User Comments - lunetta
lunetta
Posted on: Do you have...?
April 12, 2008 at 10:38 AMI was only a kid in the eighties so I didn't get to go to China but China sort of came to us instead. My granddad was mainly a dairyfarmer but would sometimes sell livestock as well. This was in rural Denmark in the mid-eighties and we didn't get to see many foreigners in real life so you can imagine the excitement when my brother and I was told that our granddad was going to have a meeting with some Chinese people buying Danish cattle. As I remember it, the delegation consisted of three people, a Chinese man and woman and a Danish interpreter. My brother and I were allowed to play in the living room while the grown-ups were negotiating and of course we went straight for the big bucket of old legos left behind by our uncles. We emptied it with as much noise as possible onto the floor to make ourselves known and the woman couldn't help mentioning that in China we would be considered two very lucky kids to have all those toys to play with. Now, bragging is just not something you do lightly in my family so my grandparents, who were feeling a bit embarrassed by the behaviour of my brother and I, quickly told the woman that we really weren't that lucky, that the toys were old and accumulated through many years etc. It wasn't in any way a serious loaded exchange, I still have a clear picture of how they were all sitting around the dining table smiling and laughing waiting for the interpreter to translate their words, and I think the deal was closed to the satisfaction of everyone. :-)
Posted on: Superstitions and Business Trip Tales
April 11, 2008 at 3:42 PMYeah, I was wondering about that, too. Amber, you mentioned the taxi driver had been gambling all night. How do Chinese people view gambling? It seems to me they really like to do it but, on the other hand, if you only meet the gamblers, it's difficult to know.
Posted on: #44
April 10, 2008 at 6:58 PMThe background music had me confused as well because I didn't remember it. Usually the music is a huge clue for me but this time it almost led me astray until I listened carefully to the dialogue. And as always, Dave's taste is impeccable. :-) I would love to discuss the meaning of this scene more in detail but until the answer has been revealed it's probably better not to...
Posted on: You Must Listen to this Episode - 非...不可 (fēi...bù kě)
March 31, 2008 at 12:18 PMIs this correct? 我听Amber和Clay的玩笑话非笑死了不可！ :-)
Posted on: Knitting a Scarf
March 26, 2008 at 5:16 PMThanks Amber! Next question: If I have to say 要棉的毛线 (yào mián de máoxiàn) to get cotton knitting yarn, what am I going to get if I ask for 棉线 or 丝线？Sewing thread, embroidery floss?
Posted on: Knitting a Scarf
March 25, 2008 at 6:26 PMI've begun to really dive into the knitting vocabulary and now I a question. 毛线 mao2 xian4 means yarn, or literally, knitting wool, but I was wondering how people are using it? Do they tend to use it as a generic word for any kind of knitting yarn no matter what the yarn is actually made from or do they ask specifically for 棉线 mian2 xian4 or 丝线 si1 xian4 when they need those fibers?
Posted on: Knitting a Scarf
March 20, 2008 at 3:15 PMOh, why don't we start a CPod group on Ravelry? I'm Lunetta there as well.
Posted on: Knitting a Scarf
March 20, 2008 at 1:11 PMHere are the links to the personal fix I won on Movie Madness last year. It includes some more knitting-related vocabulary for those interested. http://s3.amazonaws.com/chinesepod/extra/custom_fixes/lunetta01.mp3 http://s3.amazonaws.com/chinesepod/extra/custom_fixes/lunetta02.mp3
Posted on: Where are you going?
March 20, 2008 at 10:35 AMKait, Cpod really should do a lesson on how to "talk like a pirate" in Chinese. Maybe on the international "talk like a pirate" day September 19th. That gives them plenty of time to prepare something. :-)
Posted on: Do you have...?
April 12, 2008 at 11:43 AMAuntie, I'm so happy you have such fond memories of my country. I remember watching the wedding of Alexandra and Joakim in November 1995 when I was still in secondary school. It was all very romantic and everybody was completely taken with Alexandra, not least because she managed to learn to speak Danish almost perfectly in no time at all.