User Comments - miskat

Posted on: Getting Ready for a Dinner Party

The man in the dialog speaks rather fast. I actually do not even hear the "s" at all in the 晚上 because he goes so fast :-D

Posted on: Which Train Station?

Exactly. If Tianjin would be little bit more far away we would use the train. Before we bought the car we did use it and I absolutely love the smooth 330km/h train ride.

I still remember the first time we used the train, it was difficult for me to believe the displayed travel speed.

Posted on: Which Train Station?

Yes, I would say that Pasila is the main exception. Sir, you have done your homework very well :-)

I have not been in Finland for three years so my information may start getting little outdated ...

Posted on: Which Train Station?

Yes, you actually are right that Helsinki does have few "train stations". But besides the main one, the other ones are mostly more or less "train stops".

Comparing things between China and Finland makes me feel like I am from some small village :-D

Posted on: Which Train Station?

Well... even the biggest city in Finland has only one train station. First time I had to go to the train station in Beijing.... almost went to the wrong station because it did not cross my mind that there might be more than one ;-)

Posted on: Which Train Station?

Moving between stations can indeed take long time in big cities.

For example I can drive from our home in Beijing to my wife's sisters home in Tianjin in 2+ hours.

However the train between Beijing and Tianjin takes 30 minutes. But depending on the time of the day getting to/from the train stations can easily extend the time to the same 2+ hours (and even beyond).

Posted on: Do You Live Alone?

Thanks. This was helpful.

Posted on: Do You Live Alone?

I think I understood the "eat" and "stand" examples.

But I am still struggling to see the difference of the two "住" sentences.

Posted on: Do You Live Alone?

Few questions about this lesson:

他在上海住了五年。

Question: why is the place and 在 before the verb "zhu"?

你一个人住这么大的房子，你不是还拍马？

Question: why there is no "在"?

Posted on: Where's My Takeout?

I learned quite quickly that China and Finland have one small but important difference when it comes to the concept of time:

e.g. Delivery in 30 minutes:

Finland: Delivery will take 30 minutes or less (at least in theory)

China: Delivery will take 30 minutes or more (in practice also)

e.g. let's meet at 1pm

Finland: Let's meet at 1pm

China: Let's meet earliest at 1pm

(Of course then there is the difference between men and women, but that is another topic.)