My friend and (previously) co-worker Shelley is currently making a long trip through the parts of China he hasn’t seen yet. I’ve posted about Shelley before, because I think he’s a really good guy with a lot of appreciation for Chinese culture as well as an impressive level of Chinese attained in only two years, and with no formal classes. Anyway, Shelley recently sent out an e-mail about his experiences and reactions to Xishuang Banna in Yunnan province. I’m …
28
Apr
2004
2004
Back Online
Sinosplice was down for about 3 days, but it’s all been sorted out. I had renewed for another year with my host (Webmasters.com), but what I didn’t know was that after the first year, the domain name registration is not included. So my domain name registration had expired and had to be renewed. That’s done now.
A big thanks to my dad, for taking care of all that. More news soon.…
23
Apr
2004
2004
Cartoon Voice Debut
I mentioned recently that I’ve done the voice of an animated pig for a series of short educational cartoons at my company. Well, the first cartoon is done, and online already. If you’re interested, go to the …
21
Apr
2004
2004
When Culture Lets Go
Living in China has been sort of an “out of culture experience.” We have left our cultural bodies back home to float over here for a look. The result is that not only do we gain an outsider’s perspective on what’s going on in China, but we can view much more objectively what’s going on back home, and how we’re enveloped in it.
19
Apr
2004
2004
When Humor Runs Aground
I used to think that sarcasm was unknown in China. For a long time, my every attempt at it in Chinese would fail miserably, and it wasn’t due to grammar or pronunciation. Later I learned that “sarcasm” and “satire” are both translated as one Chinese word — fengci — in most dictionaries. Say what?
18
Apr
2004
2004
Couldn't Resist…
For all I know, this has been floating around for years already, but I just got it via e-mail (thanks Penny!). Not obscene.
I briefly pondered over whether I should be disturbed or just amused. I went with the latter reaction.
(NOTE: For more similar juvenile humor that’s almost obscene but not quite, check this out too.)…
14
Apr
2004
2004
Not just singing and dancing
They’ve been keeping me busy with lots of different tasks at work lately. I once complained that foreign teachers in China are expected to play the role of “singing dancing game-playing clown entertainers.” Working in Shanghai was supposed to get me out of that role and into more serious work where I could use Chinese. Ironically, while it has succeeded in that respect, it has also simultaneously brought me closer than ever to the “singing dancing game-playing clown entertainer” role.…
13
Apr
2004
2004
Jobs in Shanghai
My company is looking to hire a few people for part-time or short-term work, and it has enlisted my aid. I decided to add a new section to my site: Sinosplice Jobs.
08
Apr
2004
2004
EFL for Chinese learners
Today at work I did some research online as part of my task to develop a pronunciation program to benefit the Chinese teachers in my company. I found some good stuff (this page being exactly what I was looking for, though I don’t find it 100% accurate), but perhaps the most interesting was a paper entitled Explicit Instruction in the Communicative Method: Pedagogical Approaches for Successfully Teaching the Sound System of a Second Language by Erika Hoyt.
The paper …
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