User Comments - paulanthony

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paulanthony

Posted on: Tickets Today, Tickets Tomorrow
September 15, 2011, 06:05 PM

oh man, no more freebie newbie, that Sux :-(

Posted on: Tickets Today, Tickets Tomorrow
September 15, 2011, 05:54 PM

What happened? Newbie is now premium content???

:-(

Posted on: Housekeeping!
August 18, 2011, 05:49 PM

Newbie lessons are so important and usefull it's almost a shame to relegate them to "Newbie"; Maybe you guys can rename this arena to "Essentials" :) :).

They remind me of my own needs and keep me grounded all at the same time. (thats a grounded in the positive sense not as a punishment).

Thanks for the lesson

Posted on: Where Are You Going In China?
August 02, 2011, 08:58 PM

An unplanned stop in a place called Emei Mountain in sichuan provence proved to be a welcome break from the norm.

Very comfortable climate, clean air, mountain streams, ancient temples, the unhurried art of drinking green tea under the cover of shady trees. Some awesome food, esp if you like BBQ.

Just about everyone I met said they would like to live there.

And of course not to many foreigners (yet) gave me the almost "celebrity status" with the locals, beautiful young women smiling and saying "Hello". :) :).

You just dont get this in Auckland New Zealand !

Alas not enough time (sigh) to really take it all in.

Posted on: Don't push me!
July 21, 2011, 12:11 PM

It's all true to life. Just finished a whirlwind tour of Beijing and we used the subway many times. Ultra modern, fast and convenient.

But "People mountain, People sea". Some times we had to wait for the next train because the cars were so packed.

Dispite that we saw a busker, and quite a good one too, actually in the car playing a guitar and singing.

Respect !

Posted on: Studying Chinese
May 31, 2011, 06:28 PM

never forget newbie :)

Posted on: Two tones, two meanings for 转
May 28, 2011, 05:53 PM

Good lesson, nice synergy from you guys.

how do you use zhuan in the context of asking someone "do i need to change trains".

also, Can I use huan instead of zhuan??

thanks.

Posted on: Deadly Complements of Degree
April 02, 2011, 07:15 PM

Thanks for the link, now I feel much better after reading some of the other (and funny) stories.

Posted on: Deadly Complements of Degree
April 01, 2011, 07:33 PM

Question to the Qing Wen team not so much a language but a culture question.
 
Wonder if you guys can explain what to me seems very odd, when in Taiwan, and I payed the bill at restaurant, hotel etc
the service staff always handed over the change, receipt, "fa piao" etc to my Chinese friend and not me.
 
It was as if they pretended I was not there, I even mentioned this to my Chinese friend and she agreed
but could not explain it except that they (service staff) might be to reluctant to engage with a foreigner
in case the might lose face.
 
This behaviour was pretty consistent (especially if female service staff) and not just a one off, and I found it very bizarre that when there is change due
or a receipt you would give it to the person actually paying the bill and not to someone else.
 
Given that she (My friend) never noticed it until I mentioned it, I wondered if it was peculiar to southern Taiwan or was this a
general Chinese thing, or if any other foreigners had experienced the same thing.

Posted on: Deadly Complements of Degree
April 01, 2011, 07:03 PM

A question for you guys:

A good vocab expanding lesson, thank you for that, but my chinese friend told me the if I want to "sound like a foreigner" then use the "Jí le" compliment ?