User Comments - lordstanley
lordstanley
Posted on: The Super Bowl
February 1, 2008 at 6:33 AMThanks Isthatme. And Dragon, I'm not a Lions fan by choice, I was born into it. I'm trying to break that cycle of pain by shielding my 20-month old daughter's eyes when the Lions are on TV ("the following scenes of violence and despair are for masochistic audiences only; parental discretion strongly advised). However, I will urge my daughter to listen closely to any upcoming ChinesePod lessons on the World Series, Stanley Cup or NBA Finals, because if she ends up being a Tigers, Wings and Pistons fan like her daddy she should have many chances to use those batches of vocabulary in the near future.
Posted on: The Super Bowl
January 31, 2008 at 6:21 PMAs a Detroit Lions fan, knowing how to say Super Bowl in Chinese is irrelevant to me. I just need to know how to say "Fire Matt Millen" in Chinese.
Posted on: Attending a Trade Show
January 25, 2008 at 4:11 AMRun Peter run!
Posted on: Trip to the Chinese Doctor and a Special Guest
January 8, 2008 at 2:58 AMTexans must be too modest, because I believe Orkelm missed a chance for a shameless plug! Since getting turned on to U of Texas-Austin's Cultural Interviews with Chinese-Speaking Professionals about 6 months ago, it has become one of my favorite sites on the Web. Business monologues with audio, characters, Pinyin and English translations are hard to come by online. It is a nice complement to Chinesepod, especially with Chinesepod seemingly de-emphasizing business lessons the past few months (not a knock, just an observation, as Chinesepod is still indispensable). http://www.laits.utexas.edu/orkelm/chinese/prof01.html#
Posted on: Hawaii
December 31, 2007 at 6:21 AMWhat perfect timing for this lesson, I'm typing this from the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki.
Posted on: Eileen's Big News
November 18, 2007 at 1:31 AMNudity in a gym, spa or pool environment isn't a big deal to me (I'm Canadian but of European descent and have spent tons of time living and working in Europe), whether mixed or same-sex, but the big culture shock to me in China was the lack of personal space during what normally would be more private activities. For example, being taken to a spa in Wuhan and having not one but 3 locker room attendants there wishing to collectively hang up your shirt, step you out of your pants, untie your shoes, etc. Then young men on staff trying to jump into the shower stall with you to help scrub you down. Yikes. Finally, when I came out of the shower, there was a big chief sprawled out naked on a table with about 5 spa employees - all male, all nude - massaging, drying, and scraping him from head to toe. This was a "legit" spa and hetero all the way (the chief would be getting massaged by a pretty masseuse within 15 minutes) , but man, I felt like I had stepped into a scene from Caligula. I think it's a combination of lack of personal space, high population leading to no obvious privacy, a defined hierarchy in the workplace, and plentiful cheap labour that needs to be employed.
Posted on: Nakedness and Thieves
November 18, 2007 at 1:31 AMNudity in a gym, spa or pool environment isn't a big deal to me (I'm Canadian but of European descent and have spent tons of time living and working in Europe), whether mixed or same-sex, but the big culture shock to me in China was the lack of personal space during what normally would be more private activities. For example, being taken to a spa in Wuhan and having not one but 3 locker room attendants there wishing to collectively hang up your shirt, step you out of your pants, untie your shoes, etc. Then young men on staff trying to jump into the shower stall with you to help scrub you down. Yikes. Finally, when I came out of the shower, there was a big chief sprawled out naked on a table with about 5 spa employees - all male, all nude - massaging, drying, and scraping him from head to toe. This was a "legit" spa and hetero all the way (the chief would be getting massaged by a pretty masseuse within 15 minutes) , but man, I felt like I had stepped into a scene from Caligula. I think it's a combination of lack of personal space, high population leading to no obvious privacy, a defined hierarchy in the workplace, and plentiful cheap labour that needs to be employed.
Posted on: Massage and Renting an Apartment
October 28, 2007 at 2:39 AMAnyone know if there's a Chinese term for the technique that we call in English walking on the back? Before I had it for the first time, I assumed that the weight would be distributed so I would barely feel it, almost like carrying a backpack. Wrong! I felt every stride as the rather tiny masseuse hung onto the bars from the ceiling and walked, tapdanced, jogged and even took running starts onto my back. I felt like a human treadmill being jumped on over and over by someone with the strength of a rugged ice hockey defenseman. Not enjoyable at all during the treatment, still not certain that there were any post-treatment benefits from it that lingered.
Posted on: Pumpkin Food
October 28, 2007 at 2:23 AMRich, my wife from Taiwan says that in Taiwan they say simply 万圣节 , even though that literally that refers to our Nov. 1 rather than Oct 31. Then there's our Nov. 2, All-Souls' Day, which not here in Canada or the U.S. but in countries like Poland serve as what I believe would be the equivalent of China's 清明节Qīngmíngjié (Tomb Sweeping Day).
Posted on: Baseball
March 24, 2008 at 4:19 PMHoward, no, baseball is not a local game, its a widespread sport. Several thousands of people, most of whom speak Mandarin, gather in city squares in Taiwan for important games involving the national team. #1 team sport in Japan and Taiwan, #2 in South Korea (arguably #1 there until the 2002 FIFA World Cup), #1 in the U.S., #3 in Canada, #2 in Mexico, #2 in Colombia, and #1team sport in several Latin American places like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama. 30% of players in Major League Baseball are from outside the U.S.