Saturday, February 28, 2009
Apartment Hunting
Yesterday, we found ourselves apartment hunting again. This time not for us, but for some friends. It is amazing the difference five months makes. Last time we did this, I could barely understand anything that was said, and the agents could understand nothing that I said. Yesterday, however, I carried on conversations and even did translating. (Amanda had the wife with her. I had the husband with me. We divide our efforts so that we could maximize the number of apartments we could see in one day.) I still can't believe that I can actually be understood in a foreign tongue! This morning the agent for the apartment that they really like called, I spoke with her and set up a meeting with the landlord for tomorrow. As happy as I am to be able to carry off these small feats with a smattering of success, I am also a realist. I am bowing out of serving as translator while they are negotiating the contract. Legalese is hard enough for me to understand in English. In Chinese, who knows what I would be agreeing to? - Frank 付伟国
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A Walk thru the City
Here are a few pictures of some of the things I saw on a brief walk thru the city today. I saw several cars decked out with flowers announcing a new marriage. There were numerous women walking around with umbrellas to shield their delicate complexions. I came across a teenage girl teaching a teenage boy some hip-hop dance moves. Usually, you can find someone selling pineapple on a stick at just about any intersection. Also, on most sidewalks, you will find public sanitation workers doing their part to keep it clean.
Outside of restaurants, you often see the 服务员 (fúwùyuán or service personnel) preparing the food for the evening. Today, I saw a young man tenderizing and breading meat using a marble pestle. The owners of one restaurant sat down to have a meal before the dinner rush. Notice, their young daughter is with them. This is a sight that we often see here, children at their parents’ place of business. This is not confined to restaurants either. No matter what kind of store you happen upon, if it is owned by the parents, then usually the children are there. If the prep work is done, sometimes you will find the服务员playing a game to pass time. Sometimes they will play badminton, Chinese chess, or jump rope. Today, it was cards. Then there was this shop owner, hard at work cross-stitching a picture to frame and sell.
No matter how long I have been here, it is still interesting to see how people get around. Notice the picture of the little boy sitting on the back of his father’s bike as they ride through traffic. This is an everyday occurrence. They were riding in front of the two mopeds being followed by the Buick down the bicycle lane. Then there is the guy on his tricycle, he was probably between delivery jobs.
On a short walk thru the city, you can see so much. The everyday sights can be mundane, or they can be full of wonder. When I have the opportunity to just wander around and watch people, I often try to think of those I meet, not as Chinese people, but just as people. They want to spend time with their children. They are being married and given in marriage. They enjoy games and dancing. They have to work to do, some as owners, some as workers. They care about how they look. All of these things can be said about people anywhere on the planet. So, on a short walk thru the city, I am reminded of something that my parents taught me long ago: people are people no matter where they come from or the color of their skin. – Frank 付伟国
Outside of restaurants, you often see the 服务员 (fúwùyuán or service personnel) preparing the food for the evening. Today, I saw a young man tenderizing and breading meat using a marble pestle. The owners of one restaurant sat down to have a meal before the dinner rush. Notice, their young daughter is with them. This is a sight that we often see here, children at their parents’ place of business. This is not confined to restaurants either. No matter what kind of store you happen upon, if it is owned by the parents, then usually the children are there. If the prep work is done, sometimes you will find the服务员playing a game to pass time. Sometimes they will play badminton, Chinese chess, or jump rope. Today, it was cards. Then there was this shop owner, hard at work cross-stitching a picture to frame and sell.
No matter how long I have been here, it is still interesting to see how people get around. Notice the picture of the little boy sitting on the back of his father’s bike as they ride through traffic. This is an everyday occurrence. They were riding in front of the two mopeds being followed by the Buick down the bicycle lane. Then there is the guy on his tricycle, he was probably between delivery jobs.
On a short walk thru the city, you can see so much. The everyday sights can be mundane, or they can be full of wonder. When I have the opportunity to just wander around and watch people, I often try to think of those I meet, not as Chinese people, but just as people. They want to spend time with their children. They are being married and given in marriage. They enjoy games and dancing. They have to work to do, some as owners, some as workers. They care about how they look. All of these things can be said about people anywhere on the planet. So, on a short walk thru the city, I am reminded of something that my parents taught me long ago: people are people no matter where they come from or the color of their skin. – Frank 付伟国
I Believe In 中药 (Zhong Yao)
To follow up my previous post, just 48 hours after beginning treatment with the中药 (Chinese Medicine), I am feeling like a new man. When I first got sick here, many people emailed me or commented that I should try中药. I was a little skeptical. I was unsure whether a secret blend of herbs and spices could actually make someone feel better. If it could, I thought, I should not have gotten sick at all, with all of the KFC that I eat. But after suffering from multiple sicknesses that have often lingered, I decided to give it a try. Boy, am I glad I did! I have become a convert. That being said, I am not endorsing any particular type of medical treatment. I believe my doctor, who has over 25 years experience using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western meds, said it best when he said “For some things, Chinese medicine is best, for others Western meds work best. It all depends on what your body needs”. I think that is a balanced viewpoint. Obviously, 中药was what my body needed. In my opinion, there is one less member of that list that has Santa Claus, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Boogie Man on it, because now I believe in中药. – 付伟国I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark.
Dick Gregory (1932 - )
Saturday, February 21, 2009
A Visit to the 医院Yīyuàn (Hospital)
This week I have been suffering from a case of severe sinus congestion, headache, and a mild fever off and on. We received a care package from my mother-in-law (thank you very much) that had all the staples; coffee, creamer, and candy, but it also had over the counter medicines. Unfortunately, none of that helped. In fact, Thursday night I developed a new symptom, the cold moved into my throat. Because I will be teaching next week (a university is giving me a trial run), I will need my voice. So Friday morning I decided to visit the 医院to get some 中药(zhōngyào or Chinese medicine). Going to the hospital in China is much different than going in the US. The first step is registration. When you register you must tell them the purpose of your visit, and then pay your registration fee. In my case, since I wanted to see the doctor, it was 30 RMB. After paying my fee, I was immediately ushered into the examination room. Much to my surprise the doctor spoke English really well because he had spent 10 years in Zurich and 1 year in New York practicing medicine. His office was very new, and stocked with modern equipment. The nurse, who also spoke pretty good English, took my vitals using a digital thermometer and digital BP cuff. The BP cuff didn’t appear to be working correctly though, because it registered a BP of 168/94 for me. That is a ridiculously high number for me. The nurse didn’t believe it either so she took it herself manually. She came up with 116/68, a healthier and much more believable number. After getting that settled, the doctor asked about my symptoms, how long had I been ill, and to describe the pain in my throat. After that, he looked inside my mouth (it is interesting that even Chinese doctors tell you to open up and say ah…), and told me that I had an infection. He asked me if I wanted antibiotics, and seemed pleased when I told him I wanted to try 中药. He said he was an expert at using traditional Chinese medicine. He then ordered a blood test to make sure that he was not over -looking anything. Well, that required a return to the registration desk, where I had to pay for the blood test. This cost 79 RMB. Once that was taken care of, I was whisked away to the bloodletting room, where the same nurse took 1 vial of blood, which was turned over to a tech for immediate testing. I was then taken back to the exam room, where I waited for the test results. While waiting, the doctor explained to me how to cook the Chinese medicine, and instructed that if I had any questions at all, I was to call him personally. He even gave me his cell phone number. Fifteen minutes after they received the blood, the results were in. The doctor said everything looked fine, so he wrote my prescription. Along with the 中药, he was going to give me an antibiotic, and vitamin C. Before I could get them, I had to go one more time to the registration desk. This time the cost was 39.50 RMB. After paying the fee, I was taken to the pharmacy, where I was provided with the meds. Since the 中药needed to be cooked, they said they would take care of the first day’s dose, and I could take care of the second. I had to go home for a couple hours while they got it ready. When I returned, they gave me an antique looking bottle filled with a murky brown liquid that promised to taste absolutely vile. The nurse told me to mix honey with it if it was too bitter for me. I knew just from looking at it that the honey would definitely be in play.
My visit to the医院Yīyuàn was very interesting. It is weird that you have to pay for each everything in advance, but the prices are quite reasonable. My entire visit cost a little less than 150 RMB which is about $22 US. For the professional care that I received, the modern equipment, the blood test, and antibiotics, without insurance, I shudder to think what that would have cost me back in the States. Another difference is, in the US, most visits to the hospital require an investment of several hours even before you get to see the doctor. Once you get in to see him, if he orders a blood test, that takes some time, and you usually don’t get the results for a week. So far, my experience visiting the医院(Yīyuàn), has been really good. Now let’s just hope the 中药 helps. – 付伟国
Don't live in a town where there are no doctors.
Jewish Proverb
My visit to the医院Yīyuàn was very interesting. It is weird that you have to pay for each everything in advance, but the prices are quite reasonable. My entire visit cost a little less than 150 RMB which is about $22 US. For the professional care that I received, the modern equipment, the blood test, and antibiotics, without insurance, I shudder to think what that would have cost me back in the States. Another difference is, in the US, most visits to the hospital require an investment of several hours even before you get to see the doctor. Once you get in to see him, if he orders a blood test, that takes some time, and you usually don’t get the results for a week. So far, my experience visiting the医院(Yīyuàn), has been really good. Now let’s just hope the 中药 helps. – 付伟国
Don't live in a town where there are no doctors.
Jewish Proverb
PS - The mess simmering in the pot is the medicine while it is being cooked. The bottle is the finished product.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
No Left Leg, No Right Arm, No Problem
Tonight, on the bus, I saw something that reminded me of how resilant people can be. They were showing a video of a man missing his left leg, and a woman missing her right arm, dancing ballet. It was amazing. They were doing lifts and everything. At first, until I saw the crutch, I didn't even realize there was anything different about them. Simple amazing. I attached a link to the video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. - Frank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnLVRQCjh8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnLVRQCjh8c
What a Man Wants
By now 
many of you have probably read the list of things that Amanda suggests packing when moving to China (http://mandachino.blogspot.com/). Her list is very well put together and quite extensive. Instead of trying to give a list of similar items, I have decided to make a list of things from a man’s perspective. As a man, what do I want?
1. Laptop – Amanda stated that a computer is a must, and she is exactly right. To take it a step further, I suggest you have a laptop. Laptops are portable but they can come with almost the same capabilities as a desktop. If you get a laptop, make sure it is Wi-Fi ready. If it does not have a wireless card built in, ones that connect externally can be purchased for relatively cheap. Why is a computer such a necessity? We have found that we use our computers every day. We use it to study, communicate with family and friends, teach, and even to watch TV and movies. Skype is the program that we use to chat with friends and you can also use it to do a live video conversation. The best part is that it is a free service. It has helped stave off home sickness because we don’t feel so isolated. (FYI – My laptop is an Acer that came with all the bells and whistles for less than $700 new. Amanda’s Compact Presario cost half that used.)
2. Wireless router – Since we have internet access in our home, and use our computers so much, I am glad I brought a wireless router from the States. You can get them here, and several of my friends have them, but I like being able to set it up and configure it myself. One of my friends has a local one and has had a lot of trouble setting up his network because the router’s setup page is in Chinese. It is not a must have but it is a reasonable want.
3. Pleco - If you have been reading my blog for anytime, you have heard me refer to Pleco before. To quote directly from its homepage: “Pleco Software is a cool little New York company focused on exactly one thing: creating the world's best tools for learning Chinese”. I believe they have. I love mine. It has helped me sooooo much. It has a feature that lets you create flashcards that you can use to study characters. I use this feature almost every day. (When I get out of class each day, I create new flashcards using the new vocabulary of the day.) Another great feature is the character recognition feature. When I come across a character that I don’t know, I can write it and the program will give me the pinyin and definition. Of course it is also a Chinese/English dictionary. If I can’t think of a word, I can type it in and it will give me the Chinese word. It also has the best tech support that I have encountered. I have had several technical questions about it, and I have gotten replies within hours, answering my questions and providing solutions. On top of all that, it will even pronounce words for you, which helps with tones. The downside is that you must have a PDA to run it. However, you can usually find them for a relatively cheap price on Ebay. Back home, Amanda and I bought Palm E2’s for about $70 apiece. Depending on which package you get, the program cost $70 - $150. We have the $150 dollar package and for me it was worth every penny! (When we purchased Pleco it was cheaper but they have since come out with a newer version which we were able to upgrade to for free.) http://www.pleco.com/ (A cell phone is a must here as well. If you can find an unlocked PDA phone for a good price you may want to buy one. This way you can kill two birds with one stone. I have a Palm Treo 650.)
4. Entertainment:
A. Movies & TV - Sometimes after spending a whole day in China, speaking, reading, and thinking Chinese, it is nice to get away from it all. We do this by watching TV shows and movies in English. Of course you can bring your movie collection with you but that takes up a lot of space. There is software available that will legally allow you to copy your DVDs to your hard drive. This is a very convenient way to take your movies with you. You can sometimes find the latest TV shows on the internet, so should be able to keep up with any shows that you like.
B. Video Games – OK. I recognize this is definitely not a “need” but if you will look at the title of this post, I did call it “What a Man WANTS”. Before coming to China, I sold my PS2. Now, I wish I had not. There are days when I wish I could kick back and play a little Tiger Woods golf or NCAA football. Oh, well. I hope Sylvia and the kids are enjoying it. A nice alternative to bringing a gaming console may be to bring the PC version of your favorite game.
C. MP4 Player – These handy devices are not as expensive as they use to be (thank you EBay), and they have a number of useful applications. For the 20 plus hour flight, I enjoyed having my own music with me; ditto, for the overnight train and bus rides that I have been on. Besides music though, you can load language lessons on them (I have Pimsleur Mandarin and German loaded on my Zune), and I listen to my lessons every day. I also have a few movies loaded on mine. Amanda and I each got a 30g Zune for less than $100 on EBay.
5. Electronics – Just a small point on electronic and electrical devices. The voltage of standard electrical outlets here is considerably different from the US (220v compared to 110v). For many major electronics this is not a problem, but for smaller items it is. For the times when needed, I bought a power inverter in the US for $15 - $20. Check and see whether or not the device in question needs a power inverter by looking on or around the plug. If it says 110/220 on it, then it should be fine. Devices such as battery chargers and electric razors bought in the States usually cannot handle more than 110v. Be sure to check this out. When we were in Berlin our battery charger burnt up when it was plugged directly into the outlet.
As you can see, besides the necessities, in my opinion there are few needs for a man here. But as for what a man wants, they fall along the same lines as they did back home – electronics. I don’t know what it is about electronics. Why do they draw men to them like moths to a flame? Whatever it is, it is a pandemic. - Frank
“Man is a game playing animal and a computer is another way to play games”
Scott Adams quotes (American Cartoonist, b.1957)
many of you have probably read the list of things that Amanda suggests packing when moving to China (http://mandachino.blogspot.com/). Her list is very well put together and quite extensive. Instead of trying to give a list of similar items, I have decided to make a list of things from a man’s perspective. As a man, what do I want?1. Laptop – Amanda stated that a computer is a must, and she is exactly right. To take it a step further, I suggest you have a laptop. Laptops are portable but they can come with almost the same capabilities as a desktop. If you get a laptop, make sure it is Wi-Fi ready. If it does not have a wireless card built in, ones that connect externally can be purchased for relatively cheap. Why is a computer such a necessity? We have found that we use our computers every day. We use it to study, communicate with family and friends, teach, and even to watch TV and movies. Skype is the program that we use to chat with friends and you can also use it to do a live video conversation. The best part is that it is a free service. It has helped stave off home sickness because we don’t feel so isolated. (FYI – My laptop is an Acer that came with all the bells and whistles for less than $700 new. Amanda’s Compact Presario cost half that used.)
2. Wireless router – Since we have internet access in our home, and use our computers so much, I am glad I brought a wireless router from the States. You can get them here, and several of my friends have them, but I like being able to set it up and configure it myself. One of my friends has a local one and has had a lot of trouble setting up his network because the router’s setup page is in Chinese. It is not a must have but it is a reasonable want.
3. Pleco - If you have been reading my blog for anytime, you have heard me refer to Pleco before. To quote directly from its homepage: “Pleco Software is a cool little New York company focused on exactly one thing: creating the world's best tools for learning Chinese”. I believe they have. I love mine. It has helped me sooooo much. It has a feature that lets you create flashcards that you can use to study characters. I use this feature almost every day. (When I get out of class each day, I create new flashcards using the new vocabulary of the day.) Another great feature is the character recognition feature. When I come across a character that I don’t know, I can write it and the program will give me the pinyin and definition. Of course it is also a Chinese/English dictionary. If I can’t think of a word, I can type it in and it will give me the Chinese word. It also has the best tech support that I have encountered. I have had several technical questions about it, and I have gotten replies within hours, answering my questions and providing solutions. On top of all that, it will even pronounce words for you, which helps with tones. The downside is that you must have a PDA to run it. However, you can usually find them for a relatively cheap price on Ebay. Back home, Amanda and I bought Palm E2’s for about $70 apiece. Depending on which package you get, the program cost $70 - $150. We have the $150 dollar package and for me it was worth every penny! (When we purchased Pleco it was cheaper but they have since come out with a newer version which we were able to upgrade to for free.) http://www.pleco.com/ (A cell phone is a must here as well. If you can find an unlocked PDA phone for a good price you may want to buy one. This way you can kill two birds with one stone. I have a Palm Treo 650.)
4. Entertainment:
A. Movies & TV - Sometimes after spending a whole day in China, speaking, reading, and thinking Chinese, it is nice to get away from it all. We do this by watching TV shows and movies in English. Of course you can bring your movie collection with you but that takes up a lot of space. There is software available that will legally allow you to copy your DVDs to your hard drive. This is a very convenient way to take your movies with you. You can sometimes find the latest TV shows on the internet, so should be able to keep up with any shows that you like.
B. Video Games – OK. I recognize this is definitely not a “need” but if you will look at the title of this post, I did call it “What a Man WANTS”. Before coming to China, I sold my PS2. Now, I wish I had not. There are days when I wish I could kick back and play a little Tiger Woods golf or NCAA football. Oh, well. I hope Sylvia and the kids are enjoying it. A nice alternative to bringing a gaming console may be to bring the PC version of your favorite game.
C. MP4 Player – These handy devices are not as expensive as they use to be (thank you EBay), and they have a number of useful applications. For the 20 plus hour flight, I enjoyed having my own music with me; ditto, for the overnight train and bus rides that I have been on. Besides music though, you can load language lessons on them (I have Pimsleur Mandarin and German loaded on my Zune), and I listen to my lessons every day. I also have a few movies loaded on mine. Amanda and I each got a 30g Zune for less than $100 on EBay.
5. Electronics – Just a small point on electronic and electrical devices. The voltage of standard electrical outlets here is considerably different from the US (220v compared to 110v). For many major electronics this is not a problem, but for smaller items it is. For the times when needed, I bought a power inverter in the US for $15 - $20. Check and see whether or not the device in question needs a power inverter by looking on or around the plug. If it says 110/220 on it, then it should be fine. Devices such as battery chargers and electric razors bought in the States usually cannot handle more than 110v. Be sure to check this out. When we were in Berlin our battery charger burnt up when it was plugged directly into the outlet.
As you can see, besides the necessities, in my opinion there are few needs for a man here. But as for what a man wants, they fall along the same lines as they did back home – electronics. I don’t know what it is about electronics. Why do they draw men to them like moths to a flame? Whatever it is, it is a pandemic. - Frank
“Man is a game playing animal and a computer is another way to play games”
Scott Adams quotes (American Cartoonist, b.1957)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
唱歌(chànggē) – Sing
Last night, after playing my weekly game of basketball, we met some friends at one of the many卡拉OK (Karaoke or KTV) places for an evening of唱歌. I have written a few times about how many people sing in the parks, well that must just be practice for when they go for an evening of KTV. These places are usually very popular. At some of them you can get dinner and full bar service along with the entrance fee, but they tend to be expensive. At one such establishment, they have 10-12 beautiful young women stand at the front door, dressed in white flowing dresses, elegantly made up, with a tiara topping their perfectly set hair. As you walk in the front door they bow and give you a warm welcome. Needless to say, we did not stay there. It was 太贵了 (tui4 gui4 le5) too expensive.
The place we went last night is a place we have gone to before. It is relatively nice, and the prices are not too bad. It cost about 120 RMB for six hours, which is a little over $17 US. When I told the lady at the desk that we wanted to唱歌, she said it would be 400 RMB per hour. I told her that that price was different from the last time we were there. She asked me what we paid before and when I told her, she quickly retracted and gave us the usual price. It seems our language lessons are starting to save us some money.
Another nice thing about this place it is that it has a decent selection of music in English, and we have our own private room so that we can sing as loud and poorly as we want because we are amongst friends. That really appeals to Amanda. Back home, I could never get her to sing when we went to Karaoke. Once we got things setup, we had a wonderful time singing, listening to each other sing, and as always with Karaoke, laughing with and at each other. I have recently been learning a Chinese song to sing, and last night I gave it a shot. Once again, the Chinese lessons proved their worth because even though the words were totally in characters, I was able to do a decent job of following along. I am going to keep practicing until I can sing the whole thing by reading. One of the methods that we were taught at our TESOL class for teaching language was through the use of music. I am going to use that method on myself, because everyone who knows is aware of how I love to唱歌. - 付伟国
PS – The song that I sang is called Putong Pengyou by David Tao. Here is a link to the site that I use, it has lyrics and music, and if you allow your cursor to hover over the characters, it translates for you. Enjoy.
http://www.chinese-tools.com/songs/song/94/putong-pengyou.html
“The fish in the water is silent, the animals on the earth is noisy, the bird in the air is singing. But man has in him the silence of the sea, the noise of the earth and the music of the air.”
Rabindranath Tagore quotes (Indian Poet)
The place we went last night is a place we have gone to before. It is relatively nice, and the prices are not too bad. It cost about 120 RMB for six hours, which is a little over $17 US. When I told the lady at the desk that we wanted to唱歌, she said it would be 400 RMB per hour. I told her that that price was different from the last time we were there. She asked me what we paid before and when I told her, she quickly retracted and gave us the usual price. It seems our language lessons are starting to save us some money.
Another nice thing about this place it is that it has a decent selection of music in English, and we have our own private room so that we can sing as loud and poorly as we want because we are amongst friends. That really appeals to Amanda. Back home, I could never get her to sing when we went to Karaoke. Once we got things setup, we had a wonderful time singing, listening to each other sing, and as always with Karaoke, laughing with and at each other. I have recently been learning a Chinese song to sing, and last night I gave it a shot. Once again, the Chinese lessons proved their worth because even though the words were totally in characters, I was able to do a decent job of following along. I am going to keep practicing until I can sing the whole thing by reading. One of the methods that we were taught at our TESOL class for teaching language was through the use of music. I am going to use that method on myself, because everyone who knows is aware of how I love to唱歌. - 付伟国
PS – The song that I sang is called Putong Pengyou by David Tao. Here is a link to the site that I use, it has lyrics and music, and if you allow your cursor to hover over the characters, it translates for you. Enjoy.
http://www.chinese-tools.com/songs/song/94/putong-pengyou.html
“The fish in the water is silent, the animals on the earth is noisy, the bird in the air is singing. But man has in him the silence of the sea, the noise of the earth and the music of the air.”
Rabindranath Tagore quotes (Indian Poet)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Word of the Day
It has been suggested that I use my fledgling grasp on Chinese to do a word of the day post every once in a while. I have wanted to do this for sometime, but I have never gotten around to writing it. Teaching Ch
inese through a blog is not the easiest endeavor but I will give it a try. Instead of just teaching a single word, however, I will introduce you to several words each time. Before we begin lets lay some ground work. There are a couple rules that I need to explain to help you understand pronunciation.
The thing that sets Chinese apart from Western languages is that it uses tones. We use tones, to a limited degree, in English. For instance, if you want to ask a question, just raise your inflection or tone at the end of the sentence. (You using that?) In Mandarin, however, if you use the wrong tone, it changes the meaning of the word. This is the thing I often struggle with. I actually have a pretty good storehouse of vocabulary words, but the tones remain my nemesis. How often they thwart my attempts at communicating effectively even when I know the right words!
inese through a blog is not the easiest endeavor but I will give it a try. Instead of just teaching a single word, however, I will introduce you to several words each time. Before we begin lets lay some ground work. There are a couple rules that I need to explain to help you understand pronunciation.The thing that sets Chinese apart from Western languages is that it uses tones. We use tones, to a limited degree, in English. For instance, if you want to ask a question, just raise your inflection or tone at the end of the sentence. (You using that?) In Mandarin, however, if you use the wrong tone, it changes the meaning of the word. This is the thing I often struggle with. I actually have a pretty good storehouse of vocabulary words, but the tones remain my nemesis. How often they thwart my attempts at communicating effectively even when I know the right words!
Tones: There are five tones in Mandarin.
1st tone - A high level tone
2nd tone - A rising tone
3rd tone - A falling and then rising tone
4th tone - A sharply falling tone
5th tone - Neutral
When I give the Pinyin (literally write sound) spelling, after each syllable I will put a number 1 - 5 to indicate which tone to use. As for the phonetic pronunciation of letter combinations, use this link: http://www.chineselearner.com/pinyin/pinyinchart.htm . It is very helpful in learning the correct way of pronouncing words. Think of it as a Chinese version of Hooked on Phonic.
The word of the day is：明天 míngtiān (ming2 tian1) which means tomorrow. 天 means sky， combine it with 明 and you have literally "clear sky". That is an optimistic view of tomorrow. If you combine 天with 昨or今 you have zuótiān (zuo2) or jīntiān (jin1), which means yesterday and today.
The word of the day is：明天 míngtiān (ming2 tian1) which means tomorrow. 天 means sky， combine it with 明 and you have literally "clear sky". That is an optimistic view of tomorrow. If you combine 天with 昨or今 you have zuótiān (zuo2) or jīntiān (jin1), which means yesterday and today.
Try to practice saying these words. I will give you more in the future that we will combine to make sentences. - 付伟国
PS - Another nice site for translating Chinese is http://www.nciku.com/ . Check it out!
Friday, February 6, 2009
不错 (Bu Cuo) – Very Good
Chinese is an interesting language. Often it uses a negative statement to express positive feelings. The phrase 不错 (pronounced boo tswoh) is an example. 不 (bu) means not or no. 错 (cuo) means bad. In America “not bad” is often said when something could be better or is just adequate. Here, if someone says不错 to you it means that something is very good. Today, much to my surprise, our teacher said this about me several times. (For full disclosure, Amanda was not feeling well today, so she stayed home from school. Had she been there, I am sure that she would have been the one to receive the praise, but I am not complaining. I will take it however it comes!) She even at one point during class told one of the other students “Listen to 付伟国 (Fu Wei Guo)”. When she said this I thought to myself: “How bad does one’s pronunciation have to be for the teacher to tell them to listen to me”, I also thought: “Is this how Amanda feels every class”? Wow, 不错!Yesterday, we went to another one of the nearby parks. China is a large united multi-national state, composed of 56 ethnic groups. Among them Han Chinese account for 91.59% of the overall Chinese population and the other 55 make up the remaining 8.41%. The park that we visited is designed to showcase these ethnic minorities. It was quite fascinating. Sometimes, when looking at the homes, the dress, or even at the people themselves, we were reminded of the Native American. In traveling, I am often astounded about the similarities of people, and cultures. How is it that cultures that are separated by thousands of miles and natural barriers can develop along similar paths?
We stopped to see a group of Bai, Wu, and Puzi people perform. As I walked up to get a better view, several people lost interest in the show, stopped me, and asked if they could take a picture of me. I felt really bad about that. I did not want to detract from the show but it seems that I fit right in. I must be China’s new minority.
Once I extricated myself from the paparazzi, I was able to enjoy the show. The colorful costumes, lively music, and energetic dancing gave us a look at a different Chinese people than the ones that have become familiar to us. One of the things that they have in common though, is their openness with foreigners. After the show, we spent a long times just talking with the performers. They were as curious about us as we were about them. One young man told us all about where he was from, how long he had been working at the park, and also how much he made. When I told him I was from America, he told me that he wanted to go there but that he would never be able to do so. He said that it is too expensive. (At least that is what I think he said. I recognized the words for “like”, “won’t go”, “America”, and “expensive”. The rest I extrapolated, which some might call a big word for “made up”.) I really enjoyed meeting them. I was impressed with how friendly and patient they were.
In this park, we were also able to see some animals, animals both domesticated and wild. There were peacocks, chickens, goats, and an elephant. The goats were doing what goats do best – eating. The peacocks seemed to want to perform for us. Several times they fanned their tails so that we could catch a glance of their brilliant plumage. The elephant seemed lonely. Now, I am not usually one to anthropomorphize animals, but I stood for a little while watching the elephant and he seemed a little agitated at first. When I approached him, he looked at me with huge mournful eyes and held out his trunk for me to pet. In that moment, the only thing I could think of was that he was lonely and just a touch sad. The elephant handlers then came over and told me that I could not touch because 他太大的, it is too big. So we had to go away. This happened at the end of the day, right before we left. Even if the day did end on a sad note, all in all, it was不错. – 付伟国
Trumpet in a herd of elephants; crow in the company of cocks; bleat in a flock of goats.
Malayan Proverb
Monday, February 2, 2009
If I Could Do It Over…
Here is a list of things that I would do differently if I had a reset button, and could redo the move to China.
5. Weight Limit, what weight limit? - I would absolutely forget about the weight limit that the airlines have. The overage charges that they have might just be worth being able to bring those special items that you may want. Postage charges for having care packages sent to us have exceeded any charges that we may have had to pay.
4. American RX – Bring meds both prescription and over the counter. Eastern medicine is getting a lot of good press but Western medicine is familiar. There is a lot to be said for familiarity. We may be able to buy meds here but we can’t read the labels. I definitely don’t want to OD on Zhong yao (Chinese Medicine).
3. Save. Save. Save. – Even though the cost of living is much cheaper here, it still cost money. Also, one thing we were not prepared for was paying six months’ rent up front for our apartment. For the most part, where ever you live here, you will have to pay at least 3 months with a possibility of 6 months’ rent up front. Added to that is the security deposit (one month’s rent) and also dian ti (elevator) fee. There are a lot of small fees that we normally don’t consider. Save money for these.
2. Eggrolls, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Sweet and Sour Chicken? Ok. 15 minutes – If possible, I would try to get a job at a Chinese restaurant. There is no substitute for speaking the language, and being in a pressure filled environment like a restaurant will teach everyday grammar in practical ways that classes can’t match. Also, since Chinese is a tonal language, speaking with people everyday will give a huge boost to being able to distinguish the tones.
1. Start sooner – If I could do it over again, I would have started learning Chinese years ago. Amanda wanted me to start learning a language over six years ago. If I had begun learning Chinese then, just think of how far along I would be. I made all kinds of excuses for not learning another language, but I ended up doing it anyway. Why put off until tomorrow, what you can do today? - Frank
5. Weight Limit, what weight limit? - I would absolutely forget about the weight limit that the airlines have. The overage charges that they have might just be worth being able to bring those special items that you may want. Postage charges for having care packages sent to us have exceeded any charges that we may have had to pay.
4. American RX – Bring meds both prescription and over the counter. Eastern medicine is getting a lot of good press but Western medicine is familiar. There is a lot to be said for familiarity. We may be able to buy meds here but we can’t read the labels. I definitely don’t want to OD on Zhong yao (Chinese Medicine).
3. Save. Save. Save. – Even though the cost of living is much cheaper here, it still cost money. Also, one thing we were not prepared for was paying six months’ rent up front for our apartment. For the most part, where ever you live here, you will have to pay at least 3 months with a possibility of 6 months’ rent up front. Added to that is the security deposit (one month’s rent) and also dian ti (elevator) fee. There are a lot of small fees that we normally don’t consider. Save money for these.
2. Eggrolls, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Sweet and Sour Chicken? Ok. 15 minutes – If possible, I would try to get a job at a Chinese restaurant. There is no substitute for speaking the language, and being in a pressure filled environment like a restaurant will teach everyday grammar in practical ways that classes can’t match. Also, since Chinese is a tonal language, speaking with people everyday will give a huge boost to being able to distinguish the tones.
1. Start sooner – If I could do it over again, I would have started learning Chinese years ago. Amanda wanted me to start learning a language over six years ago. If I had begun learning Chinese then, just think of how far along I would be. I made all kinds of excuses for not learning another language, but I ended up doing it anyway. Why put off until tomorrow, what you can do today? - Frank
PS - Many thanks to Denice for the idea for this blog. If you have any ideas that you would like me to write about, please include them in a comment.
Super Bowl in China
I remember vividly the first Super Bowl I ever watched live on TV. It was Super Bowl XX. The Chicago Bears versus the New England Patriots. The 85 Bears were a dominant team. They were so overpowering they even had their own music video, the Super Bowl Shuffle, which was made BEFORE they won the Super Bowl. That team is still one of the best teams in NFL history. They had Sweetness, McMahon, and the Refrigerator. It is hard to believe they even lost the one game that they did that year! Since that game, I have watched every Super Bowl. I remember the outcome of every game, and if pressed I could probably name the participant of each one. (Amanda says that it is a shame to waste all of that memory on such trivia. Oh, if only I could remember Chinese words and grammar that way!) My favorite Super Bowl was Super Bowl XXXI, the Green Bay Packers vs. The New England Patriots. The Packer won 35-21 (For the record, Farve was robbed of Super Bowl MVP when it was given to a guy on special teams). The only one that I didn’t see live was Super Bowl XXXVIII, the one that is most famous for a wardrobe malfunction. We had tickets to see Les Miserable’s for the fourth time that night. I went to the show instead, and I loved it! (This admission is probably something that most of you find hard to believe. Someone who enjoys watching football as much as I obviously do, also loves Broadway musical? Is that really possible? What can I say? I am an enigma.) I did watch the game that night though. We taped it.
So for 22 consecutive seasons I have known what I was doing on the last weekend of January or on the first weekend of February. I would spend it watching the”Big Game”. Being in China, I thought that this year the run was going to come to an end, but through the wonders of modern technology (the Internet) we were still able to watch it live. We woke up at 6:30 am (which put a new twist on a Super Bowl party: breakfast foods), and began streaming live video from Tampa. We were able to watch almost the whole thing, but due to the curse of modern technology (the aforementioned Internet booted us off the site we were using) we were unable to see the last couple minutes. The last thing we saw was the Cardinals experiencing what was surely going to be “the Thrill of Victory”. We missed how it those emotions were turned into “the Agony of Defeat”. One of our friends saved the day though, by using Skype to give us play by play updates, so we were kept abreast of the outcome. In the end, even though it was different, on a 15 inch screen, and we missed the ending, I am glad we were able to watch the Super Bowl here in China. – Frank
We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.
Vince Lombardi (1913 - 1970)
So for 22 consecutive seasons I have known what I was doing on the last weekend of January or on the first weekend of February. I would spend it watching the”Big Game”. Being in China, I thought that this year the run was going to come to an end, but through the wonders of modern technology (the Internet) we were still able to watch it live. We woke up at 6:30 am (which put a new twist on a Super Bowl party: breakfast foods), and began streaming live video from Tampa. We were able to watch almost the whole thing, but due to the curse of modern technology (the aforementioned Internet booted us off the site we were using) we were unable to see the last couple minutes. The last thing we saw was the Cardinals experiencing what was surely going to be “the Thrill of Victory”. We missed how it those emotions were turned into “the Agony of Defeat”. One of our friends saved the day though, by using Skype to give us play by play updates, so we were kept abreast of the outcome. In the end, even though it was different, on a 15 inch screen, and we missed the ending, I am glad we were able to watch the Super Bowl here in China. – Frank
We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.
Vince Lombardi (1913 - 1970)
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