User Comments - dedsall78

Posted on: Chinese Hospitality and Finding Vegetarian Food

I knew a couple of students who were vegetarian and having the toughest of times finding anything that suited them at the campus 餐厅.

I'm sure they, like many of you, simply found what best worked for them and probably had to give in a little as to what they could or could not eat.

Posted on: Surviving Winter and Singles Scene for Expat Girls

I have missed these conversations over the last few months... school and homework have taken up too much of my time.

Nice to see that the conversations are just as interesting as before I left :-)

Posted on: Getting a Driver's License

rjberki,

Yeah, they definitely drive with their own rules.  The thing that bothers me is, they create more traffic jams due to their rules.  Many a time have I seen someone making a traffic jam worse because they selfishly blocked a lane in an effort to move ahead.  This prevents the other side from moving until the "blockers" lane moves, etc., etc.

Considering I don't drive, it shouldn't bother me.  But my organized and perfectionist mind has a problem when I see such things :-)

However, these Beijingers are definitely better drivers than the majority of Americans.

The great thing about Beijing is the public transportation is good enough that I have no need to drive around here.

Posted on: Transliteration into Chinese and the Long Pinky Fingernail

Alright, my pinky is longer than the crease of my ring finger!  Who is the god of luck in China?  He must be on my side :-)

The first time I saw the long pinky fingernail, the drug reference came to mind.  But I'm like, no, I'm in China, that can't be it!  I don't know where that reference comes from but I think it has something to do with the 80s and drug culture.

The manual labor makes sense though, even if I think it is ridiculous.  It's just like how people here still prefer being light skinned since darker skin signifies you are out in the sun all the time doing manual labor.

Posted on: I'm pregnant!

Pretzellogic,

Your point makes sense but I feel that the topic is less important than the material inside.  As I am not married, learning about pregnancy is not extremely important to me but I got a lot from this lesson.  Why?  Because it had useful grammar and, especially for me, vocabulary (I need to learn medically related vocabulary right now).

I never intend to work in a business office again as I am not involved in the corporate world.  However, I find the latest office series to be incredibly helpful.  Again, because the content and vocabulary helps me.

Anyways, just my two cents :-)

And Billm, that's pretty funny.  At least you know what mistake you made rather than wondering why everyone was laughing ;-)

Posted on: I'm pregnant!

Does 呆头呆脑 have a negative connotation to it or not?  I think of dummy as not so negative... like, "You dummy, you forgot your keys again."  But this 呆头呆脑 sounds a bit more negative like the word "idiot."

If you call someone an idiot, that would be more offensive than calling them a dummy, IMO, regardless of your tone.

Posted on: Recovering a Cell Phone Number

Checkingoutchina... ah, Barcelona, that brings back memories.  Luckily, I never got pick pocketed or anything stolen.

The thieves there are very smart; they have it down to a science.  One of my friends went to get money out of an ATM and his ATM card got stuck.  A "friendly bystander" came over and said, oh, you just need to go over to such and such a place and they will get it out for you.  When he left, this guy retrieved the card himself.  He had somehow rigged the ATM machine.

Posted on: Riding the Subway

扶手 - can you also use this for any pole?  In the video, I personally would have called this a pole.  I think of a handrail as positioned horizontally.

Posted on: Reading Faces and Shanghai Architecture

Interesting topics.  Things here in Beijing also seem to be changing very rapidly.  I even think back to when I arrived 7 months ago and this area, that I am living in, looked completely different!

About the pale lips part of the face, that part is true.  But it's not only the lips... people who are pale, in general, are termed "blood deficient (血虚）" in Chinese medicine.  However, it doesn't necesarily signify a life-long problem.  And the ear lobe part I believe is also related to Chinese medicine.

Oh, and Amber, don't worry if your face didn't pass the "test", I'm sure everything will turn out fine for you :-).

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 3: A Call for Innovation

Man, it sounds like 老王 is a total slacker!  Oh, but the market is bad.  Oh, saying it is easy but doing it is difficult.  A P what?  This guy is full of excuses.  Nothing worse than working with someone who never takes responsibility.

Jenny and John, you guys crack me up sometimes.  Always a pleasure listening to you two. :-)

I must add that this lesson, and the whole office series, is one of the best that I have heard so far.  It has a lot of useful vocabulary, even if you aren't in business.

Questions:

What is the difference between 竞争 and 比赛?

In the sentence 失业以后，他们家的日子更不景气了。 I'm a little confused as the the "家的日子" part.  Can this be used in different contexts to mean different things?