User Comments - pretzellogic

Posted on: Registering for a Dating Website

you've never heard of Match.com?

Posted on: Making Dumplings

Costco would always have a giant bag of Jiaozi with about 30 dumplings in them. Is that 五两饺子？ Fortunately, Costco can't speak Chinese :-)

Posted on: Making Dumplings

Yikes.  I didn't occur to me to actually learn the characters for Jiǎozi until now.  And I even looked at this lesson previously. 

Posted on: Marco Polo in China

Well, aside from my frequent tongue-in-cheek statements, I'd guess that plenty of China veterans have been to a Chinese city with a mere 1 million people or so. I remember Gesang posting pictures appearing to be in some small hamlet, and I'm sure hundreds of other poddies have stayed in other teeny tiny hamlets. I remember seeing other foreigners in these hamlets as well, so clearly I cannot have discovered China (but I did discover Man village in Hui county, Gansu province though).

Posted on: International vs. Local Schools

Plus, it certainly makes a difference where you think your kid is going to go to college. I know a German/Chinese couple here in Beijing that feel their only choice is an international school because:

1) the kids are German citizens (born in China)

2) German universities have free tuition or some nominal charge (forget the argument around economic incentives, or free education has limited value. As a parent, I like free ;-)

3) Chinese schools will at least have some type of English language education. You can argue about how good it is. But for other, non-English language schools, there is really just one or two alternatives, and they're not really Chinese. I think for Germans in Beijing, there's just the 1 giant PreK-High school that does German (someone correct me if I wrong). I think its the same for Russian and French, but not sure. English speakers have 20 alternatives, including the British School of Beijing, the Canadian International School of Beijing, Eton Kids and so on.

Posted on: International vs. Local Schools

From what i've seen/experienced, the international schools are racially/ethnically diverse, but not really economically diverse. I talk with the parents, and regardless of what country they're from, they tend to be college educated, reasonably well traveled people, with fair to excellent business connections. Oh, and almost every kid (Chinese and foreigner) has an ayi helping mom and dad. The locals schools i've seen are definitely strong on Chinese with few foreigners, but the foreign kids that are in the local school see reasonably well to do Chinese, and not-too-well off Chinese. There's value in economic diversity.

Plus, I'm not clear on what skills a kid would lack going to a international Chinese school that they wouldn't have the opportunity to learn at the local school. Socializing with others? It's probably easier to socialize with kids like you and your family that otherwise, so a kid going to some of the international schools is likely presented with geographic and language socializing challenges.

Posted on: Marco Polo in China

I know. The next time I'm in the States, i'll go to Chinatown somewhere, and eat at a Chinese restaurant, and sit next to a non-Chinese couple, and when they start talking about their China trip, i'll say, "you went to China?WOW!"

Posted on: Marco Polo in China

and other than Ibuprofen, is there a cure for MPS? Can I say some healing prayers or something?

Posted on: Marco Polo in China

oh. I have done the REAL China thing. Is that MPS?

Posted on: Turn in Your Homework

yeah, not only have I heard of turn in your homework, but turn in your expense reports (or get your expense reports in), turn in your assignments, forms, reports, everything (but we never turn in our guns, hehe)