User Comments - goulnik
goulnik
Posted on: Opinions on Poetry
October 15, 2007 at 10:28 AMtangmoo, I guess the question is not Why chinese kids... but what is the impact? Very complex question that can fill books, depends on your values which ultimately depend on your culture and is ultimately undecidable (since we judge based on our own values). seems to me there's a lot in common between Chinese and traditional Jewish education, with much emphasis on family, scholarly learning and business success, perhaps at the expense of softer 'personal development' or emotional skills. Probably for the same historical reasons, though the weight of history may not be comparable. On a related subject, I once read (forgot the name of this academic who wrote about Chinese history) that one reason China did develop technology but not science has to do with religion, as the Chinese aren't pursuing the ultimate truth, rather they are pragmatic people (as one can easily verify in daily life). Back to the question of impact, there's no question that in an academic and business world designed by and Westerners (Americans specifically), the Chinese are doing extremely well. Would it not be for the prevalence of English and teaching opportunities in China, I'm not sure the converse would be true.
Posted on: Opinions on Poetry
October 15, 2007 at 3:41 AMIt's a great device for developing memory skills from 从小, and probably for foreigners to understand tones. But at the risk of sounding 没文化 if find them a little obscure and I find I have more than enough modern Chinese to learn, so classical is not for me :-(
Posted on: Recent Events
October 15, 2007 at 1:38 AMkmkfr, you're right, that's why I'll un-sputnik before flying back on Wednesday
Posted on: Recent Events
October 14, 2007 at 11:19 PMMexicoBob, I guess life Shanghai is indeed like traveling on a different orbit, with Спутник as my virtual companion maybe?
Posted on: Recent Events
October 14, 2007 at 4:30 PMyep, Monday.Will pop in early afternoon
Posted on: Recent Events
October 14, 2007 at 3:47 PM...oh, and I guess I'll revert to goulniky [goolnikee] right before returning to the old-world on Wed.
Posted on: Recent Events
October 14, 2007 at 3:44 PM不好意思 I'm really intimidated... henning you've set these guys' expectations too high, I'd better not use my usual 不会说英语 tomorrow when I visit the PodFab
Posted on: Returning an Item
October 13, 2007 at 3:53 PMI guess you would also use 退还 tuìhuán to return those cards used to order food in shopping centres where you can't use cash. I took one at carrefour today 家乐福, there's a 5元 deposit which they give back with whatever is left on the card upon returning it. I wrongly used 回还 but it still worked (context was obvious)
Posted on: Table Manners and Tipping
October 13, 2007 at 1:16 AMI'm with Dave on this one (tipping). I don't get Amber's argument, if you were to put yourself in the other person's shoes and think of how much they're making, you'd also tip when you buy food in the street, clothes or whatever, not to mention the string of staff yawning to death in many shops whose job is not entirely clear but often enjoy a chat
Posted on: Recent Events
October 15, 2007 at 11:24 AMWell, I may take my cats on my next sputnik trip to China then :-) Meanwhile, I did meet the beautiful ChinesePod staff today, Jenny, Vera, Aggie, Ken, John, David(s) and other busy bees. Building set in a very lively neighborhood, walked there from my hotel through lots of little streets, very pleasant walk. Once you're in the compound it gets trickier though. And yes henning, I did get into the studio. Watched the recording of a... future Jenny and John lesson, and yes, I probably will be on a news bulletin at some stage ;-) Hardly got to see Xiaxiao who was leaving, other visitors coming in and out, busy schedule for a very post-modern place that's well suited. Was it different from what I expected? not really, shows how much they all are who they they are, enthusiastic and open, walking the talk, driven. I was there for 2 hours, half of which talking to Jenny and Vera in Chinese, blows my mind!