User Comments - cinnamonfern
cinnamonfern
Posted on: Using a Cell Phone in China
March 20, 2011 at 6:55 AMWhen I got my SIM card (China Mobile in Beijing) - they had different plans with different rates for phone calls and for texting. So, if I remember right, if you text more, you could pay less for texting but the phone calls would cost more and vice-versa.
Oh, and also they charge you a certain amount every month for the prepaid card. So even if you don't use your phone card (I don't use my China card often since I'm in Hong Kong and it doesn't work here), the card will eventually run out of money and expire. Then I think you'd have to get a new one again.
I recharged at the China Mobile in Shenzhen - and got the paper with the number. I called, selected to listen in English...and then it sent me to the Chinese anyway! This was problematic because it was my first time doing this and I didn't understand what it was saying, so I had one of the guys there help me.
Posted on: Hide and Seek
March 17, 2011 at 2:27 PMOops...just noticed I have one too many 了's in that last sentence. :)
Posted on: Hide and Seek
March 17, 2011 at 2:23 PMThanks toainw! I wish that the search function for the forums worked better....or actually that it worked at all. I never am able to get good results from it. I searched for both "reminded" or "remind" and this discussion didn't come up.
Posted on: Hide and Seek
March 17, 2011 at 1:32 PMHow do you say "something or someone reminds me of something or someone else"? Is this right?
这个对话使我记起《狮子·女巫·衣橱》。
小孩儿下雨天家里玩了捉迷藏。露西藏在衣橱里了。她发现了奇幻的纳尼亚了！
Posted on: What'll it be?
March 15, 2011 at 2:01 PMYou're welcome! Oh - one last thing. My friend just told me the other day that you shouldn't tell someone - 你是随便. It carries a negative connotation along the lines of 'casually thoughtless'.
Posted on: Getting to the Bottom of 到底
March 14, 2011 at 1:39 AMRJ - I think the guy in the first commercial is Anthony Neely (倪安東). He's a Taiwanese-American singer. Not that I'm up on my mandopop-stars or anything - but it said his name under the video. :) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Neely OR http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/倪安東
Posted on: Spring 2011 News
March 13, 2011 at 11:31 AMI'd like to hear something around some of the culture of social dinners in China - particularly toasting, etc. During a large social dinner, my friends were constantly toasting each other (and me). I was never sure if I should initiate it too, or if I wasn't expected to because I was a foreigner and a guest. If someone is designated the "host" do they also have to initiate toasts? Sometimes I thought this wasn't the case. Also, it seemed important to some people to look them in the eyes. And to tilt your glass toward them so they could see how much you drank. (If it wasn't enough - they'd make you drink more.)
Posted on: Spring 2011 News
March 13, 2011 at 11:26 AMOh - I agree! This would be a very interesting topic. I was just talking about this with a Chinese friend the other day - she was dealing with someone who whenever they would hang out would want to sign her up for a financial plan. Her solution was to just avoid them. I would have told them directly that I wasn't going to buy anything but would still love to hang out. In my mind it is more rude to avoid the person than to be honest with them...but maybe that's a cultural difference?
Posted on: What'll it be?
March 11, 2011 at 3:56 PM随便 has a meaning of: "as you wish" or "as you like".
So if you're eating at someone's house they might say to you: 随便吃吧. suíbiàn chī ba. So - "Help yourself." or "Eat as you like."
I think you can also say: 随便看看吧 - nǐ suíbiàn kànkan ba. "Feel free to look around." or "Look around as you like."
If you search for 随便 in the Glossary, you can find some other example sentences.
Posted on: Using a Cell Phone in China
March 20, 2011 at 9:27 AMI think mine is only 10 rmb per month and then you pay additionally for any texting and calls. So, since I rarely use it, I just put enough money on it so that it will last until I head back to the U.S.