User Comments - bababardwan

Posted on: About Face! A Multi-faceted Look at 面子

jes13,

I know what you mean.It's one of the greatest books ever written of course,and when you've finished it you must watch the 1995 tv miniseries version with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth.While I think Keira Kneightley is a fabulous actress,I don't think the 2005 movie was as good as the TV series.Sorry for the aside folks :)

Posted on: Dog Meat and Animal Rights

paulinurus,

With respect [and I have read many of your posts and do respect them;you're often raising some great points] I would have to disagree with you on a couple of levels.Firstly,to some extent I don't think it matters too much what you are discussing,usually some very useful language comes out and this lesson is no exception.If you just take a look at the vocab tab,so many of the words there are words that I think can be applied in a myriad of situations.In fact I would go so far as to say that the only turn of phrase that is highly specific to this lesson and couldn't be too broadly applied would be:

狗肉滚三滚，神仙站不稳

Furthermore I think that many of the suggestions for other topics have been dealt with extensively in the archive and continue to be addressed.Also,given that this is upper intermediate,I think it is to be expected that more specific topics are being addressed.

I think it is to be borne in mind that people are here to learn for various reasons and I think CPod are doing a great job trying to cater to many different needs and objectives.A huge part of the learning objectives here should be about culture if as Ken has pointed out one is to avoid being a fluent fool.

I think it's fantastic that CPod aren't afraid to tackle the prickly issues.I think the heated debate here is very stimulating on a couple of levels and is testament to the fact that it is an important issue to many no matter what viewpoint you take.Perhaps more important than the debate on whether it is acceptable to eat dog meat or not,is the stimulus to examine one's own attitudes to other cultures,in this case China's.Personally,having grown up in Western society and having had pet dogs from childhood,my initial reaction is that it is distasteful to eat dogs.And in response to reigau's question:

"why we westerners think dogs and cats deserve a special 'uneatable' status"

...I would think it has more to do with the fact that dogs and cats have usually/most commonly been our pets ,often times living indoors with us,in some cases even sleeping in the same beds and thus in many cases are seen as one of the family.Many childless couples in fact see a dog as a child substitute.They are also good company for people who live alone.They can also defend us and be good watchdogs.However,I can easily see that this is just the culture I have grown up in and that in another culture it would be difficult to draw a distinction between a dog and a pig for example.I wonder what people starving to death and seeing their kids starve would say about such a debate?

Posted on: Dog Meat and Animal Rights

Changye,

Sorry about the slow response.I've been offline since shortly after posting that video.Here are the last few lines:

Blind guy:"schooner of New thanks"

Barman:"sorry mate;no dogs allowed"

Blind guy:"that's a guide dog mate"

Barman:"guide dog! Guide dog's are either German Shepherds or Labrador's"

Blind guy:"What have they given me?"

Barman:"Give that man a New"

 

Posted on: Dog Meat and Animal Rights

dogs can have better uses at establishments than the dinner plate:

Posted on: St. Patrick's Day

lotsofwordsandnospaces,

Thanks for digging this one out.I had been wondering if they'd do one on St Paddy's day and when there wasn't one I meant to check the archive as I thought there was a good chance there'd be a lesson in there.Really looking forward to doing this lesson.What CPod hasn't done I don't know.Belated Happy St Patricks Day everyone.

Posted on: In a Moment

Posted on: About Face! A Multi-faceted Look at 面子

xemrac,

"while we definitely have to respect other cultural notions as they arise in their contexts, i do think we can get lost in cultural relativism"

I couldn't agree more.After all,what is culture? I think the best definition I can find is:

"the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another."

If I don't understand a culture or an aspect of a culture then I do try to look into it and understand it objectively,putting myself in others shoes so to speak.Of course one is going to be influenced by the culture that one has been brought up in but does this then completely invalidate one's opinion on aspects of another culture? I think not,and to suggest so is somewhat patronising in my opinion.I also believe in being tolerant and understanding of other cultures and for this very reason am probably in fact more tolerant of other cultures perceived shortcomings than aspects of my own culture I wouldn't subscribe to.So if we have inherited our cultures from our ancestors,are we saying that they never made any mistakes,and aspects should go without question? Certainly the fate of our planet depends upon us all having a rethink in many areas.I think culture is the wrapping as Henning has said,and our differences are to be celebrated[yes,otherwise life would be boring and it is one of the major reasons travel is so much fun;by and large other cultures enrich us],but underneath it all we are basically all human and share the same feelings and emotions,joys and pains.I think when it comes to face,one has to be specific as to what one is referring to as the above discussion makes it pretty obvious that there are both good and bad aspects to what is referred to as 面子。

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 1: A New Manager

RJ,

Thanks for that.Yeah I had looked for Wang's office in the sets tab first,but without being thorough,couldn't find it and a search under Wang only brought up a few.Thanks for your advice.I've ended up going through the intermediate list and picking them all out and making up a set.Looking forward to the next episode and thus want to catch up on the old episodes.

Posted on: Airport Announcements

Hey Light,

With 2 days to go till your big trip,I thought this old lesson could be a good one to get your trip off to a good start.

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 1: A New Manager

Just wanting to check if this is the first in the Wang's office series.Does anyone know if there is a lesson set that shows all the lessons in this series and their set order?