18
Jun 2004
New Host
Sinosplice is now on a new server. I took long-time commenter Pketh‘s suggestion and went with Surpass Hosting. Thanks Pketh, their hosting package is really incredible. I hope the speed will be comparable to my last host’s, but even if it’s a little slower, I’m still getting way more space and other features for less money.
It seems like the DNS entries have just about finished switching over, but I think my e-mails are being delayed. If you e-mailed me in the past 48 hours and I haven’t responded, you might want to wait another 24 hours and resend it. I’ll try to get all that straightened out ASAP.
Due to the way DNS entries propagate, yesterday I could view my site on the new server all day at work, but when I got home I was still viewing it on the old server! I knew because of the comments. The good part about that is that I was able to easily save the new comments for my last entry that were posted in the DNS switchover period. I’ll put them back up when I get home.
A big thanks also to Wilson for doing the actual data transfer for me from San Francisco. I couldn’t do it myself because my FTP connection with Webmasters was completely unusable.
So here’s hoping that everything returns to smooth normality soon…
15
Jun 2004陈宝莲与鬼电梯
jennifer 说：
你有在弄你的chinese blog 吗？
潘吉 说：
弄什么？
jennifer 说：
就是说继续写点什么
潘吉 说：
哦，今天没有
潘吉 说：
我想写，只是最近没有时间
jennifer 说：
现在不是我一个人打不开，是很多人都打不开
jennifer 说：
你知道陈宝莲吗？
潘吉 说：
陈宝莲？不知道
潘吉 说：
我的学生？
潘吉 说：
我可能知道英文名字
jennifer 说：
不是你的学生拉~是一个HK艳星
jennifer 说：
就在你住的这个小区跳楼自杀的
潘吉 说：
哦！我还以为你还在讲我的网站的事！
潘吉 说：
你怎么知道她？？
jennifer 说：
呵呵~你的网站的事就是我真的是打不开
jennifer 说：
而且已经很久了
jennifer 说：
因为去年我有个朋友也是住在那里，他和我说的
潘吉 说：
很久了？？
潘吉 说：
那么你知道她从１号楼还是２号楼跳了吗？
jennifer 说：
嗯~有点久了
jennifer 说：
是1号楼
jennifer 说：
你是几号？
潘吉 说：
确定吗？？？
jennifer 说：
确定，不要告诉我你也是1号楼哦
潘吉 说：
我２号楼。呵呵
潘吉 说：
她从几楼跳的？
jennifer 说：
24
潘吉 说：
哦
潘吉 说：
还好
潘吉 说：
因为２号楼有一个很奇怪的电梯，我们叫它“鬼电梯”。后来知道了原来有人在南阳小区自杀过！！！
jennifer 说：
你小心啊~呵呵~
jennifer 说：
电梯怎么奇怪？
潘吉 说：
如果两个电梯都在１楼，然后坐非鬼电梯，到了１２楼出来经常发现鬼电梯跟着非鬼电梯上来了。在１２楼门开，里面没人。
潘吉 说：
而且晚上如果想出去，我一出门经常发现鬼电梯等着，一看到它门都开！里面也没人。
jennifer 说：
阿？？不用按按钮，它门就开吗？
潘吉 说：
对
潘吉 说：
好像它在等我
jennifer 说：
你不要说的这么恐怖
jennifer 说：
其他人看见他也一样吗？
潘吉 说：
鬼电梯很破，它给我的感觉就是很可怜，很希望人家坐它，而不是新点的电梯。
jennifer 说：
那你有坐过吗？
潘吉 说：
我的女朋友也看到过。
潘吉 说：
经常坐
潘吉 说：
还有！有一次虽然我按了１２楼它在１２楼不停，一直往上去。到了２５楼它就停，门都不开。我只能用电梯里面的电话叫师傅来救我。
潘吉 说：
但没事
潘吉 说：
所以我很怕你会说她是从２号楼２５楼跳的！
潘吉 说：
（也许她的朋友住在１２楼？）
jennifer 说：
呵呵~还好，我说的数字都加1就是2号楼25楼了
jennifer 说：
很有可能！！
jennifer 说：
她有个孩子，去过12楼
潘吉 说：
孩子去过12楼？你怎么知道？
jennifer 说：
哈哈~我乱说的
jennifer 说：
干吗阿~我就适当的联想一下嘛
jennifer 说：
不过是不太可能
jennifer 说：
因为她的孩子才1个多月
jennifer 说：
要不就是孩子的保姆带他出去逛逛
潘吉 说：
我要下班！
潘吉 说：
８８
14
Jun 2004Dashan in Shanghai
Ever since he wrote to me, I’ve been in communication with Mark Rowswell (AKA Dashan) via e-mail. Well, this past weekend he came to Shanghai to shoot a few commercials, so we got together for a chat.
As a public figure, he really has to watch his image, and there’s a lot he doesn’t talk about publicly. It was really interesting, then, to meet Mark and hear some of his opinions. We talked about a range of topics, including English education in China, the meaning of the recent loss of the Stanley Cup to Canada (go Tampa Bay! — I guess), what it was like to be a student in Beijing in 1989, and running a website (he manages his site and all its content all on his own).
I spoke with him on the set of his commercial in between shots. I have to say that observing the shooting of a commercial is both interesting and very boring. Once is enough. I’d hate to have to do it to pay the bills.
After the commercial he treated my girlfriend and me to dinner. I never would have guessed where he wanted to eat — Malone’s! It’s quite the expat hangout, and although it’s not the cheapest, the burgers are really good.
I was also curious if he was going to be recognized as we walked the streets of Shanghai. He wasn’t, for the most part, although I did hear some of the staff whispering as we went into Malone’s, “isn’t that Dashan??”
Anyway, it was good to meet someone so high profile and yet so poorly understood as Mark. We also discussed some small projects we may be collaborating on in the future. Stay tuned.
12
Jun 2004Sinosplice is in Trouble
Readers in China may have noticed that recently Sinosplice has suffered a major slowdown. The phenomenon is not limited only to this site, however; other friends in China have supported my observation that there seems to be an overall slowdown in traffic from international sites. Unipeak, a free proxy service that has recently become popular, has been shut down shortly after adding a Chinese version (which was stupid).
The problem is that Sinosplice has gotten so bad for me that server requests frequently time out. Using webmail and the hosting service’s control panel has become frustrating. My FTP connection is now so tenuous as to be rendered useless.
My hosting service, Webmasters, has been a pretty great host (especially when compared with iPowerWeb, “host of the damned”), but there’s nothing they can do about a problem that only exists on the China side. Dammit.
So my options are: (1) wait it out, and do very little with my site in the meantime, or (2) find a new host. I don’t want to go through the hassle of finding a new host, but I certainly have no reason to believe that Webmasters’ servers are going to get any faster in China. Also, probably now more than ever before, I have lots of cool (non-blog) features that I want to implement, which makes the timing particularly maddening. So I’m looking into option #2. This option is actually feasible because Webmasters will refund any unused portion of the year’s payment. Sweet.
Dreamhost, a host I discovered through the truly awesome, musically ingenious Songs to Wear Pants To (go there now!), has a really good package. I have yet to determine how good the speed in China is.
So I think Sinosplice has some rough waters ahead, and possibly even more downtime. Any hosting recommendations or other solutions are greatly appreciated.
10
Jun 2004The World Star Gazette
Ever heard of The World Star Gazette? Sounds kinda like a tabloid. I was looking through my referrals and found one from the World Star Gazette. So I checked it out to see what it was. At first I thought I was looking at a cheap imitation of The Onion. Then I got to my own entry and I finally understood what it’s about.
The World Star Gazette is riding on the tide of blog syndication popularity. Much like the Living in China aggregator, it uses the feeds of various blogs to collect links and excerpts which it then places together on one page. Besides the front page, it also has different sections such as “politics,” “religion,” and “travel.” The creative part is that the World Star Gazette makes up its own humorous headlines for the blog entries, and usually does a pretty good job (although some people may not be pleased with the modifications). It currently has two of my entries listed as After Four Years in China, America’s Diversity, Fatties and Free Refills Are Shockers and China’s Urkel Actually Canadian (Haha, they’re calling Dashan China’s Urkel!).
I’m finding the new site a refreshing way of checking out some new blogs outside of my usual reading circle.
09
Jun 2004Qipao Parade
I’m still getting over jetlag and don’t feel like writing much. Instead, I’ll share this little qipao gallery of some of China’s famous female stars. (Note that there are 4 pages in all; the links to the other pages are at the bottom of the pages.) Notably absent is Gong Li. Also, page one is not the best of the lot.
I don’t explore these Chinese portals very much, but I was kinda surprised by some of the content put online when the media are “controlled” and the government tries to always keep a wholesome image. Some of the ones I’m talking about are the “leisure” section’s Christy Chung feature (quite bizarre, and revealing), the creative bust cover-up feature, and the Maxim gallery (gee, I wonder if Maxim’s getting those royalties…).
What’s the strategy here? Give people just enough of what they’re looking for on Chinese sites so they don’t go elsewhere and discover the immense wealth of information (AKA “porn”) out there on non-Chinese sites?
Seems to be.
Update: Micah in the comments has pointed out a similar gallery which has better, higher res images. Very nice.
06
Jun 2004Trip Labels
Today my friend Dan became the happy husband of a beautiful girl named Mya. It was a nice ceremony full of great people. I was a groomsman. It was the first time since high school prom that I wore a tux. Someone remarked to me that I probably wouldn’t be wearing one again until *I* get married. That may very well be true.
I’ve noticed that every time I come home, there’s often a different atmosphere that blankets the nation, and it gives my visit a theme. This time I came home for these specific dates because I wanted to attend Dan’s wedding, but there were larger forces at work coloring my stay. Pop culture and marketing forces. This visit was the Low Carb visit.
This is not to say, of course, that my eating habits were at all low carb. Far from it. I value each and every meal at home too much to be more than just remotely concerned about petty “health” issues. Besides, I was looking to gain a few pounds. So no “low carb Doritos” for me (although I did try the new guacomole flavor — yum!).
So the themes went something like this:
- Summer 2001: The first visit back. The country wasn’t significantly different from what I remembered yet, and the focus was “so how’s china?”* and “how long do you think you’re going to stay?”**
- Summer 2002: The Post-9/11 visit. Quite a bit of time had passed since the actual terrorist act that rocked the nation, but its effects were still quite evident to someone who had not been in the U.S. when the attacks occurred and was not there for the subsequent aftermath.
- Winter 2002: The Surprise Christmas Visit. The country was basically the same as during the Post-9/11 visit, so I concentrated on the surprise element to spend Christmas with my family.
- Spring/Summer 2004: The Low Carb Visit.
So now that the latest visit is over, I return to Shanghai. I think I started to miss China a little at the 12-day mark. Or maybe I just miss my “mission” and life there. In any case, I’m headed back and will write more frequently once in Shanghai.
* Probably the single most frequent and annoying question I get. I believe that it is usually asked out of genuine interest, but the question is just too big!
** This is a question that won’t go away, but I finally have more definite answers. I’ll be writing more about this very soon.
P.S. My site was down for about half of yesterday because the hard drive on which my site was hosted crashed. All data has been recovered, and now I expect no more down time ever again. Ever!
01
Jun 2004America Revisited
This past weekend I helped my sister Grace move into her new apartment in Atlanta. Atlanta seems like a cool city, and the area she’s living in really impressed me as being so green. Trees and grass galore. The really bad part about life in Atlanta seems to be the horrible traffic.
I hear from different people about “reverse culture shock,” a phenomenon experienced after one acclimates to a foreign culture and then returns to one’s home country. Since I’m not home to stay, but only visiting, I don’t think reverse culture shock applies in this case. But after spending almost four years in China, there are certainly aspects to life in the US of A that stand out.
There are two big ones that slam me in the face as soon as I arrive at the airport, and they can be summed up in a word each. Diversity and Obesity.
America: strength in diversity. When I taught a college-level American Society and Culture class in Hangzhou, I used to emphasize the role of diversity in American culture. It really is pervasive. It explains much of our mindset and behavior, and I think it’s something that’s hard to understand if you live in a mostly homogeneous society such as China’s. China’s “56 ethnic groups” really pale in comparison to a society built by people from all over the world.
And yet when I return to the United States and see all the different skin colors and body types, when I hear four different languages spoken within a span of five minutes and it’s nothing unusual, it doesn’t cause me to reflect upon the various achievements of such a diverse population. It just makes me feel warm and cozy inside. Because America is like that — it’s diverse — and diversity is good.
America: land of the obese. This is a topic that’s been discussed to death, but I find it so fascinating to revisit it again and again because it’s so complex. It’s about our advertising industry, our food culture, our image as a nation, our societal subcoscious. Every time I come back to the United States, I’m confronted physically by the same old question: Why the hell are Americans so damn FAT?? There’s no simple answer.
Today in the car on the way back from Atlanta, I was listening to some comedy on tape. The comedian was talking about diet programs, and one in particular that he’d like to market. It was called the “Stop Eating, You Fat Bastard” program. I have to admit, that’s largely the way I feel about the issue after having lived in China for so long.
Besides those two staples, I’ve had some other minor observations. All the greenery in Atlanta was one of them. It was so refreshing.
I am also very unused to strangers greeting me. You know, the random guy you pass on the sidewalk that looks you in the eye, and for no reason at all just gives you a “how’s it going.” In America, strangers say hi to you for no reason at all. Crazy.
And then I was eating in a deli-style restaurant with Grace on Saturday. I was almost done with my drink when I stopped to ask her, “are there free refills?”
Looking at me like I was a bit simple, she responded with, “why wouldn’t there be?” Ah, America, Land of the Free Refill, I have missed thee…
After that meal I got chastised by Grace for leaving my tray on the table. Oops.
In a week I’ll be back in a country where restaurant staff are bewildered by customers who clear their own tables.
But I don’t quite miss it… yet.
25
May 2004Heading Home (after a year and a half)
Last time I went home was Christmas, 2002. It seems like a really long time ago because, well, it sort of was. For me. And yet at the same time I feel like I’ve got so much going on here in Shanghai that I’m not ready to go back home yet. But I am.
I’m headed home again today in a few more hours. Not sure if I’ll have much time to write during the two weeks that I’m home or what I’d write about if I did.
My good friend Dan is getting married. My family is looking forward to seeing its most inaccessible member. And lots of food awaits eating.
23
May 2004Yangmei are back!
I’m not too keen on some of Asia’s “exotic fruits,” such as durian and lychee. There is one, however, that I love. It’s called yangmei. According to both Wenlin and my big fat awesome New Age Chinese-English Dictionary, the English name is “red bayberry.” Does that help you any? Because it tell me nothing. The New Age dictionary also tells me its scientific name: Myrica rubra. Since most of us aren’t botanists, I better supply a picture.
Yangmei make great finger food.
When in groups, yangmei are not afraid of heights.
Yangmei are about the size of a grape, and somewhat resemble a raspberry on the outside. The taste is similar to a strawberry, I think. Some are sweeter, some are sourer. The fruit is pulpier than a strawberry, and there’s a pit in the middle about the size of a cherry pit. Good stuff.
Can you buy these overseas? I’m not sure. But if you’re in China, be sure to try them if you haven’t yet. It’s once again yangmei season, and it’ll only last for the summer.
22
May 2004The Name Nazi Defied
Some time ago I become known as the “Name Nazi” at ZUCC, the school in Hangzhou where I used to teach. Allow me to explain.
If you know anything at all about teaching in China, you know that Chinese students usually have English names. You also know that the names they choose are often ridiculous, bizarre, and/or funny. A few real-life examples: Fantasy (boy), No-No (girl), Snoopy (girl), Icy Cat (boy), Shiny (girl).
After grinning and bearing it for two years, I decided not to put up with these names anymore. When students I taught had ridiculous English names, I told them they had to change their name. They would often protest, saying they had used the name for years already. I would tell them, “well, you can keep it, but you can’t use it in my class. Pick a real name.” Then I would hand them a big long list of popular baby names that they could choose from.
I would try to win them over with reason. My reasons are below.
Why Choosing a Silly English Name is not a Good Idea
- If you ever go overseas, you will be laughed at. You’ll think it’s funny at first, but you’ll eventually realize your English name is stupid and change it. Why not sooner than later? Save yourself the grief.
- How people are named in a language is a part of the culture. By ignoring this process, you are completely disregarding a part of the culture. While this may not be outright offensive to native speakers, it certainly isn’t impressive. Why not take the chance to learn about the culture of the language you’re studying?
- Names are chosen in a certain way. We choose names from baby name books, relatives, movie stars. We do not choose names from dictionaries or take the names of cute cartoon characters. Just as Chinese people would never choose a name like 孙悟空 or 烤面包 for their babies, you shouldn’t do it in English either. It’s not impossible to create a good English name, but it’s also not an easy thing to do, and if you’re not a native speaker, you probably cannot judge what sounds good and what doesn’t.
- Names are a kind of vocabulary. When you hear “Mary” you know instantly that it’s a woman’s name because you learned it long ago as a woman’s name. You know it’s not a verb, or an adjective, or any noun other than a person. It’s firmly in your “name vocabulary.” The more English names you hear with frequency, the bigger your “name vocabulary” grows. This is an important part of your English development. Your classmates’ English names should all be contributing positively to your “name vocabulary,” not junking it up with ridiculous non-names.
So those are my reasons. That’s why I’m the Name Nazi. People say I take the issue too seriously, but honestly, you really do get tired of the stupid names after a few years, and my class is not playtime. I’m a serious teacher, so I expect my students to take learning English seriously in my class. And that includes names. We have fun in my classes, but not by calling each other stupid English names.
Flash forward to last week. Gwyneth Paltrow recently had a baby girl and named it Apple. Apple!!! What a dumb name! (Other people agree with me on this one.) “Apple” is one of the non-names I used to forbid during my tenure at ZUCC, and for some reason Chinese girls used to looove to choose that name. And now Gwyneth is directly attacking my efforts! Arrgh!
At my new job I continue the mission of the Name Nazi. Many of these Chinese kids get their English name in kindergarten. I’m making sure none of the teachers are assigning ridiculous names (and oh, you better believe they were). The source I use for “good names” is the Social Security Online Baby Name page. It’s great.
Speaking of names, I recently discovered a new Japanese band with a pretty cool name (keep in mind the guys who named the band are not native speakers of English). Asian Kung-Fu Generation. No, you haven’t had enough of emo, because Japan is not through with it yet! They have pretty cool retro style artwork on their CDs too. Check out this song called 君という花 (A Flower called You).
20
May 2004Preparing for the Cook
Recently I decided to hire a housecleaning ayi in Shanghai. I used to hire one every two weeks or so in Hangzhou to do a thorough cleaning job of my apartment to supplement my own occasional half-hearted attempts at sanitation. It cost 8 RMB ($1) per hour, and they would usually stay for two or three hours each visit.
I’ve talked to some foreign friends in China before who feel bad about hiring someone to clean up after them in their own home, and for such a low wage. I, on the other hand, feel great about it. I don’t feel like I have a lot of spare time these days, so it’s a great way to give myself some more free time without even spending much money. Plus I’m giving someone some honest work. I don’t set the labor prices in China, and it’s not a slave wage. (For comparison, McDonalds in China only pays 3 RMB an hour to start.) Those that engage in housecleaning are usually people from other poorer parts of China who really need work. I’m nice to them and I chat with them, and I usually tidy up along with them as they clean. I see no problem with it. Win-win.
Anyway, I recently had an epiphany. I decided to hire an ayi not only to clean, but to cook for me regularly. She will come every weekday evening for 2 hours and cook a meal and clean up a bit. I will pay her 250 RMB per month, plus the cost of the meals’ ingredients.
My new ayi came tonight for the first time and cooked an awesome simple meal. Stir-fried pork strips and jiaobai (茭白: Wenlin translates this white Chinese vegetable as “water-oat shoots,” whatever that means), garlic mixi (a vegetable which is like pink-pigmented spinach; ayi said it’s written 米西), egg and tomato soup, and rice. It was really good! Not too salty, not too oily. This woman is a genius. She’s from Hubei Province. That meal was 6.2 RMB in ingredients. This new plan of mine is not only going to keep my place a lot cleaner, but I’m going to eat better and save a lot of money!
OK, so I admit I was completely lazy up until now. I never cooked at home. That means yesterday I had to buy all the ingredients for my ayi so that she could cook most dishes. In the USA, you would need to have milk, butter, salt, flour, oil, etc. So what do you need in China? This is what I bought:
- vegetable oil (very important!!!)
- soy sauce
- MSG
- salt
- sugar
- rice (a nice 10kg bag for 41 RMB)
- rice vinegar
Those things are all pretty much indispensable in Chinese cooking (note: no milk or butter in that list). In addition, I also picked up:
- black pepper
- hot sauce
- ketchup (the Chinese actually use it a fair amount for certain dishes)
- jiang (some kind of soy paste)
- starch
I also gave my ayi a list of things I hate eating so she could easily avoid them. My list was:
- xiangcai (the vile weed cilantro)
- animal organs
- chicken feet
- fish with a million harpoon-like tiny bones in them
- thousand-year-old eggs
- stinky tofu
Note that in each case, I determined that I didn’t like the above items after I tried them. Some of them, such as stinky tofu and cilantro, have been given many, many chances but fail miserably to meet my high standards of delectability each and every time.
Anyway, this ayi deal is looking mighty sweet.
18
May 2004Debating “You’re Welcome”
One of the first phrases a student of a foreign language learns is “thank you,” followed closely by “you’re welcome.” Every culture has etiquette, and these two phrases are about as basic as etiquette can get. It’s best to keep things simple for a new learner. One-to-one vocabulary correspondences are easiest to accept for memorization.
When I learned Spanish, it was gracias and de nada. When I learned Japanese it was arigatou gozaimasu and dou itashimashite. For Chinese, it was xièxie and bú kèqi.
In English, there are actually a variety of ways to express both “thank you” and “you’re welcome.” I tend to stick with “thanks” and “no problem.” It’s only natural that such variety exist in foreign languages as well, but somehow it seems to cause problems.
Soon after arriving in China, I learned that a lot of the Chinese I learned in the classroom was specific to Beijing, and that it didn’t match what I was hearing around me. I quickly discarded nǎr (“where”) for nǎli, huār (“flower”) for huā, etc. I also started saying bú yòng xiè (literally, “you don’t need to thank me”) for “you’re welcome” instead of bú kèqi.
I used bú yòng xiè almost exclusively for a long time. Then I began to realize that if Chinese people can mix it up, I should have a little more variety in my usage as well. I started using mei guanxi (literally, “it doesn’t matter”) for “you’re welcome.” Pretty soon it had completely replaced bú yòng xiè.
Then there was a short period of time when I switched back to bu keqi (literally, “don’t be polite”), the form of “you’re welcome” I had originally learned. I didn’t stick with that one for long though, because it feels more northern to me and I don’t like that.
I noticed today that I’m using méi guānxi all the time again. I think I want to switch back to bú yòng xiè, it just has the nicest feel to me.
My point is that I can’t seem to be able to “mix it up” like I originally planned. I can switch which form I use, but then I tend to use that one form all the time. Is this actually difficult?? Should I just be content with using one form all the time like I do for the most part in English?
In any case, it’s not a problem. Just one of those little linguistic issues I ponder and probably no one else cares at all about….
16
May 2004Rejected!
I think I’m a really atypical American. I’ve never owned a car. I’ve never used a credit card in my life. I’ve used a debit card with a Mastercard seal on it, and I’ve owned a credit card, but the credit card was eventually cancelled because I never once used it. Well, despite my personal history, I recently applied for a credit card at a major Shanghai bank.
Traditionally, Asia has been slow to catch on to the credit card trend, preferring cash. I remember that the first “credit cards” sporting Visa and Mastercard logos in Japan were not actually true credit cards at all, but rather debit cards which could automatically exchange currencies to make overseas payments more convenient. Early Chinese “credit cards” strayed even further from the model, since not only were they only debit cards, but RMB were not even freely exchangeable on the international market, so they could only be used within China.
Well, all that seems to be changing. This new credit card I applied for is not only a real credit card in that you can buy first and pay later, but it also allows for international purchases through automatic RMB-US Dollar exchanges. Cool!
So I applied. I had to provide a letter stating my monthly pay, stamped with my danwei‘s (my company’s) offical seal. That was sure not to be a problem, as I was making easily twice as much as some other Shanghainese people that have this kind of credit card.
The thing is, I got rejected! I was really shocked. I can’t know for sure why I was rejected, but it’s probably because I seem like a risk. I could easily run up a debt and then leave China.
It’s interesting to be discriminated against in a way that actually matters. This isn’t people maniacally yelling “hello” at me on the street, this is a financial issue. I can’t really be angry, because I understand the bank’s viewpoint. I’m sure that there really are quite a few unscrupulous laowai in Shanghai that would, indeed, rack up a huge debt and then flee.
But now I can’t get my credit card. Bummer.
16
May 2004参考问题
几个月前我新认识了一个美国朋友。他在上海的美国大使馆工作。他的中文挺厉害。他建议我看《参考消息》。这份报纸写的是很多关于国外的事情，可以学很多很有用的词汇。所以我去买了。
我立刻注意到了“参考消息”这四个字的字体。是用繁体字写的，写得挺好看。虽然我认识的繁体字不少，但他写的“考”字我从来没有看到过。一查字典，发现“考”没有繁体字！那么那个字到底是什么？它像一个“了”加一个“攵”。可是好像没有这个字！我问了很多中国人，但他们都不知道为什么“考”是这样写的。有一些还说可能不是“考”这个字，可能是这个字，那个字，等等。但报纸的名字明明是《参考消息》！
最近我终于知道了为什么《参考消息》的“考”是这这样写的。“考”的标准繁体字也是“考”，但还有一个很老的现在很少用的写法。“考”这个字的部首是竖写的，但以前也可以横写。其实是“攷”。左边是巧的右边，右边是改的右边。
汉字真的很复杂！在美国这样的事情是不可思议的，连报纸的名字都不太看得懂！
14
May 2004Creeping Japanese
Japanese was my major in college, but I’ve barely used it in these three years (almost four) that I’ve been in China. A testament to the worthlessness of a language degree? Or of any degree? Or have I just chosen a “career path” which renders my major particularly ineffectual?
I remember in my final year at UF I won an award for outstanding Japanese major of the year (I beat out the three other people in my class), and I was presented with a copy of the Koujien (広辞苑), Japan’s authoritative Japanese-Japanese dictionary. It’s quite a beast. Anyway, at that mini ceremony, my Japanese professor said to me, “I hear you’re going to China. I hope we don’t lose you. You wouldn’t be the first one to switch over to Chinese.”
Quite some time ago I resigned myself to the fact that Japanese had, indeed, lost me. Nevertheless, I’m finding that the Japanese I learned is staying in my brain, albeit rather dormant. Every time I go back to Japan, I can be speaking fairly fluently (like I used to) after three days of immersion. It seems a shame to waste it.
And now, in Shanghai, I find Japanese slowly creeping back into my life.
My next door neighbor in Shanghai is a Japanese girl that works for JAL.
Recently someone at the office needed help deciphering a Japanese address. The Japanese simplifications of the traditional Chinese characters left her very confused, so I had to show her how to write the address. (For the character 豐, the PRC has simplified it as 丰, but the Japanese write it as 豊. For 縣, the PRC uses 县, not the Japanese 県.)
Yesterday at my favorite DVD store I found four complete seasons of Ranma 1/2 on DVD (24 DVDs). I remember getting a kick out of those in college (hey, it’s educational!). I picked them up.
Tomorrow there’s a Japanese teacher coming to the office to do a teaching technique demonstration. I’m going to be here anyway, so I’m going to stick around and watch (and possibly offer my interpretation services).
I’ve already decided that I need to get back into Japanese. I’m going to find a tutor soon. Japanese will be useful in my future, and I’m not going to let it go. Then there’s also my good friends in Japan. If I quit on Japanese, I’m pretty much quitting on my relationships with them too.
11
May 2004外国人的年龄
以前很多中国人跟我说过：“外国人的年龄很难猜”。他们觉得很多外国人看起来挺成熟但其实没多大。中国人问我几岁的时候，我也喜欢逗逗他们说：“你猜！”通常他们猜得大5岁左右，但也有人猜我连20岁都没到！（我78年生的。）
我在中国越久越猜不出其他外国人的年龄。为了考自己，我最近访了一个网站。我猜得太不准了！我觉得很丢脸！
你也可以自己试试。最好玩的是guessing mode。它会给你看一个人的照片，然后你要先猜才可以看到这个人实际上有多大。它也会告诉你别人猜的平均年龄。很有意思。如果你不想猜，你也可以选slideshow mode，同时看照片和年龄。
11
May 2004Alcohol Vocab
I want to add more Chinese study material to Sinosplice, and the latest is a vocabulary list. Of Western alcohol. You won’t find any form of baijiu on the list, but if you ever wanted to know how to say “Guinness” or “Jim Beam” or “Sex on the Beach” in Chinese, this is for you.
It’s noteworthy that many of these names do not have a standard name (especially mixed drinks), so many variations are possible, but the names in my list have all been verified through online sources and/or in actual Chinese bars.
Some of the ones I find interesting:
- Sex on the Beach. The literal Chinese is “sexy beach.” I guess a faithful translation would be too racy for printing on a menu in a Chinese bar?
- Absolut. In Chinese, it’s just “Swedish vodka.” Boooooring. The name in English is kinda cool.
- Cocktail. It’s literally “chicken tail alcohol.” Of all words to translate absolutely literally (which the Chinese don’t really do so often), why this one??
- Draught beer. It seems that in the south it’s more often called sheng pi (生啤), whereas the north prefers to call it zha pi (扎啤). Sheng pi means “raw beer.” (It also happens to be exactly the same thing the Japanese call it: 生ビール.) I really like that. “I’ll have a beer. Make it RAW.” Badass.
- Smirnoff. In Chinese it means “imperial crown.” Since the Chinese name sounds nothing like the actual name, I’m guessing that’s a translation of the Russian. Cool. Learning Russian through Chinese through booze. How scholarly. [Update: That guess was wrong. See comment #14.]
Sinosplice vocabulary: Alcohol
Special thanks to Brad F and Brendan, who helped me a bit with my research.
09
May 2004Derisive Dashan, RIP
Did you ever take a look at my Derisive Dashan? Mainly because Dashan’s image is squeaky clean and all-around nice, it’s funny to see him get “belligerent” in Chinese on the page.
Well, I just got an e-mail from Dashan. I never intended for Dashan to see the page (or my blog entry about him, which isn’t completely complimentary). I didn’t realize, though, that because of Derisive Dashan Sinosplice had taken over the #2 spot in the Google search for “dashan,” second only to Dashan’s official site.
Anyway, apparently Dashan has been aware of the page for some time. He presented his case, asking if I could take it down now. I’m a reasonable man, and deep down I know that Dashan really is a good guy. It’s not his fault that Chinese people are always comparing other foreigners to him. So I took it down.
I guess it wasn’t really a good idea to publicly target a specific person for ridicule. I’m not normally the type of person to do that, but Dashan definitely feels more like an institution than a person. Until he sent me an e-mail.
Sorry about that, big guy.