User Comments - WillBuckingham

Posted on: Executive Plan, Newbie Changes, and More

Roderick - you seem to have turned into a frog! A moment ago, your avatar was distinctly human, and now it is decidedly amphibian...

Posted on: Executive Plan, Newbie Changes, and More

This seems to make sense - it's hard to see where else you can go with 300+ newbie lessons, and I suspect that there are not many who start out on newbie lessons and who need to listen to them all to make the move to elementary.

But perhaps some more structured pathways might be useful at the newbie level - last year, when I first joined Chinesepod as a complete and utter newbie, the mass of material, and the freedom to go where I liked with it was a bit overwhelming.

Posted on: Picking Up a Friend at the Airport

Hello, folks. Anybody else having trouble with the exercises loading for this lesson?

Posted on: Two Tough Ladies

Incidentally, there's an entry on 十三点 over on John's Sinosplice blog with a few other possible derivations.

Posted on: City Series: Bali

For your next holiday, Jenny, you should come to the UK. There are cafés here that are so skilled that they make coffee that tastes as if it has been through the intestines of a civet cat even if it hasn't...

Posted on: Bean: Volunteering and Making a Difference in Shanghai

Thanks for the show, Jenny. Interesting stuff.

@manleymanson - it seems to me, at least on the strength of this interview, that Bean are doing a pretty good job. Simple things like encouraging proper dental care are things that can make a huge difference to people's welfare, happiness and quality of life. So I for one am pleased that there are people with enough time on their hands to do this kind of thing.

Posted on: Farewell, Sweet Pete

This is sad news, Pete. But good luck with all your other projects - I'm sure that further greatness awaits; and thanks not only for all your hard work behind the scenes on the translation and on the wonderful Poems with Pete, but also for your unfailingly courteous and thoughtful contributions to Chinesepod.

I hope that Chinesepod continues to find room for those more "unmarketable" and intangible aspects of learning this wonderful language.

On another note, good luck one and all with the launch of the CPod classes in Shanghai. I hope it goes well.

Posted on: China Street Smart with John Chan

@Joachim - being hopelessly unbusinesslike by nature, I'd be up for this, too. There's probably a wider range of stories out there to be told. But I look forward to seeing how the show takes shape, Jenny.

Posted on: Chinese Idol

Oh yikes, Baba! I hadn't expected anyone to take the suggestion seriously...

I guess I'll have to practice my juggling.

Posted on: Chinese Idol

Of course, what we really need is Chinesepod Idol, with poddies reciting Chinese (or singing... singing would be good) before a stern committee of judges. Anyone who can juggle at the same time gets extra points...