User Comments - light487

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Shanghai

I highly dislike the pearls themselves.. just can't stomach the texture of them.. if I was eating them in a soup it would be marginally better but yer.. just don't like cold slimey balls of tapioca.. yuck! :)

The milktea on the other hand.. in all of its wonderful Taiwanese-based flavourings: utterly delightful.. though I am still partial to the Shanghainese versions of all the flavours.. it's just "different" in a buttery kind of way.. perhaps it is the milk-solids they use.. dunno.. but it's awesome :)

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Shanghai

Oooh.. yes.. and the best kind are the ones with the soup 汤 inside with the meat! :)

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Shanghai

My favourite thing in Shanghai to eat/drink was the milktea.. for some reason it is just SOOOO nice and it wasn't the same in the other cities.. it's all sweet and buttery.. mmmm! :)

Other favourites were those little stalls on the side of the road (there's one at 中山公园 地铁站 on the way to ChinesePOD HQ).. the one there sells these minced meat and chinese cabbage wraps.. basically like a chinese version of the kebab I guess.. Mmmm! Very oily, very spicy (if you ask for it) and very tasty!! :)

Yes, the best food is really on the street in most of the cities.. but there are also a bunch of nice (and cheap) restaurants around too.. :)

Posted on: Traveling around China

You left out 最好 ：） such as: 最好听的音乐 or something like that.. 最 is a good word to remember when talking about 觉得 :)

Also, I would have placed 不错 a little higher than 很好 but it's a close call.. I generally use 不错 when something has exceeded my expectations.. I don't know if that is the correct way to use it.. but that's how I use it :) haha..

Posted on: Describing Fear

一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳
yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng

/once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope

/once bitten, twice shy

Posted on: Describing Fear

The fear of heights (or acrophobia) is: 恐高症

恐 kǒng afraid/frightened/to fear/

高 gāo high/tall

症 zhèng disease/illness/

Posted on: Describing Fear

In the dialog you used 出去 but I have been using 出发 and 去发 (maybe this last one is not actually correct).. Can you please explain the differences in the usage of these "out" words?

Posted on: Why are You Studying Chinese?

@911026xx:

You should try to visit: www.englishpod.com for English training.

Posted on: Talking about Talking in Chinese

Hrmm.. I didn't know 拔.. I was taught to use 拉下 (pull down.. like a roller door) and 推上 (push up) by my friends.. is this wrong then? :)

Posted on: Giving up a Seat on the Bus

It may feel odd from a westerner point of view.. but it's a different culture in China. When you start to use these words, that have a local feel and extra meanings to them that don't translate well into other languages/cultures, the people you are talking to really do appreciate it. Since my friends who I see every day (they own the coffee shop I buy from on the way to work) are from Shanghai, I greet and say goodbye to them in Shanghainese rather than Mandarin, and I try to learn a little Shanghainese as well.

It's all about bringing yourself to the table and it's the other person's table rather than your own.. they have there own "rules" and "etiquette" at their table that may not be the same as your table. So using 爷爷 is important because it draws you closer to them and they to you. It's akin to the difference between addressing a catholic priest (as per movies as I am not catholic myself) compared to a wealthy business man, as compared to a male farmer. If you think about it, even though they all men and most likely in their 30's or 40's, you do treat them and talk to them differently.