User Comments - jbradfor
jbradfor
Posted on: The More Than One Child Policy and Taking Trains
August 10, 2008, 07:34 PMOne issue I'm surprised wasn't mentioned about taking the train is reserved seats. At least on some trains (I'm not sure whether this is universal), you can buy a ticket, which just allows you on the train, or you can buy a ticket with a seat, which guarantees you a seat. If you don't want to fight the crowd for a seat, or you have a lot of lugguage, you might want to pay the extra for a seat.
Also, if you want to take the train, but don't want to / can't buy the ticket in Chinese, most good hotels will buy it for you (for an extra fee, I'm sure).
Posted on: The ChinesePod Dictionary
July 09, 2008, 04:07 AMIs the dictionary gone? It got moved to http://labs.chinesepod.com/dictionary (from http://dict.chinesepod.com), and now neither works.
Posted on: Chinatomy: Medical Treatments and Marriage Registration
June 08, 2008, 02:58 AMThe "medical" massage we often call "accupressure" -- combination of "accu" from accupuncture" and "pressure". In Chinese, how does one distinguish between the "medical" massage and the relaxing one?
[BTW, Amber, you might want to be a bit careful to whom you tell that you just went "spooning": http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=spooning]
Posted on: Tattoos, TV and the Stock Market
May 18, 2008, 06:04 PMRegarding the Chicken character tattoo, in Hong Kong "chicken" is a slang for a prostitute. Is this true in Shanghai and Beijing as well?
Posted on: Getting Stuff Made & Meeting People
December 23, 2007, 05:29 AMDon't feel bad, I've heard of Duluth -- even been there a couple of times!
Posted on: Cold Will Kill You
November 15, 2007, 07:37 PMIn the Supplementary Vocabulary section in the pdf, the pinyin for 電風扇 is given as diànfēngshàn (4th tone for 扇). I looked up that character, and my dictionary gives the meaning for that word as "(a measure word for doors, windows, etc.)"; however, as a first tone, it gives the meaning as "to fan", which seems more appropriate for this meaning. So I'm confused. Should it be fourth tone?
Posted on: Girly Talk
November 14, 2007, 08:38 PMSaw this article and thought of this lesson: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0917/p19s01-hfes.html The same problem seems to exist in Japanese, only more so. Also the same reasons. From the article: Wherever you go, men and women tend to speak differently. But in Japan, those differences are more pronounced than in many places. Among the multilayered rules of grammar and usage governing spoken Japanese, there also exist underlying concepts of "men's Japanese" and "women's Japanese." By the end of my 2-1/2-year stay there, I had unwittingly become conversant in the latter form. Like many Western men who spend more than a year in Japan, I learned most of my intonation, expressions, and slang – the things not taught in the classroom – by mimicking a Japanese girlfriend.
Posted on: Fighting over the Bill
October 12, 2007, 04:12 AMGreat topic! Ah, the effort I've spent trying to pay the bill with my in-laws. Usually to no avail, but the effort was appreciated. One time I did it perfectly: I grabbed the bill from the server before anyone else could, had my credit card out, ran to the counter to pay, and physically blocked them from reaching the counter. VICTORY IS MINE! The people at the table next to us were quite amused by a round-eye playing the Chinese bill-paying game. [But the irony isn't lost on me: I spent all this effort just so I could end up spending more money. What victory is that? This is one competition I'd rather lose...]
Posted on: Flattery in the Office
September 16, 2007, 03:57 PMWhat is the correct usage for 老版? I always thought that it referred to, say, the owner of a small business, not a manager in a large corporation. How would you call a manager, as in, "he is my manager"?
Posted on: Taxi Culture in China
February 21, 2009, 09:42 PMMy only "bad" taxi experience in China was when my first day in Shanghai, I left my brand new US$1000 camera on the floor of the taxi! But I can't blame the driver for that! Amazingly, the driver ran after me and gave it back to me! Now that's good service.
My weirdest experience was in Beijing outside the north exit of the Forbidden Palace. We got into a taxi, told them the name and address of the hotel, and he told us that he's going to wrong way and we should exit the taxi and cross the street and get a taxi there! He wouldn't even take our money! I tried to argue that we know it's longer and it's OK, we're cold and want to go, but he wouldn't budge. So we got out and crossed the street....