User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: I want coffee!
December 10, 2008 at 11:45 AMHi calkins
"What time is..." is a fine translation of 几点. Asking that way, you would expect a specific time in response, whereas with "when" it might also be possible to get "this morning/afternoon/after lunch" etc. But really, I think they're close enough to be interchangeable.
Posted on: Borrowing Money
December 10, 2008 at 8:04 AMHi uoyevol
I’m certainly not a rich man, but I've never been in debt to anyone.
The only thing I've ever bought that I couldn't immediately pay for was my college education. And for that I got a loan from my old Uncle Sam ;-)
Posted on: I want coffee!
December 10, 2008 at 6:26 AMHi misterjess
Starbucks is 星巴克 xing1ba1ke4.
Hi chanelle77
Oh, OK! I may have to check it out next time I visit the southern capital.
Posted on: At the Hair Salon
December 10, 2008 at 5:47 AMHi patmetheny
That's a really interesting question. There are more black people in Shanghai than in Lanzhou, and I still have never seen a black person getting a haircut here, either. Surely it must happen, but I've never seen it.
Posted on: Borrowing Money
December 10, 2008 at 5:08 AMHi uoyevol
I personally don't lend money, and don't expect others to lend me any. So I don't feel any guilt or dismay :-)
But Jiaojie's point was pretty much the same, that the person being asked will feel embarrassed, as if they are not being a good enough friend.
Posted on: 普通人的慈善
December 10, 2008 at 5:05 AMComment deleted by moderator
Posted on: I want coffee!
December 10, 2008 at 4:06 AMHi chanelle77
Which restaurant are you talking about? I don't remember Skyways having an Italian owner-- but then, I didn't think the coffee there was that amazing...
Hi changye
I'm interested in geology. What better way to study it than to grow some of your own kidney stones? Har har har.
Posted on: 普通人的慈善
December 10, 2008 at 3:23 AMHi leeht
There is no danger that ChinesePod will start preaching the dharma. The topics have always been and always will be based on the poddies' needs and requests.
But there is no denying that Buddhism has had a profound influence on the development of Chinese society and philosophy. In today's largely atheistic and materialistic society it's easy to overlook how important Buddhism was, not long ago.
Just as you can't fully understand the rich American intellectual tradition without knowing about Jonathan Edwards, William Jennings Bryan and Reinhold Niebuhr, your understanding of Chinese philosophy will be incomplete without Guanyin, Xuanzang, and so on.
The vast majority of our lessons are completely non-religious. And when Buddhism or any other philosophy is discussed, it is with the intent of informing and explaining, not of converting.
Posted on: Borrowing Money
December 10, 2008 at 3:12 AMHi changye
That sounds like an excellent idea. It might make a very good Chinese New Year gift for the poddies, don't you think? ;-)
Posted on: Borrowing Money
December 10, 2008 at 11:01 PMHi changye
I agree about the role of inter-friend lending as a way of patching up an inadequate social safety net.
And I'm not judging people for borrowing or lending. Just saying that I've never done it myself.
Hi uoyevol
There's a lot of truth in the saying you mentioned.
Another one, relevant in these crazy economic times: "if someone owes you ten dollars, that's his problem. If someone owes you a million dollars, that's your problem!"