Posted on: What do Foreigners Like?

@chanelle77

i may be able to shed some light on your question of why certain things are grouped in a city...

I have worked for architects and have done extensive research on this topic. The reason certain parts of a city are grouped together are because of zoning laws. These are created and implemented by each city to bring order to development. A major city like Shanghai or Beijing would definetly have them. Zoning laws govern how a city will be developed, specifically what you can and cant build in certain areas of a city. Some areas are reserved for residential use while others are for commerical/industrial uses. This is also done for safety reasons to prevent exposure to potentially toxic materials etc...

Posted on: Guilin Mifen

加油加油！我也很喜欢啊！

I also liked the choice of music...Lust for Life by Iggy Pop. Very hip indeed.

I plan on being in SF chinatown this weekend and definetly will be stealing a menu or two...hopefully i dont get yelled at or chased down the street by a little chinese guy with a meat cleaver...will let you know how it goes...ha ha.

Posted on: Toilet Types

嘿嘿大家好！

i just remembered that i asked Amber about this exact topic before my trip last year...you can find the episode here:

Dear Amber - The Non-Chinese Speaking Tourist and Toilets

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/the-non-chinese-speaking-tourist-and-toilets/discussion

yep, i found the toilet situation to be pretty interesting...ecspecially on the train from 上海 to 北京...wow! As i recall, the toilets simply emptied out onto the tracks below!!

Posted on: Video Series Just Around the Corner!

@marcod

是呀！ 我很激动啊！

love the trailer...again you guys make learning this stuff alot of fun! It seems that the video will contain useful everyday Chinese which is great.

I cant wait to see the video...

Posted on: 金字塔销售

i'm only 32 years of age i am american i do want to learn at an advanced level on chinesepod!!!!

I LOVE CHINESEPOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on: Can You Use Chopsticks?

hey mudpud, i will take a shot at this...here is my rough translation. Usually sounds something like this when i order...

小姐or服务员

xiaojie or fuwuyuan. miss or waiter

您有筷子吗？

nin you kuaizi ma? you have chopsticks?

多少？

duoshao? how many?

一个

yi ge. one pair (usually accompanied by raising up a hand and holding up that many fingers and smiling)

Posted on: Can You Use Chopsticks?

嘿嘿大家！我常常用筷子！

Posted on: Grass 草

@thenorthface

thanks again for correcting me mate!

(whoa i think i've been reading too many of Baba's posts, ha ha)

Posted on: Grass 草

太棒了！！

its about time we hear Jenny recite a beautiful poem!

听很好啊！

Posted on: Train to Beijing

question about this lesson...

1. what is the deal with the "的“after 特快 and 直达?? why is it there exactly?

2. ”后面“ 什么意思？

谢谢大家。