我今天要回国。我不知道在家里是否能打中文，也不知道会不会有时间写。但我不会放弃我的blog，只是有一点忙。我只呆两个星期，6月7号回上海。…
25
May
2004
2004
Heading Home (after a year and a half)
Last time I went home was Christmas, 2002. It seems like a really long time ago because, well, it sort of was. For me. And yet at the same time I feel like I’ve got so much going on here in Shanghai that I’m not ready to go back home yet. But I am.
I’m headed home again today in a few more hours. Not sure if I’ll have much time to write during the two weeks that I’m …
23
May
2004
2004
Yangmei are back!
I’m not too keen on some of Asia’s “exotic fruits,” such as durian and lychee. There is one, however, that I love. It’s called yangmei. According to both Wenlin and my big fat awesome New Age Chinese-English Dictionary, the English name is “red bayberry.” Does that help you any? Because it tell me nothing. The New Age dictionary also tells me its scientific name: Myrica rubra. Since most of us aren’t botanists, I better supply …
22
May
2004
2004
The Name Nazi Defied
Some time ago I become known as the “Name Nazi” at ZUCC, the school in Hangzhou where I used to teach. Allow me to explain.
If you know anything at all about teaching in China, you know that Chinese students usually have English names. You also know that the names they choose are often ridiculous, bizarre, and/or funny. A few real-life examples: Fantasy (boy), No-No (girl), Snoopy (girl), Icy Cat (boy), Shiny (girl).
After grinning and bearing it for two …
20
May
2004
2004
Preparing for the Cook
Recently I decided to hire a housecleaning ayi in Shanghai. I used to hire one every two weeks or so in Hangzhou to do a thorough cleaning job of my apartment to supplement my own occasional half-hearted attempts at sanitation. It cost 8 RMB ($1) per hour, and they would usually stay for two or three hours each visit.
I’ve talked to some foreign friends in China before who feel bad about hiring someone to clean up after them in …
18
May
2004
2004
Debating "You're Welcome"
One of the first phrases a student of a foreign language learns is “thank you,” followed closely by “you’re welcome.” Every culture has etiquette, and these two phrases are about as basic as etiquette can get. It’s best to keep things simple for a new learner. One-to-one vocabulary correspondences are easiest to accept for memorization.
When I learned Spanish, it was gracias and de nada. When I learned Japanese it was arigatou gozaimasu and dou …
16
May
2004
2004
Rejected!
I think I’m a really atypical American. I’ve never owned a car. I’ve never used a credit card in my life. I’ve used a debit card with a Mastercard seal on it, and I’ve owned a credit card, but the credit card was eventually cancelled because I never once used it. Well, despite my personal history, I recently applied for a credit card at a major Shanghai bank.
16
May
2004
2004
参考问题
几个月前我新认识了一个美国朋友。他在上海的美国大使馆工作。他的中文挺厉害。他建议我看《参考消息》。这份报纸写的是很多关于国外的事情，可以学很多很有用的词汇。所以我去买了。
我立刻注意到了“参考消息”这四个字的字体。是用繁体字写的，写得挺好看。虽然我认识的繁体字不少，但他写的“考”字我从来没有看到过。一查字典，发现“考”没有繁体字！那么那个字到底是什么？它像一个“了”加一个“攵”。可是好像没有这个字！我问了很多中国人，但他们都不知道为什么“考”是这样写的。有一些还说可能不是“考”这个字，可能是这个字，那个字，等等。但报纸的名字明明是《参考消息》！
最近我终于知道了为什么《参考消息》的“考”是这这样写的。“考”的标准繁体字也是“考”，但还有一个很老的现在很少用的写法。“考”这个字的部首是竖写的，但以前也可以横写。其实是“攷”。左边是巧的右边，右边是改的右边。
汉字真的很复杂！在美国这样的事情是不可思议的，连报纸的名字都不太看得懂！…
14
May
2004
2004
Creeping Japanese
Japanese was my major in college, but I’ve barely used it in these three years (almost four) that I’ve been in China. A testament to the worthlessness of a language degree? Or of any degree? Or have I just chosen a “career path” which renders my major particularly ineffectual?
I remember in my final year at UF I won an award for outstanding Japanese major of the year (I beat out the three other people in my class), and I …
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