Second, I'm very interested in hearing from the hosts ( and anyone else) about what makes them think Chinese grammar is so difficult. I've always thought it's really simple, but I'm open to hearing other opinions.

pretty simple

Chinese grammar appears easy at first, but the more that you study it, the more confusing it gets. try figuring out how a comma should be properly used and you'll see what i mean.

了了了了了，了了，了了

了了 ：）

I think I may have to start learning Klingon instead, I have a dictionary here somewhere and I suspect there are more Klingons living near me than chinese anyway ;-)

I do think Chinese grammar is easier than many other languages'. (Japanese! which I've studied as well) It's more sneaky though. It seems easy, and I think initially it is, but it can get a lot trickier with complex structures and formal writing. The flexibility of spoken Chinese diminishes quite a bit when you start putting it all down on paper.

"Before I learned martial arts, a punch was just a punch and a kick was just a kick. When I studied martial arts, a punch was no longer just a punch and a kick was no longer just a kick. Now I understand martial arts, and a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick."

..for me a le is just a le...I like to throw it in now and again,hehe...whether I'm doing it right or not is a whole other matter ;)

Off topic. Who is your new avatar?

Thanks a lot. I love the film "Sting" (骗中骗) very much.

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

..I think this tolerant attitude can be applied in a broader sense and applied to cultural and language learning...."just remember not everyone will have your cultural frame of reference,remember the potential for misunderstandings due to language and cultural barriers,deng deng"

Wasn't there a bunch of stuff about green lights/ red lights - or am I just forgetting it?

"Thirty years ago, before I practiced Chan, I saw that mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers. however, after having achieved intimate knowledge and having gotten a way in, I saw that mountains are not mountains and rivers are not rivers. But now that I have found rest, as before I see mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers."

Chinese grammar is definitely getting harder. Thirty years to go, perhaps, before it becomes easier again...

btw I presume you are referring to Ch'an Buddhism [the Chinese equivalent of Japanese Zen ] Anyhow,thanks for your quote..I like it and that's a very interesting connection you've made. You may well be right that that is the original source.

..hehe, yeah well maybe you should have checked out the movie at the time; I think it helps in those situations where the book is not to your liking [dunno how the English teachers feel about skipping the book and just relying on the movie though] ;). It had a great lineup and I think was stylishly done though it's very hazy for me now.Still worth a look I reckon. Some things are timeless classics.

lol ! ..but this one might be the exception....do pockets ever become just pockets again? ....might get stuck eternally on:

"what's he got in his pocketses?"

hehe,now there's another thing that I think would defy a good translation without something being lost in flavour.

也许 ：他在他的“口袋斯”里有什么？

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