User Comments - zhenlijiang
zhenlijiang
Posted on: Summer at ChinesePod
June 28, 2009 at 5:28 PMHm, I think we fill the stereotype very nicely by being loathe to vocalize any preferences we may have because in our anxious little minds that could put the nice people at CPod out--in other words we're easily-satisfied customers (as long as the quality stays top-notch!).
Sorry other Japanese poddies for presuming to speak for all.
Before the stereotype is complete, who do we count on to ask for more raunchy content?
Oh and I would like for levels/days NOT to be random.
Posted on: 跳莎莎舞
June 26, 2009 at 4:51 PMkimiik, actually, in English (and Japanese) it's only a dance move.
changye, just now read your story from a year ago re your high school days--haha very Japanese (I totally get it of course. but I suspect there'll be a generation gap)!
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei
June 23, 2009 at 3:32 PMsuccessful use of "Hun" or "Honey" depends a lot on the skill of the user
Exactly, exactly. Replace "Hun" "Honey" with any other colloquialisms you like. Whether or not a word is proper to use, and whether you yourself can pull it off or should even try, are two separate points to consider before you speak. I consider many English slang terms off-limits for myself because using them makes me feel like an imposter.
Posted on: 无性婚姻
June 23, 2009 at 3:14 PMChangye, actually people do from time to time (complain about too many posts in English).
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei
June 22, 2009 at 4:56 PMJust one more thing--again, this is not in 东北 but in SH, a couple of (likely not local) guys lost and wanting to ask the way somewhere, referred to me amongst themselves as that "小姐 over there" loud enough that I would surely hear. I could tell it was said like we would say in English--not in whispers because we aren't being rude--"Let's ask that (young) lady, she might know".
RJ, there are female dudes now--? When did this happen?
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei
June 21, 2009 at 1:59 PMChanelle, that's right of course, in Paris even in my twenties (and still looking younger than most Europeans my age) I was addressed not as mademoiselle but madame, as is proper and polite. In Chinese, as Raygo says, it's normal to be addressed even if you're not a "Miss" any more, as surname + 小姐. I suppose it's like saying "Ms. ~"?
Among my young teachers, some call us simply by our surnames (no honorifics), some use surname + 同学, and some say surname + 先生 / 小姐. I always had the feeling those teachers personally considered 先生 / 小姐 the most respectful way to call us as long as they were teaching in Japan and we students were all 10-30+ years their senior.
This of course is separate from the question of whether or not calling restaurant servers 小姐 is better avoided. I agree with everyone who says your manner and attitude make all the difference, and would add too that for those of us who are obviously not locals, and whose Chinese is not at all good--that it is better to err on the side of politeness.
Bodawei--apologies for "dude". That silly reference to Aerosmith just slipped in probably because I was thinking recently about gender identity and mixups ...
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei
June 21, 2009 at 10:01 AMAnd if it's a dude and he don't look like a lady--?
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei
June 21, 2009 at 9:17 AMA tutor from HK with extensive experience traveling all over the mainland on business (I think in her early 40s?) would fill me in on cultural things and errors to avoid when I visited China. She emphasized to me that 小姐 could and should be avoided. She would tell me, just use 服务员. I'm an East Asian foreigner in China, female, middle-aging (ok no use fudging here--middle-aged.) but people tend to think I'm younger than my actual age so I always need to keep that in mind too. If I were in some real family-run, neighborhood eatery and a server girl was so obviously young-looking, like 16 or so then I could call her 小妹 and it would be appropriate, she told me. This HK lady always errs on the side of a lot of caution, and she just wanted to make sure I wouldn't find myself in any trouble. And things she considers not appropriate are just that--things she doesn't consider appropriate. I'm not contradicting what others have already said about avoiding 小姐 or not--just sharing this to add to the perspective.
I was having lunch in the so-so nice upstairs area of a 小吃 place in SH. At a table in the back was a group of 3-4 local businessmen-like middle-aged men. A group of college-age rich kids (boys and girls), maybe from Singapore? I thought enjoying a vacation in SH, came in and were seated in the private room. The girl serving us was young, likely not a local, about 17 or so. When the middle-aged guys wanted her attention they called for 小姐, when the rich kids wanted to order more food they called for 服务员, as I did to ask for my check. Nobody missed a beat. The middle-aged guys did not come across as disrespectful, but they appeared to take the girl's service more for granted. The kids, only a few years older than the server herself, for all their subtle snotiness sounded respectful, polite.
Observing this first-hand was valuable. If I went not just to the northeast but anywhere else in China I would try to see what others were doing, to get a sense of what's appropriate for how I would be perceived.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hangzhou
June 28, 2009 at 6:05 PMHi Carlos
Connie's posted the saying ↑. Likening the beauty of Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth to heaven above.
For "my favorite movie", no de after wǒ:
我最喜欢的电影 wǒ zuì xǐhuan de diànyǐng
我最爱的电影 wǒ zuì ài de diànyǐng