I miss Ken

Thank you for your response, can you suggest best way to learn, listening to the podcasts?

What else can I do to learn it faster, at the moment I have just started loading the newbie lessons on my phone and listening to them throughout the day, and whenever I can. If anyone can suggest some other techniques they use, it is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

bartholomew,

Welcome! It all depends really. If you are willing to spend time and patience on it, you'll learn faster than most. Usually, the jump from newbie to elementary is a lot faster but as it goes higher (in terms of level), it tends to get longer and more tedious. In learning Chinese, patience is key! Unfortunately, there's no shortcut! :-)

Hawaii's great, but it's really expensive.

Hey guys I was not sure where to introduce my self, but yeah, I am here to learn Chinese so I can live and do business in China. What is the normal time frame of learning basic Chinese.

Thanks good to be here :>

I don't miss Ken anymore. (He's back!)

and it´s the land with citys where you never have to search for a mc donalds if you need one...so I heard...:-)

No, wait, CHINA is the place where you can buy ice cream at even the most unlikely places! (and the ice cream lady makes more money than a college professor, so it is said)

Do fat men also keep losing their ice cream like that?

"I'm sure you noticed the people of various ethnic backgrounds..."

Ahhh... I was wondering how people couldn't even realize a one-eyed green woman was an alien. :P

Okay okay, 'nuff joking. You are right, from what I experienced of Hawaii in 2004 the movie did seem to do a good job at showing the local life, which is why I enjoyed it. There wasn't the drink-pina-coladas-all-day-on-the-beach we tend to think of(even though, uh, that's what I did when I was in Hawaii, well, just a little, and golfed, and studied Chinese!!) ... so now I think of a place where you can get an ice cream cone anywhere!

The DOG is there to :-)

ALOHA Spirit - In the local Hawaiian culture a great deal of attention is paid to the aloha spirit; a community of warmth and acceptance.

If you carefully watch the movie, you'll notice the the main characters are strong women. They are not stick-figure thin Barbie-like in appearance. The emphasis that is repeated over and over is on a person's inner warmth and strength, not their appearance.

The acceptance of Stitch by Lilo reflects a test of the spirit of friendship and aloha. This theme is reflected many times in the movie.

For example you'll see the mix of children from different backgrounds all learning the hula. You also see their struggle with acceptance of someone new.

I'm sure you noticed the people of various ethnic backgrounds in Hawaii and how each has been integrated and emphasized throughout the community. It is one of the few places in the world where there is so much shared diversity.

The animators and story tellers at Disney really went out of their way to reflect local life. You see that Lilo's older sister is a very common person in Hawaii, she isn't some queen or career-woman, she is just a normal person struggling with getting a decent job and trying to live right. In fact, most locals are not wealthy, and struggle with the cost of living.

To reflect the ocean and surfing culture, there are the comforting words from the aged sea-turtle father to his little turtle'ettes. His words reflect the carefree nature of surfing, willingness to help others freely and a respect for the strength of the environment.

Even in terms of language, in this movie you'll see and hear a distinct mixing and use of languages. This is very different from standard Hollywood fare that sometimes even goes to stereotype or mock accents and dialects.

In this movie you'll hear the local Hawaiian language in the songs, and scattered throughout the dialogue. In the Hawaiian rollercoaster song, there are parts sung just entirely in Hawaiian and parts in English. The chorus is done by a local heritage school.

Hawaii is one of the few places in America that has such a variety of language. In some ways I see it as similar to parts of China where people easily transition between a local dialect and a common speech. In Hawaii there is pidgin, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Japanese , Chinese, Philipino, and English (amongst others) scattered throughout conversations.

Lastly, the fun-loving nature of the islands and love of music permeates the movie. The fascination and 'localization' of favorite American classics is another example of how the islands have adapted and grown the American spirit.

Can 'ya tell I like the islands. :D

Lantian,

I watched Lilo and Stitch about 2 years ago with my daughter. I didn't pick up on the points you mentioned. I may watch it again this evenign with her. Thx for that.

Lantian, you mean Hawaii really does have aliens?? Ahhh...that explains it...

Ken, aloha.

Let me just say, the place I live in now IS NOT Hawaii, despite what they say. You know what I mean. I really love spam, the variety found in Hawaii that is. Did you watch Lilo and Stitch with your daughter, I think the movie truely comes alive when you have had a taste of the local culture. The Disney team really paid it justice with the movie.

I for one know that several of the beachside hotels have wireless access, so you could'a snuck in a few posts! LOL. Darn it Ken, now I miss Hawaii tooooooo!!

Aloha. It's good to be back though I must admit I really, really miss Hawaii! I was actually planning to do some blogging from there and possibly organize a meet up in Honolulu, but in the end I decided not to (read: my wife decided not to). Anyone been to Hawaii? Anyone live there? It's a truly amazing place.

Rich, I'm sure we'll get the chance to meet at some point, and yes, I did get the little bottle of Bailey's. Consumed it long ago but still rememebr it.

And for the record we did record a bunch of shows in advance.

I love UNO, ´cause most of the time I win. :-]

Well, some people do get bored with Uno....dunno why... not me of course! But I guess some think (such as many of my friends unfortunately) Uno has no strategy, even when playing speed Uno....grrr (I say Uno has lots of strategy, as I even have methods of keeping enough of every color in my hand, knowing what others got and don't got, etc.) So Skippo has more strategy number building, and since you can play in partners (but can't table talk) you really start seeing how stupid you partner is :-P So, how long did it take Jenny to remember to say "Uno!" when she only had one card left? It takes most of my Chinese friends quite a few games before they stop forgetting.... wheeee!

Oops, Rich, sorry I forgot to reply to your questions! a) Yes, he got it. I think he was busy at the time, so he didn't properly thank you. I'll have Amber scold him for you when he gets back from vacation. b) Yes! Jenny loves Uno! c) Actually not yet (who needs Skippo when you have Uno???), but we will! Thanks again!

they killed kenny, you pigs... Oh wrong programm...ähm...I don´t watch southpark that often normaly... ;-)

KennyK,

Oh! Er... my mistake?

excuter,

Rich got it. We plan ahead!

i miss you too john, but what is everybody talking about??? I am not on vacation... i didn't go anywhere... ;)

I am guessing that they pre-recorded a lot of them (haven't noticed a drop in # of Newbie (just hit #200!) or Elementary. So I am guessing while Jenny and others must have been busy as hell before he left, right now I am guessing it's a little more laid back?

did you prerecord some lessons or do we only get lessons above elementary ´till he´s back?

Speaking of which:

a) Did Ken ever get my little bottle of Irish cream I brought for him? Never heard about that.

b) Have you taught Jenny Uno yet John? We're going to have a speed Uno competition next time I come!

c) And did you figure out the Skippo game? Play it with many in teams.... that's the funnest!

Ken who? ;)

(still bummed I didn't get to met him in May.... oh someday I hope....

oh oh, is "bummed" in Chinese also 很屁？ha ha, j/k)

art,

You got it! When the big cat's away, the mice will insert 屁 into as many lessons as they can get away with! MUAHAHA!

Ken's on vacation? Is that how you, Connie and Amber got away with the 放屁 examples for 不 and 没有?

Sure we noticed, but I think the crew's doing a standup job too!

Not sure where in the world Ken might be that he couldn't log into Cpod mobile and check in...but maybe it's gooood to be offline a while. :)

I did notice, but I also knew he was going on vacation, so I didn't panic too badly. :-)