User Comments - pearltowerpete

Posted on: Transliteration into Chinese and the Long Pinky Fingernail

Great idea, chiongzibide. I just asked a few Chinese colleagues about the baby-tooth custom. Very interesting indeed!

Posted on: Good Morning!

Hi nickle57

Great to see you around here. We're looking forward to helping you learn useful Chinese.

Your first question is tough to answer. It depends on how much time you're willing/able to spend each day on studying Chinese. I have known people who got surprisingly fluent in less than six months (and many who couldn't say "hello" after years living here). If you make full use of the resources here and make time to study a bit every day, you may surprise yourself at how fast you learn.

Your second question is easier to answer. Our lessons are written by Chinese people from all over this country. Especially at the lower difficulty levels, they are written with a particular eye toward daily life and useful phrases. And our philosophy is to make learning fun with lively dialogues (I speak from experience that these are more colorful than any textbook I've used) and multiple teaching formats (podcasts, videos, PDF transcripts, etc.).

So on behalf of the CPod team let me welcome you aboard. I look forward to seeing you around on the forums.

Posted on: Trip to the Vegetable Market

Hi chanelle77

No difference, both 番茄 and 西红柿 refer to that great fruit, the tomato. 番 means "foreign" and 西 refers to the West. So the two words are just different ways of describing a fruit not native to China in Chinese terms-- "foreign eggplant" and "western persimmon."

Posted on: Reading Faces and Shanghai Architecture

Hi daphnedawn

I did visit Xiamen with a good friend from the area. I was very impressed with the university campus, and plan to run in the Xiamen marathon.

Posted on: Lesson Preview, New Team Member

Hi illyria1013,

Thanks for the welcome wishes. The poddie community is what makes CPod special. See you around the forums!

Posted on: Reading Faces and Shanghai Architecture

Hi qingdaossadventuresdotcom

I was also impressed with Qingdao's architecture during a too-short visit there on National Day in 2005. I remember being struck by the colonial governor's mansion (as well as a fantastic meal of oysters and beer. Can't remember what brand it was, though ;-)

As for other cities with good colonial architecture, I'd check out Xiamen in Fujian Province 福建厦门 and of course CPod headquarters, Shanghai! (Although we've lost a lot in the last few years, and what's preserved is sometimes very gentrified and tacky, there are plenty of treasures for those who don't mind looking).

Posted on: Buying on Taobao

Hi changye,

听起来东京的书籍文化他妈的不错， 真让人佩服。 也许西方最优秀的二手书店都在英国牛津吧，英国人跟日本人一样很讲究文学。A population that loves reading is a treasure to cherish.

Posted on: Buying on Taobao

Hi sido,

你太不像话了！拿我当试验品 means

You're too much, using me as a guinea pig! (i.e. someone to experiment on).

太不象话 basically shows outrage or disbelief. Sometimes it is used seriously, but often, like here, it is a bit jokey.

Please note that 当　is a 多音字 duo1yin1zi4 meaning that it can be read in different tones with different meanings. Here we want the fourth tone, for the sense of "to treat as."

Great question, keep asking.

Posted on: Fat Camp

Hi karenhaast,

I'm always reluctant to attribute the body difference to differences in digestive systems. After all, second-generation Asian-Americans, for example, can be as chubby as their caucasian peers. And China is rapidly closing the fat gap, at least in the urbanized east.

I'm more inclined to cite things like using chopsticks to take as much food as you require, which helps slow the pace of eating. And vegetables are still a bigger part of the diet here (certainly compared with "meat, potatoes and a side dish.")

But I want to reinforce the fact that as the industrialized food chain that makes corn syrup an essential part of every meal becomes globalized, we are seeing a steady increase in obesity even among Asians.

Posted on: Buying on Taobao

hi changye,

我基本上同意， 国内的书店服务水平并不到位。但我们上海有一家很不错的二手书店，我在复旦念书的时候去过n次。

其实，谈到这个话题我有些想家的。 美国的大部分小城市至少会有一家很不错的二手书店。 虽然我在网上买过很多书但我总是特别喜欢看一下实体店，闻闻旧书的脆弱页面，跟老板聊聊天。

日本的二手书店如何？ 去过吗？ 据说东南亚到处都有，但我没亲眼看过。