well I never thought that I would learn for the first time that Motown means Motor City from Chinesepod!
happy52 says
April 6, 2008
What happened to the text version of the PDF files? Have they been discontinued. I can't get them to work for any of my pdf files.
rjberki says
April 6, 2008
text versions work for me. either click on "text version" at the bottom or change the .pdf extension to .html in the URL.
calkins says
April 6, 2008
Gesang...I'm 36 years young and have lived in Chicago for 13 years - I went to enough bars in my 20's to suffice for the rest of my life ;) I knew there were a lot of bars here, just didn't realize Chicago has the most in the U.S., per capita.
calkins says
April 6, 2008
Sorry, I'll stop talking about Chicago and get back to the city at hand. I don't know why Detroit gets such a bad rap. The downtown area is pretty nice, and it has a pretty decent waterfront. And of course, Windsor is right across the water!
xiaohu says
April 6, 2008
During the early part of this decade Detroit has getting pretty fashionable in entertainment circles, with M&M, Pink, the movie 8 Mile, The Detroit Pistons winning the NBA championship in 04, etc. I think the biggest problem with the city as a whole, and why the economy is so bad, is because the Big 3 American Car manufacturers are clinging to their old, outmoded methods of doing business. They refuse to modernize and make reliable cars like Japanese manufacturers, they have fallen on hard times. The fall of the Big 3 has turned the Motor city into the city without a motor. It's going to take a major unification of the people of Detroit to turn this around. By the way, speaking of cars, I think a great lesson topic would be the rise of Chinese car manufacturers such as 沈阳的中华汽车，and how their produts stack up next to Japanese and American cars, and also the Chinese peoples attitude toward their own domestically produced automobiles.
bazza says
April 6, 2008
In case anyone's wondering, 21st century is 二十一世纪 （21世纪）. Also 公元 is AD and 公元前 is BC, they go at the front, for example 公元前四世纪 is 4th century BC.
rjberki says
April 6, 2008
If you thought I was kidding; material for a lesson on cleveland: http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1642 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E2DA133AF930A15757C0A96F958260
bento says
April 6, 2008
怎么会 zen3 me5 hui4? the pinyin in my pdf is "zen2 me5 hui4". is it a special tone change I'm unaware of?
bazza says
April 6, 2008
Just for the record, I'd be totally gobsmacked if you did my hometown.
woolap says
April 6, 2008
Philadelphia. Cradle of American Independance. Rocky Balboa. 4 sports teams that can never win. Sounds like a good lesson to me! Henning - Or how about a lesson on Munich since I just returned from there? Any place where you can drink beer in a garden or at a monestary in the mountains (Kloster Andechs) and also is easily accessible by train is great in my book!
bento says
April 6, 2008
若茵维莱, 巴西, Ruo4yin1wei2lai2, Ba1xi1. I was surprised to know my hometown name was already transliterated into Chinese... I guess no one will have to wait as much as me to have the hometown starring one lesson.
john says
April 6, 2008
Wow, for a somewhat depressing lesson, it sure got a lot of response! wolson, Your points are taken, although in dialogues like this we're trying not so much to give you listening practice in facts, but rather practice in the kinds of things people actually say about the places. Sure, we could spit out a whole history lesson on Detroit, but that's not going to be so useful when you actually speak. At this level, we want you to be equipped to understand (and reply to) the very basic comments that Chinese people might make about certain famous cities.
auntie68 says
April 6, 2008
Hi john. Don't you think it's valuable breaking away from cliches and stereotypes in these "city lessons", so that people who really know them are actually equipped to reply to the very comments that Chinese people might make about them? Eg. if you did a "Bangkok lesson" based on what the average person in China knows about that city, the podcast might be all about sex tourism... I was plain lucky with the "Singapore" lesson, because Jenny Zhu has lived there before, and so her views were nicely balanced. I love these lessons, just wanted to offer a bit more nuance to what you said.
auntie68 says
April 6, 2008
Btw, I though CPOD did a great job with this lesson... highlighting the great stuff about the Detroit to balance out the not-so-good stuff.
sushan says
April 6, 2008
同志门, 让我们用中文辩护底特律 tóngzhì mén、 ràng wŏmen yòng zhōngwén biànhù dĭtèlǜ。 Fellow Detroit defenders, let's do so in Chinese!
dpro says
April 6, 2008
Ahh yes, Detroit... Supreme American titan a century ago--once one of the most opulant seats of culture and prosperity in the land. A city built by pioneers.. a model of the innovation, opportunity, ingenuity, and industrious spirit that made the USA a super-power. Even when Motown's deep soul suffers-- she stubbornly refuses to be extinguished Anyways, yeah I am here in Shenzhen salivating for those jewish bakeries, best Arabic food outside the middle east, pazki (punch kees), and Allan Park apple strudel. As other's mentioned, detroit has a rare ethereal, ominous beauty (please see links below) http://detroityes.com/downtown/38michtheat_pan.htm http://detroityes.com/downtown/53mcfrontdoor.htm http://detroityes.com/nhood/01riveria.htm http://detroityes.com/gild/01bp-gillis.htm Let Detroit serve warning to the boomtowns of the present (like Shenzhen). even in a malignant, decayed shadow of it's former self, Detroit perseveres, with architecture trumping most competitors
xuchen says
April 6, 2008
I do agree with you that vocab and sentences should be provided to break away certain sterotypes and ideas. However at this level is it not easy enough to simply negate what they said. “虽然底特律有好多的问题，然而它还是一个很有意思的地方“ I think John & Jenny's intent is to get you into the conversation, after that it is your job to manage the content. Just my Two cents. -许尘
changye says
April 6, 2008
Hi comrade sushan, 你会在底特律看见机器警察 (Robocop)！
rjberki says
April 6, 2008
哈 器警察 我喜欢这个电影很多
suburbanite says
April 7, 2008
Another vote for Chicago! Cleveland would be another choice--like RJ said that city took it on the chin after the 90's boom. At one time it was a very important city in America.
amber says
April 7, 2008
sushan, They don't really have an equivalent for the 'soul food' concept in Chinese, but you can say: 家乡菜 (jiāxiāng cài) and/or 家常菜 (jiāchángcài) for home cooking.
rrrandy says
April 7, 2008
how do you say "waste of time" in chinese.
dengdeng says
April 7, 2008
看到你们对于我老家底特律弄个课很高兴而惊讶，我猜想原因是ChinesePod以前住过或者现在住在底特律的会员很多。事实上我是个郊区的人，不过我有时候去底特律工作，因为我职业对于商业房地产。 听我的，底特律的坏事好多，但是好事也很许多，底特律运动队太棒了，其中是篮球队Pistons, 曲棍球队Red Wings 和棒球队Tigers，等等。 底特律市中心还有三座新城的赌场，虽然有的人觉得赌博不行，但是这可真能帮市的经济就业。对我来说，我是个从底特律来的人，并且这个事实让我感动个骄傲滋味。 谁不能爱谁的老家？ I saw someone else mentioned adjacent Oakland County's education initiative where Chinese language will be taught in every district of Oakland County Schools. They will even be teaching it to elementary students. On the other side of Oakland County government, in economic development, they are trying to revitalize the industrial sector by encouraging businesses from around the globe locate here. With the historical automitive influence, the area has a good supply of well educated and trained engineers, significant tax benefits and other features. ChinesePod，谢谢你们的底特律课。 希望你们继续介绍别的国际城市地方什么的。
pchenery says
April 7, 2008
I have run in the Detroit Marathon. The race organizers advertised it as "scenic". It sure was a sight for sore eyes, burned-out buildings and bullets whizzing by your head. Good thing that I can run fast. :)
obitoddkenobi says
April 7, 2008
Oh Hillary, you're not exaggerating again are you?
dengdeng says
April 7, 2008
paulc, 胡说，底特律的火灾大楼很多，可是你怎么几乎被杀了？底特律中心的建筑既很漂亮又有意思，甚至连中心外有的地方还不错，墨西哥城时的饭馆儿特别好而很道地。 我承认，有的地方显得特别乱七八糟的，不过我还发现有的住宅区好看啊。
espela says
April 7, 2008
@elro you can find lots of interesting stuff on the web; for example火星娃学汉字(I find these cartoons really interesting) http://tv.mofile.com/RCVI5MQA/ WWW.BLCUP.COM is the place where you can find thousands of books on teaching Chinese as a second language… I hope you find something although buying books on the web can be tricky because you never know what to expect. @john, jenny and all the other c-poddies, I want to thank you for bringing new dimensions into learning mandarin with all these great lessons. I love your voices and creativity and tx to you I´m never bored. Lessons about different cities are really ql!!! Whenever I´m in China and I meet people from the US, they are ALWAYS starting conversations about the places they come from… I don´t know much about those cities and states(except the names and locations)… and many times it happens that they are not aware of the existence of my country(Slovenia), … the consequence is that I feel as if I´m being eliminated from those conversations .... So keep on bringing us lessons about different places; tx to you we all learn lots more than just mandarin:)
hadzipopovska says
April 7, 2008
kontraband7, i think we already have a lesson about 新加坡(马来西亚).
user35460 says
April 7, 2008
I think "waste of time" in Chinese is " lang4 fei4 shi2 jian1" correct me if I'm wrong.
auntie68 says
April 7, 2008
Hi. Thanks, hadzipopovska. Yes, there is a lesson, an Intermediate one, on Singapore. Btw, Malaysia is a neighbouring country, both countries have separate sovereignty.
pchenery says
April 7, 2008
dengdeng, yeah, like any other city, there are some nice residential areas, and at least Detroit no longer is the "murder capital" of the U.S., I think Washington D.C. has that honor now...
xavyeah says
April 7, 2008
Great lesson guys, I like your idea of continuing on this city series. How about one on Miami? John mentioned he is Fo lo li da ren a bunch of times, so we could follow him down South for a lesson :)
calkins says
April 7, 2008
Paulc, your last comment got me wondering what China's murder rate is, compared to the U.S.'s. These numbers are from 2005: U.S. population = 296,507,061 16,740 murders 1 murder per 17,712 people China population = 1,306,000,000 20,000 murders 1 per 65,300 people The U.S. murder rate was almost 4 times China's rate! But I guess that doesn't come as much of a shock.
goulniky says
April 7, 2008
我不明白，大家声称学中文，但除了dengdeng之外,留言都是英文的，兴趣也都是美国城市的优点?? 请你们试试看!
pchenery says
April 7, 2008
calkins, yes, those are interesting stats, but i wonder how reliable the Chinese data is...
zhrs921 says
April 7, 2008
there was no one?
pchenery says
April 7, 2008
goulniky, 我的目标是学中文发音而且提高我的理解，所以写汉字好像就没什么用了，你说讷？
maggiec says
April 7, 2008
Thanks Grancher for the tip, but I did try to go into profile but when I hit edit the user name doesn't come up as an option. I've tried every thing I can think of and no access. Am I missing something right in front of my eyes?
john says
April 7, 2008
xavyeah, Yes, I am from Florida... I've actually never spent much time in Miami. It's like a different world over there! I daresay my hometown of Tampa is rather low on the list of candidates, but everyone is giving some great suggestions.
john says
April 7, 2008
auntie68, Certainly we are interested in much more than propagating stereotypes, but clearly simply understanding what is said is the first step; arguing another case is the next one. We want to help you to do both, but likely not in one podcast.
auntie68 says
April 7, 2008
Thanks, John. I knew that CPOD "gets" it. Like I wrote above, I thought you guys actually got it right with this lesson on Detroit. It's a difficult call, getting the balance right...
wolson says
April 7, 2008
John, The comments I make about Detroit I hope are a bit more informative than this lesson was. But I will agree that as an Intermediate, we do need to be able and equipped to discuss cities in China. And now to talk about a depressing city: I just left Wuhan. I have never been to a Chinese city as dirty as Wuhan. But you know what? I had a lot of fun in Wuhan. Saturday was a bust because of the rain. But Sunday was just outstanding: I visited the Yellow Crane Pagoda and the working Guiyan Bhuddist Temple. They were totally great. And then last night after business, I was invited to a 4 hour 茶道！We my host said we were going to a tea house, I thought he meant one of those things where a pretty girl pours a little tea in a more or less mock ceremony and you sit around and chat， 白酒喝啤酒 optional. This was nothng of the sort. This was a serious 茶道。Tea will never taste the same again from what I learned there. I am going to have to make the 茶道 a separate thread if I get the time.
goulniky says
April 7, 2008
paulc, 你好像没有问题写汉语，所以我还不清楚你为什么浪费时间写英语。发音是发音，但有时候没学汉子没有办法提高你的水平。反正你刚才证明会写汉语，但别的好处是逼你用汉语想，因此说、听懂的技巧越来越高。
henning says
April 8, 2008
If you do 20 city lessons each year you be done with this series in 133,370 years: http://www.tageo.com/index.htm
john says
April 8, 2008
wolson, As Ken likes to say, the lesson is not complete until the students add their say. So, definitely, the users' positive comments about Detroit help complete the picture! I've also been to Wuhan. I was impressed by its sheer size (it is actually the merging of three cities, right?), but I kind of liked it too.
wolson says
April 8, 2008
Yes, it is the merging of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang, the three cities separted by the Yangtze and the Han Rivers. What really imressed me was the huge amount of water in this area. Beside two fo the largest rivers in China, there are huge lakes everywhere you go. Of course Donghu and Nanhu are the most well known but there are many, many more.
hadzipopovska says
April 8, 2008
auntie68, 对不起，我真没想到。:)
auntie68 says
April 8, 2008
Aiyah, it actually made me smile. Singapore is so tiny -- a little diamond shaped island, with the maximum distance between two opposite corners being 42km -- that sometimes I wonder how we can call ourselves a "country". ;-)
giuliabuzzi says
April 8, 2008
Great lesson. Definetly a bit too difficult for me. how do U come up with subjects for each new lesson?Finally, I'd never realized there so many of you guys from US.I've lived outside Boston for almost a year. I loved it. I am in Rome now. Ciao G.
bingge says
April 8, 2008
This is great! Even though I'm from the other side of the state, I was thrilled to see this lesson about Detroit. Thanks, guys! Oh, and of course, you knew you couldn't do a lesson on Detroit without mentioning hockey and the redwings -- you guys rock...
cwmartz says
April 9, 2008
Well I'll have to make a comment as well. I was born and raised in Detroit and I'm now an Australian citizen living in Melbourne. Detroit was a nice place when I was growing up and