User Comments - jackmartini
jackmartini
Posted on: ...都 (dōu): The Bryan Adams pattern
July 10, 2008, 09:55 PM-- besides, the second that Bryan Adams hears Connie singing a verse of his song in Mandarin, his heart will melt.
I can't imagine even the most ruthless lawyers putting adorable little Connie on the witness stand. The judge would throw the case out immediately.
Posted on: ...都 (dōu): The Bryan Adams pattern
July 09, 2008, 06:14 AMIt's interesting that if you want to say "Nobody knows" in Chinese, you actually say, "Everybody doesn't know" (in the literal translation).
Connie really kicked it up a notch in this QW. She introduced the show AND sang. Hooray for Connie!
Posted on: Instant Noodles
June 23, 2008, 05:01 AMWhen we were in Shanghai, we made frequent trips to the convenience store down the street from our hotel, often after a night out. The fang1bian4mian4 方便面 was a standard purchase item, but at the time I didn't know the word for it.
The speed of today's dialogue, although difficult for me to follow, is typical of the natural pace. Until I visited China, I figured that my comprehension would be stronger than my ability to speak it. As it turns out, I was often able to make myself understood with my simple sentences, but many times could not understand the response.
Posted on: China Fruit and Pre-Marital Sex
June 22, 2008, 10:55 PMThere is a really delicious fruit I had in Beijing, but can't remember what it is called. It doesn't seem to be any of the fruits mentioned. It has a brown prickly skin which peels off easily. Inside, it's a translucent white sweet refreshing fruit. It looks like the mangosteen inside except the skin is prickly.
On the subject of birth control, our hotel was thoughtful enough to have a box of condoms displayed on our bathroom shelf (non-complimentary of course, just like the bottled water).
Posted on: I Can/Can't Afford it (...得起 & ...不起）
June 16, 2008, 08:47 AMIt cost us 65 RMB for Guinness at O'Malley's in Shanghai. Yikes. But it was worth it that night because we happened to be there when Germany was playing Croatia. There were 200 Germans there which was a very surreal scene to us. I turned to my friend and said, "We are three Americans in an Irish pub in China surrounded by Germans. Only in Shanghai."
Posted on: Gifts Chinese People Like and 'Chinatomy' Premiere!
May 29, 2008, 12:32 AMI suppose I should change my avatar, JP. I'm not a scary fella in real life!
I wish I had time to get some Aplets before going to China. It would be fun to hand them out and see what reaction I get. I was trying to find something representative of my state, but Wisconsin is the armpit of the midwest. There is nothing of any interest here (at least to me).
Posted on: Gifts Chinese People Like and 'Chinatomy' Premiere!
May 28, 2008, 05:12 AMI think the quote of the day here is "[The Chinese] are not big french toast eaters."
It was almost as funny as JP's spot-on impression of Dave. Very surreal.
Posted on: Is it far?
May 28, 2008, 04:50 AMI had the same reaction as Bazza at first. It seemed odd that zao 早 could be used as an abbreviated form of "good morning." But of course, Westerners do the same thing. We often remove the pronoun as well, just as Chinese do (so I'm learning).
At first I thought that zao was being used the same way that jintian 今天 or mingtian 明天 is used at the beginning of sentences to indicate when something is taking place. In other words:
早，你去哪儿？
seemed to mean "Where are you going this morning?" But I see now that the pause after zao indicates the closure of that thought.
Posted on: Is it far?
May 23, 2008, 04:19 AMThis is the first lesson where I've comprehended the dialogue without needing the translation. It's always nice to have those little breakthrough moments that signify your progress. Great job once again, ChinesePod.
Posted on: In a Moment
March 17, 2009, 11:32 PMIt's a miracle! The incomparable Mr. Jimmy Stewart has risen from the dead to assist in today's audio review.