User Comments - DaveCragin

Posted on: You Smell Terrible!

Mark - Thanks, I wondered about this too.

Posted on: An Insider's Insights into Chinese Tourism

Perfect timing on this lesson.  I'm in the midst of planning a trip to Shanghai with my family. 

Posted on: Addressing Women

It seems like there are  lots of different opinions on this. 

In Shanghai, a friend called a woman in a bakery xiǎo gūniang 小姑娘.  I  asked her about this and she said it is fun.   Elsewhere, I've heard 小姑娘.  Later I asked 2 younger friends and they laughed and said "never say 小姑娘. "

Posted on: Changing Subway Lines

If you visit Shanghai, don't hesitate to use the subway (except at rush hour).  It's one of the easiest in the world to use.  All you really need to know is your destination and how to press the "English" icon on the ticket kiosks.  The hardest part I've found is figuring out the right exit to use.    

In the subway, all the signs and announcements are in English & Chinese (and the announcements are more clear than on many US subways).  If you go the wrong direction on a US subway, to reverse direction you may need to go up & down a few flights of stairs and down a hallway.  In contrast, in Shanghai you just walk across the platform.  

The subway also provides lots of opportunity for practice.  On a recent trip when it was crowded, a woman accidently bumped me several times.  I said "hén dōu rén."  With a gasp, she said "ní huì shuō zhōngwén?????"  Until she reached her stop, I had a great language partner.  It's the perfect situation – neither of us had anything else to do but figure out what we could talk about" (and – of course – CP gave me the language skills to have fun with the situation).  

Finally, for those with an environmental bent, you can't beat public transport (except walking – Shanghai is very walkable as well).

Posted on: Birthday on the Lunar Calendar

Great timing on this lesson.  Last year, my student host at Peking Univ. was from Xīnjiāng (新疆).  I had asked her "What's your birthday?" and she said "It's complicated, I was born using the lunar calendar."  I knew little about the lunar calendar, so I couldn't say much.      

I'll see her again in March and this lesson will give me something to discuss with her.  

I am curious to know what she does with official documents (i.e., what would she put on her passport?  can she backtrack to identify the Western date?). 

Posted on: Taking the Plunge into Intermediate

Another good way to increase comprehension skills for US-based CPers is to watch Chinese movies w/English subtitles. It's fun, engaging, and gives a window into the culture. Also, seeing how the language is translated into subtitles itself is an education.

E.g., In a movie, a teenage boy said to a girl "Wǒ xǐhuan nī" which I would have thought meant "I like you," but the subtitle translated it as "I love you." I asked Chinese friends and they all said "I never say wǒ ài nī." Later, I read the book "Dreaming in Mandarin" and the author had a whole chapter on ài & how it can differ from the American view of "love."

I started movies when I was an early Ele (but I had also completed Pimsleur Mandarin 1-3). For my 1st movie, I understood maybe 1 in 50 words (!), but it slowly got better. Since I'm not in China, movies were a key supplement to CP's lessons in helping me move into the Intermediate level.

Posted on: Taking the Plunge into Intermediate

To Robert Dennis's original question, i.e., should you continue to Intermediate despite that you don't live in China - I would say "absolutely."

I'm in the same situation as Robert - I live in the US.   It's taken years, but having Chinese skills have opened up really neat & unexpected opportunities. 

The most notable was that I was asked to teach yearly at Peking Univ (and I've done so for 3 yrs).  Even though I teach in English, Chinese language skills were crucial in opening up the opportunity.  Also, being able to give an introduction in Chinese works like magic in establishing a rapport with students.  I never would have imagined a hobby of learning Chinese would give me an opportunity to teach in China, let alone at PKU (北京大学).  Chinesepod obviously helped this happen, so I'm a big fan of theirs.     

The great thing about moving to Intermediate is that the lesson discussions are >50% in Chinese, so your verbal comprehension skills will progress much more rapidly than on Ele/Newbie discussions, which are virtually all in English.  (this said, I still listen to Ele's to help build vocabulary). 

Another good thing about Intermediate is that you get to hear much much more of Jenny's & Dilu's Mandarin (Like everyone, I really enjoy listening to them, particularly when they speak Chinese <g>).   

So my recommendation is to continue on....and good things are likely to happen.  I'm a strong believer in "luck is when opportunity meets preparation." 

Posted on: Thanksgiving Turkey

In contrast to European languages, English differentiates the prepared meat from the animal (Beef/cow, pork/pig, venison/deer) primarily because of the French-speaking Norman conquest of England in 1066.

The prepared meat is usually the French word (or old Fr word) for the animal. The aristocracy spoke French, while the peasants spoke a Germanic tongue. As the languages mixed, the Fr word used for animal became associated with the prepared meat. (beef = buef - Old Fr for cow). [similarly, polite words in English are often Fr origin, whereas the everyday word is Germanic. A women isn't "small" but "petite" (Fr for small)].

(I think this is a fascinating piece of history).

Posted on: I don't smoke

If you look back to the beginnings of the antismoking movement in the US, it happened very slowly. After US Surgeon General declared smoking carcinogenic in 1960, it took about 15 yrs for the main medical association to accept the link. Some of the classic studies of smoking in the 1950s were of British doctors.

It took decades for the US to fully implement antismoking efforts, i.e., it's hard to believe we used to allow smoking on airplanes. Now non-smokers have the upperhand in the US (but not so in many European countries whose smoking rates compare to those in China). Hopefully the antismoking movement will grow more quickly in China than it did in the US.

Posted on: I don't smoke

About 65% of Chinese men smoke (whereas only 3-13% of Chinese women do).  It poses one of the most serious health risks for China's future.  Even at it's worst level, the maximum in the US was ~45% of men and it has been declining since the 1970s. 

One interesting cultural aspect is that colleagues have said many Chinese begin smoking AFTER they begin working - for social reasons.  In contrast in the US, workers who smoke may be looked down-on, particularly in office settings.  Virtually all US smokers begin before the age of 20 and it now occurs primarily in non-college educated folks. 

China can be very good about causing mass changes in society.  Hopefully, they will do so with smoking.  Their new laws against smoking are a 1st step. 

This lesson will give me some useful words for when I teach about health risks at Peking Univ.  Hence, it's good even for us non-smokers.