User Comments - bababardwan

Posted on: Hanoi

Hey chipmunkgeek,

I just noticed when I rolled my mouse over your characters in your last post above ,that it gave the translation for each.It doesn't do that on anyone else's characters as far as I can see.How did you do that ? Very cool..

Posted on: New Lessons, Video, and Groups

Very exciting developments.Can't wait for them.I had to laugh at the thought of the upcoming newbie lesson about seeing an argument in the street.Don't get me wrong;nothing grabs attention like an argument in a public place and the need to know what's going on.I look forward to this lesson.But the thought of perhaps having to be a witness in court if things got nasty ,and my interpretation of what was said and trying to communicate this !lol. .Fortunately there would probably always be plenty of other more reliable witnesses.Also excited about the video lessons as the vegie market is just so everyday.Just went and bought a better mp3 ,just so I can watch these video lessons on the move too.Good to hear that different things will be tried with the video format;the more variety the better .The ones so far have been great ,but live conversations would be great too.I've noticed some have requested some quite specific lingo for there area of expertise/interest,and think the groups sound like a great solution to this.

Posted on: The Pretty Podcast

Piaoliang lesson !! So relevent.It's great to not only have the meanings of the words but a discussion on when it's appropriate to use.Otherwise one can find oneself the subject of good humour.I was interested in the derivation of Meiguo for America,being the same Mei ,but not referring to beautiful.Is this another example of transliteration?

wjefferys ,I loved your story ,esp. about winning brownie points with customs.

Posted on: #44

Being new to CPod,this is the first time I had gone on Movie Madness and loved it .I had never seen this film but loved hearing the drama in Mandarin.So I just went out and hired the DVD.Pretty cool getting to the climactic scene having heard it in Mandarin first.It's great to have both the original and dubbed versions together and compare them.Sounds even better in Mandarin though.While it's going to be fun going through the archives of old MM's,I would also love if MM returned so I could enjoy the challenge of solving the Movie fresh.Awesome idea,and great hearing it in Mandarin.Is there any chance Movie Madness will come back? Either way,you guys are great...

Posted on: Hanoi

As a newbie,I'd just like to say that all the resources you offer on the website make it possible to take on these more challenging lessons ,which otherwise would have been in the too hard basket.It gives one reason to be optimistic....

I also love that your lessons are all so relevent ,and are like a slice of everyday life.

Happy Birthday Chinese Pod ,and keep up the good work.

Posted on: At the Hair Salon

Well done CPod .It looked very professional ,like a commercial or mini documentary.Amber looked a natural in the role [done modelling/acting before ?].I particularly liked that she seemed to be enjoying herself which made it very entertaining and a feel good atmosphere.I not only thought Amber looked a bit Chinese ,but wondered whether she may actually have some partial ancestry as I believe a lot of Chinese emigrated to Canada [esp. Vancouver ].Or maybe when you've been somewhere for a while you just start to blend in more.When in Rome...

I was satisfied with the labelling as I'm not sure how easy it would be to improve in this format.I think it's great to have the pdf just so there is no uncertainty ,and having referred to that ,will have no problem on reviewing the video.

Mostly I just want to say a big Thankyou CPod for listening.I can't believe it was only yesterday that this exact sort of thing was requested ,and you have delivered perfectly.Loved it.Great job !

Posted on: Chinese Birthdays and Local Hospitals

Happy Birthday Dear Amber.Great show.

Henning.I just want clarification of your comment about "think the site is blocked on the mainland anyway".Are you saying you can't access Chinese Pod in mainland China?? Or are you just referring to this discussion part of the website? I may have completely misunderstood you here ,but this comment surprised me.

Posted on: Afraid of Dogs

Jenny,

Xiexie ni for your informative reply.Very aptly named ;crazy dog disease ,and thus should be easy to remember.Thanks also for your cultural insights re eating dog.I'm always interested in both traditional Chinese beliefs and the modern Chinese outlook/attitude.

Thanks also to Changye.Previously I only knew of gou3 for dog,but gathered from what Jenny wrote that quan3 is an alternative word.Your expansion of this was helpful.

Posted on: Pretty Clothes

G'day Amber and thankyou.

Thankyou Auntie.Great tip.I've not ventured to Intermediate level before ,but followed your advice and listened to "It's over [Again]".Just by listening ,even though I could only pick up on bits and pieces of the dialogue,I had a pretty good idea when a question was being posed by the tone.Very interesting and insightful excercise.Great choice of lesson too;loved the emotion and know what you mean by "sharper".I loved the Diary series ,and the emotion/drama/tone in the final episode where Wang Wei has been rejected and cries out weishenme,weishenme .Of course "weishenme" is a question word in it's own right ,and also the "shen" syllable is 2nd tone .Xiexie ni Auntie

Posted on: Afraid of Dogs

What about the fear of rabies? Would it be possible to get some vocabulary on how to ask a doctor for rabies shots?

How widespread is eating dogs in China? Is it more common in the South ? Is it declared on the menu ,and if so,do they use the word gou 狗 ,or do they have another word for it [like venison for deer in English ]?

I was interested in the differences in  onomatopoeia around the world for the dog bark and wondered if there was a difference in the predominence of breeds in different parts of the world that was having an influence.Was there a predominent breed in China historically? I mean the bark of a small dog is quite different to a large dog.