User Comments - mark

Posted on: Learning about Levels

For a level that seems just out of reach, I would suggest studying the transcript, then listening to the podcast again. After you do this for several lessons the new level will get easier.

Posted on: Dancing in Public

A comment about dancing in public from one of my facebook aquaintances:

WARNING!!
PLEASE READ: If someone comes to your front door and asks you to remove
your clothes and dance with your arms in the air, DO NOT do this. It is
a scam. They just want to see you naked. Please copy and paste this to
your status. I wish I had received this yesterday. I feel so silly now.

I bet this isn't a China thing.

Posted on: Second-hand Bicycle

John好像有点难想出在美国受欢迎的二手货。我认为在美国二手媳妇儿比较多。我就是开个玩笑。

Posted on: 人口普查

配合和合作那两个词有什么不同？

Posted on: Keen on Clean

I thought maybe the preference about bathing time was climate related. US culture comes from Europe, which has a climate similar to where I live, on the west coast. It is not very humid here. So, if you wash in the morning, you won't be all sweaty sticky by the time you go to bed. However, China's climate is more like the eastern US where summers are very humid, you'll definitely stick to the bedding by the end of the day.

Posted on: Hospital Visits and Prescription Medication

In the US when you go to the hospital, you see a triage nurse fairly quickly.  After the triage nurse figures out that you are in the "won't die without immediate attention" category, you get to wait a long time.  In China is there any similar screening?  Or, do you just wait your turn, and if your case turned out to be urgent, oh well?

Posted on: 团购

那两位女人有什么关系？ 好友？ 敌人？  以前有同一个男朋友？请说说吧！

Posted on: Leeching off the Parents

I thought the philosophy major got kicked out of the house for his choice of major, and told to never darken the family door again, but maybe that happens every time the family patriarch gets annoyed.

Posted on: Fasten that Safety Belt

Paulinurus, your question is not easy to answer, but here are some contributing factors: 1. until relatively recently China evolved separate of Western culture. 2. It is still a vibrant civilization. 3. I think maybe if I come to understand a different culture from my own, I might become a better person. 4. I like a lot of the Chinese people I have become acquainted with. 5. understanding Chinese language and culture seems like a challenging puzzle to me, and there is some pride of accomplishment when I crack a small piece. 6. I have put a lot of effort into learning Chinese, and there is something satisfying about exercising a skill in a context that requires it. 7. I think China is a rising power and understanding it will be increasingly important to anyone who is interested in world affairs.

Posted on: Fasten that Safety Belt

Bodawei, I second your suggestion to not give up on China.

I have certainly had my, 没事，我穿纸尿裤，moments in China, especially in traffic. I have had culinary experiences that caused me to spew partially digested food from one orifice or another a few hours later. I even acquired a persistent cough that didn't go away until I returned to the States. However, none of this damped my interest in China. I would go back in a flash at the next opportunity.