User Comments - wenjong
wenjong
Posted on: Bringing the Heat Home
March 03, 2014, 06:11 PMI've looked at the rest of the lesson other than dialogue, and it is a constant fight to get my eyes to look at the small black characters rather than the bright red english sentences that I can immediately read without thinking as it is my first language.
Posted on: Bringing the Heat Home
March 03, 2014, 06:10 PMMe too, on the computer (mac), no pinyin popups and very intrusive english translations in red, which we can "hide" (though it still says "show translation" in bright red beneath all the characters). I want chinese, not english, esp at this level. Why fix something that worked fantastic to start with?
And it no longer says my username at the top of the page, so I thought I wasn't logged in.
Posted on: Giving Red Envelopes
February 02, 2014, 09:23 AM好的！ 是木马年！
Posted on: Leaving Early for CNY
February 01, 2014, 08:24 AMIt's very true, it means "We came early, the other people hadn't arrived yet." Which can make sense... that is what happens when you get somewhere early! The translation is wrong.
Posted on: The Colors of Money
November 22, 2013, 08:09 AMDo you actually know anyone who likes polymer bills? Here in Canada everyone I know distinctly dislikes them. They won't stay folded, if you do crease them, it never comes out or softens, they are very very hard to count, very slippery and stick together. I've washed the old paper bills many times by accident and they come out pretty unscathed too.
Posted on: Bad Sandwich
June 02, 2013, 06:41 AMI'd say washroom is more neutral, restroom is something you'd say in a restaurant or shopping mall. Bathroom you are more likely to say about someone's home. But yes, we say all those things.
Posted on: Thanksgiving Turkey
December 15, 2011, 08:23 AMThe explanation that Chinese don't like turkey as they like meat with bones is just strange... they eat a lot of duck and chicken, and a turkey is not a boneless squid, it is basically a huge chicken... turkey drumsticks or thighs with bones in them are some of the choicest turkey meat at Thanksgiving since the brown meat is seldom dry. Turkey is of course a wild bird that was plentiful and large (ie worth shooting to feed a lot of people) in North America. And now, turkey is cheaper (again probably because you get a LOT of bird for your effort) and many people buy ground turkey, sliced turkey, turkey luncheon meat etc. Very popular here in Canada. Even turkey meatballs. But yes, lots of bone on a turkey... excellent to make soup with. And if you throw a whole frozen turkey in the oven and roast it just like that, crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Very little effort.
And there really is no need to eat eat eat turkey til you're sick of it: slice it up, ziploc it and put in the freezer. Use some in fried rice, some in a stew, some in soup... it is as versatile as chicken. Here in Canada a turkey can be about $20 on special this time of year. Interesting that it is so expensive in China... really no reason why the Chinese don't grow them by the bazillions. Fast growing cheap meat. It is just cultural, like New Zealand eating mutton and here in Canada not much at all.
Posted on: Tea Refill
August 19, 2011, 07:41 AMWe probably got scammed in Beijing fresh off the plane from Canada... got "friendly" with a couple guys "studying english at university who wanted to practice with us", and ended up in a tea place. But frankly, though it cost way more than I could have expected, it was probably the least touristy, nicest part of the visit, other than adopting my son. It lasted over an hour, we tried many kinds of tea, it was a whole ceremony and was very interesting and engaging, just the four of us and the tea lady.
We went to a different "tea house" with the whole adoption group a week later, with the tour bus letting all 30 Canadians out, and it was at long tables in a big place with tons of crappy tea and ceramics, all very touristy and gadgety. The woman did a similar "ceremony" but with a lot of gadgets (little peeing boy pot, cup that changes color with hot water etc, that they had for sale there), and it was like a pale fast imitation of where we had been a week earlier, where she took her time, all was explained, the woman seemed very accomplished etc.
We went to other things like a show at Shaolin Temple, tour of Tiananmen and the Forbidden Palace, and it was all rushed, too many people, cheap tourist goods etc.
So, even if we got scammed by these "students" at the "tea place", I don't regret it for one instant. Some of the best tea I've ever tasted, it was relaxing, culturally fascinating, the carved wooden dragon table was amazing... worth the charge on the Visa card. :)
Posted on: We're lost
July 18, 2011, 03:22 AMbweedin, I am just sticking my neck stupidly out here, but I would think that milu means "lost" ie wandering around with no idea where the heck you are, and the zhao bu dao lu, means you are looking for a street/way to somewhere and aren't succeeding in finding it. The first makes me think of a crying kid wandering in circles and the second, of a tourist looking at a map or street signs trying to find the place they're headed to, asking directions as they are looking and can't find it. (she says as she uses the 2nd statement all the time zhao bu dao-ing her kid while they play zhuo mi cang)
Posted on: Bringing the Heat Home
March 03, 2014, 08:16 PMYes, I cannot do anything to "save words" or to see individual meanings of characters on my mac. Chinesepod, please repair our functionality! Thanks so much. It has always been great before.