User Comments - auntie68
auntie68
Posted on: Paris
April 29, 2008 at 5:15 AMThank you for this lesson, CPOD! Paris is my favourite city on this planet. I love the homes of Parisians which are in "Haussmann" buildings, the fact that the Metro stops are so amazingly close to each other, the way Parisians are so warm and courteous towards anybody who speaks a bit of French, browsing for English books (oops) in Galignani and imagining the days when the Galignani Messenger was being published regularly, the way Frenchmen who work at Quai d'Orsay are all so brainy and look so spiffy, the shiny silver helmets of the handsome firemen (which I saw rising past my hotel window when my hotel caught fire), attending Mass at the church of St Thomas d'Aquin in the rue Montalembert, browsing for old-fashioned children's toys at "Au Nain Bleu", the fact that Parisians actually give decent street directions when you are lost, and of course -- the fine dining! The only thing about Paris which makes me nervous is the elegantly-dressed fierce Parisian 太太's (tai-tais -- respectable ladies) who come from nowhere and mug me for my taxi the moment one pulls up to the kerb for me, with a rough "Pardon!" . The deadliest ones are those with a grumpy little dog.
Posted on: Don't do that!
April 27, 2008 at 12:30 PMbie2
Posted on: Overseas Chinese
April 27, 2008 at 12:27 PMP/s: It's great to know that the names 金山 (jin1shan1; "gold mountains") literally refers to gold mining!
Posted on: Overseas Chinese
April 27, 2008 at 12:26 PMThanks, changye. This Sunday's race is underway; I must be really CPOD-addicted to be posting (even if one of my eyes is on the TV screen). Guess the question of Chinese identity is very complex and deep. My Kiyo-class Amah/ Ayah in my avatar speaks only Cantonese, and she refers to Chinese people as "torng3 yunn3" (tones in hanyu pinyin). One Cantonese expression which means "to return to China to grow old and die" ("make aliyah to China" !!! ;-)) is "faan1 tong3 saan1" = "return to tang shan" ? I'm sure there's something behind this.
Posted on: Roommates and What Chinese Think of Foreigners
April 27, 2008 at 11:58 AMHi chillosk. I think you've got a point there. It's not only a question of a culture of "female demurity', there may be another side to this, which is the culture of Chinese people living with their parents until they get married. If "Western"-style dating requires taking the initiative, this kind of initiative is not exactly fostered by the culture of living with Mum and Dad. I know of at least Chinese Singaporean married couple who moved back in with his parents a few months after the wedding, even though they already had their own, fully furnished apartment. I am Peranakan (like a mestiza), not a true Chinese, so this really shocked me. I've had my own place for five years, and before that I was sharing a flat with my younger brother (we were both late 20s, early 30s, working adults). Just some food for thought...
Posted on: Overseas Chinese
April 27, 2008 at 9:47 AMThanks, colinwlhuang, for answering my questions!
Posted on: Overseas Chinese
April 27, 2008 at 8:58 AMThanks, Jenny, for correcting me. Oops. So I'm not a 华侨, I'm a 华人! After I'm a sixth generation Singaporean (if you count the years before Independence when Singapore was part of a country named Malaya, which split into two separate countries -- Singapore and Malaysia -- in the 1960s...) On my side of the family, the Stunt Toddler is the seventh generation to be born here. Is there anybody out there who can help me to understand what exactly 南洋 and 金山 refer to when you are speaking of overseas Chinese? Another thing is: Older overseas Chinese in my country often refer to China as 唐山 (in dialect) if I'm not mistaken. And on top of that, I've heard of some towns in Canton and Amoy being referred to in dialect as 侨乡, meaning places which contributed many people to the diaspora. Sorry to ask so many questions! Thank you so much for your help, anybody.
Posted on: Overseas Chinese
April 27, 2008 at 3:36 AMHi changye. If the book you're referring to is the "Encyclopaedia of Overseas Chinese", the second half of the book seems to have a section for every place on this planet bigger than a breakfast tray, including places which aren't known for their Chinese populations -- Eg. Surinam, Italy, India. I have the feeling that they would cover Chinese Koreans. Not being able to listen to music is the hardest thing. Hopefully, my baby brother instincts are correct and repairing my Mac will be a question of removing a burnt-out circuit that powers on the computer, and snapping in a new one. Good luck with your PC!
Posted on: Overseas Chinese
April 27, 2008 at 3:02 AMHi hitokiri, I'm not surprised that Jose Rizal's "Chinese connection" is not well-known. According to the author, Lynn Pan, your national hero's devotion to the Katipunan principles -- and his European education -- made him see himself as an "indio puro". Such that when he was already on death row, he argued with the Spanish authorities over changing his race on the execution paperwork to "indio puro". And yes, there is some interesting stuff on Henry Sy and the Gokongweis.
Posted on: 撒娇
April 29, 2008 at 7:15 AMFor the benefit of anybody out there who is more comfortable with Malay than with Mandarin: I believe that 撒娇 is an incredibly close match to "manja" !