:: LEG OF LAMB ::
Today, a dean from another local college took me out for lunch, We went to a great Xinjiang restaurant here in Hangzhou. I have been there a few times before and always enjoyed the meal. They serve the best fire-roasted leg of lamb I've ever had in China.
This time, the restaurant provided me with their English menu so I had a look at some of the other stuff they had while we were waiting for the leg of lamb (it takes about 30 minutes to prepare). I whipped out a pen and jotted down some of the memorable menu items for your culinary pleasure (all translations and spelling come straight from their menu):
Grilled Camel Meat
Bloat in Oil Horse Flesh
Fried Mutton Knuckles with Brown Sauce (Yes, I guess it's true. The Chinese WILL eat EVERY part of the animal, even the knuckles!)
Fried Black Lamb Lung (I just wanted to ask them "Where do you find sheep who smoke?")
Lotus Stew Silkey Fowl Soup (I'm assuming that it's made with some kind of bird and not a misspelling of "foul".)
Devil Edible Grass-Stems (Huh?)
Stewed Turtle with Young Pigeon (Actually, you can see many stewed turtles with young pigeons on their arms at the WaHaHa Disco on any Saturday night in Hanghzou).
Makes your mouth water, right?
2002/12/29
2002/12/09
:: HANGZHOU NEWSLETTER ::
The principal of the newly-built Hangzhou International School has decided to publish a monthly newsletter for foreigners living in Hangzhou. (The Hangzhou International School is an adjunct of the new No. 2 Middle School in Xiaoshan, just across the river from Hangzhou proper.) Here's the November issue which was forwarded to me by a friend. It's got a lot of useful information if you are new to the Hangzhou area.
The principal of the newly-built Hangzhou International School has decided to publish a monthly newsletter for foreigners living in Hangzhou. (The Hangzhou International School is an adjunct of the new No. 2 Middle School in Xiaoshan, just across the river from Hangzhou proper.) Here's the November issue which was forwarded to me by a friend. It's got a lot of useful information if you are new to the Hangzhou area.
:: 1-2-3-4-5 ::
Saturday morning, I was having an early lunch with a former student of mine, Janet (front row, center), who is in her first year of teaching computer science at a Hangzhou high school. We talked about a variety of issues she faced as a first year teacher from the sublime (gifts from students on Teachers' Day) to the profane (students playing computer games during her lab rather than doing the assigned exercises.
On the latter subject, she told me a story which is quite funny. Buit it's also useful informaton for anyone living in Hangzhou AND it kind of takes the wind out of the sails of those westerners (usually Americans) who claim the Chinese people have no say in their government affairs. Anyway, the story:
The Mayor of Hangzhou established a telephone and e-mail Hotline for the city residents last year. I knew about it from seeing a couple of articles in the Zhejiang English News over the past year. But in each of the articles, such "unimportant" details as the actual phone number and actual e-mail address weren't in the articles. (There is a decided lack of attention to important details that permeates nearly everything in China - but that's another story for another time.)
So while Janet is talking about her occassional "naughty" student, I ask her how she handles it if she finds a student playing computer games rather than focusing on the lesson. Does she send him out of the classroom?
No, she tells me, she has been warned by her school not to use such a tactic. Why? Well, it seems that there has been a recent rash of "situations" in some schools (not hers) where students have been sent out of the classroom. Most Chinese students in Hangzhou these days have cell phones, even in the high schools. So the first thing students have been doing lately when they get sent out of the classroom is...you guessed it! They pull out their cell phone and call the Mayor's Hotline and complain that their teacher is prohibiting them from attending the class. According to Janet, the Hotline people take this pretty seriously and they usually dispatch someone to the school immediately! Although in five years in China, I have only had to throw two students out of the classroom, I'm going to remember this new piece of advice.
Janet told me another story about the Hotline. A new restaurant opened on the first floor of her parents' apartment house and the smoke from the restaurant was wafting up into their apartment. So Janet's mom called the Hotline to complain. Within two weeks, the restaurant was shuttered.
How's that for quick action! In Hangzhou, at least, the Mayor DOES listen to the people.
Oh...and that number, in case you need it? Just dial 1-2-3-4-5. There's a bank of phones and Janet thinks that at least one or two people on the phone bank can probably speak some English.
So the next time some vendor is cheating you or a taxi driver tries to take you the long way or you see something you think needs fixing here in Hangzhou, just pick up the phone and dial 12345 and let the Mayor know. And the next time someone who has never set foot in China complains that the people here have no say in their civic affairs or that their voices are suppressed, point them to this story.
Saturday morning, I was having an early lunch with a former student of mine, Janet (front row, center), who is in her first year of teaching computer science at a Hangzhou high school. We talked about a variety of issues she faced as a first year teacher from the sublime (gifts from students on Teachers' Day) to the profane (students playing computer games during her lab rather than doing the assigned exercises.
On the latter subject, she told me a story which is quite funny. Buit it's also useful informaton for anyone living in Hangzhou AND it kind of takes the wind out of the sails of those westerners (usually Americans) who claim the Chinese people have no say in their government affairs. Anyway, the story:
The Mayor of Hangzhou established a telephone and e-mail Hotline for the city residents last year. I knew about it from seeing a couple of articles in the Zhejiang English News over the past year. But in each of the articles, such "unimportant" details as the actual phone number and actual e-mail address weren't in the articles. (There is a decided lack of attention to important details that permeates nearly everything in China - but that's another story for another time.)
So while Janet is talking about her occassional "naughty" student, I ask her how she handles it if she finds a student playing computer games rather than focusing on the lesson. Does she send him out of the classroom?
No, she tells me, she has been warned by her school not to use such a tactic. Why? Well, it seems that there has been a recent rash of "situations" in some schools (not hers) where students have been sent out of the classroom. Most Chinese students in Hangzhou these days have cell phones, even in the high schools. So the first thing students have been doing lately when they get sent out of the classroom is...you guessed it! They pull out their cell phone and call the Mayor's Hotline and complain that their teacher is prohibiting them from attending the class. According to Janet, the Hotline people take this pretty seriously and they usually dispatch someone to the school immediately! Although in five years in China, I have only had to throw two students out of the classroom, I'm going to remember this new piece of advice.
Janet told me another story about the Hotline. A new restaurant opened on the first floor of her parents' apartment house and the smoke from the restaurant was wafting up into their apartment. So Janet's mom called the Hotline to complain. Within two weeks, the restaurant was shuttered.
How's that for quick action! In Hangzhou, at least, the Mayor DOES listen to the people.
Oh...and that number, in case you need it? Just dial 1-2-3-4-5. There's a bank of phones and Janet thinks that at least one or two people on the phone bank can probably speak some English.
So the next time some vendor is cheating you or a taxi driver tries to take you the long way or you see something you think needs fixing here in Hangzhou, just pick up the phone and dial 12345 and let the Mayor know. And the next time someone who has never set foot in China complains that the people here have no say in their civic affairs or that their voices are suppressed, point them to this story.
2002/12/04
:: MIAO MIAO'S THESIS ::
A while back, I solicited your help for one of my old students who is completing her Masters thesis in Linguistics. I got some replies and forwarded them to her. Tonight she sent me a draft of the body of her thesis. It's heavy reading, but if you sort through it, she makes some interesting points. Anyway, I am posting it here by way of thanks to those who responded as well as FYI to anyone else interested. (The document is in Word format.)
A while back, I solicited your help for one of my old students who is completing her Masters thesis in Linguistics. I got some replies and forwarded them to her. Tonight she sent me a draft of the body of her thesis. It's heavy reading, but if you sort through it, she makes some interesting points. Anyway, I am posting it here by way of thanks to those who responded as well as FYI to anyone else interested. (The document is in Word format.)
2002/12/02
:: 20,000 HITS ::
Wow, I just happened to stop by my main website just now and noticed that the counter was at 19,997. Three more hits and Chuck@China will reach the double ten thousand mark. That's an auspicious occasion in China. You may all send me "hong bao" which I will happily share with the 20,000th visitor.
Wow, I just happened to stop by my main website just now and noticed that the counter was at 19,997. Three more hits and Chuck@China will reach the double ten thousand mark. That's an auspicious occasion in China. You may all send me "hong bao" which I will happily share with the 20,000th visitor.
2002/12/01
:: USING YOUR HEAD ::
I don't see nearly as many beggars on the streets of China as I did on the streets and in the parks of the U.S. One thing about the people in China, they will do almost anything to earn a kuai. Here's a recent article from the Zhejiang English News:
Man Has a Head for Advertising
A man with an advertisement painted on his clean-shaven pate has been getting noticed in the busy streets of Hangzhou, reports Jiangnan Daily. Xu Bin asks clients for 200 to 300 yuan (US$24-36) a day to walk around with their advertisement on his head. He started the business at the beginning of the month, saying that the oddity makes people look carefully at the ad. So far, the innovative 31-year-old from Tiantai, Zhejiang, has advertised two businesses on his head. (11/28/2002)
Sinosplice has a picture of the guy. I'm not sure, but I think the Chinese characters are translated as "Your Ad Here".
I don't see nearly as many beggars on the streets of China as I did on the streets and in the parks of the U.S. One thing about the people in China, they will do almost anything to earn a kuai. Here's a recent article from the Zhejiang English News:
Man Has a Head for Advertising
A man with an advertisement painted on his clean-shaven pate has been getting noticed in the busy streets of Hangzhou, reports Jiangnan Daily. Xu Bin asks clients for 200 to 300 yuan (US$24-36) a day to walk around with their advertisement on his head. He started the business at the beginning of the month, saying that the oddity makes people look carefully at the ad. So far, the innovative 31-year-old from Tiantai, Zhejiang, has advertised two businesses on his head. (11/28/2002)
Sinosplice has a picture of the guy. I'm not sure, but I think the Chinese characters are translated as "Your Ad Here".
:: PANDAMATCH.COM ::
Pandas need love too, you know:
BEIJING (Reuters) - International panda experts have designed computer software to help the charismatic and endangered bears find their ideal mates, a newspaper reported on Monday.
The software, developed by experts at a meeting in China, would analyze the health and bloodlines of each panda in captivity to find the best match while avoiding close relatives, the Star Daily said.
Read more here....
Pandas need love too, you know:
BEIJING (Reuters) - International panda experts have designed computer software to help the charismatic and endangered bears find their ideal mates, a newspaper reported on Monday.
The software, developed by experts at a meeting in China, would analyze the health and bloodlines of each panda in captivity to find the best match while avoiding close relatives, the Star Daily said.
Read more here....
:: IN A WORD, SAN GE DAI BIAO ::
The 16th Party Congress has concluded and one of its main results was the enshrinement of Jiang Zemin's "San Ge Dai Biao" Theory -"The Three Represents" is the official English translation - in the Chinese Constitution. Nobody quite understands it, but here's an English translation I ran across (sorry, I lost the cite where I found it):
"Reviewing the course of struggle and the basic experience over the past 80 years and looking ahead to the arduous tasks and bright future in the new century, our Party should continue to stand in the forefront of the times and lead the people in marching toward victory. In a word, the Party must always represent the requirements of the development of China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of the development of China's advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in China."
The translator was certainly not one of my former students. Notice the last sentence which (s)he begins with "In a word..." and then goes on to use 37 more words to make the point! Chinese-English teachers teach their students in high school that this use of "in a word" is a good model for concluding an article or essay...so I get hundreds of essays about 90% of which conclude with "In a word".
I now tell my students that if they use such an ending in their papers, I will take off one point for each additional word they add. In this case, the translator gets a score of 64 (-36) simply based on that last sentence.
In short, attempting to describe The Three Represents with a single word is, in a word, impossible.
The 16th Party Congress has concluded and one of its main results was the enshrinement of Jiang Zemin's "San Ge Dai Biao" Theory -"The Three Represents" is the official English translation - in the Chinese Constitution. Nobody quite understands it, but here's an English translation I ran across (sorry, I lost the cite where I found it):
"Reviewing the course of struggle and the basic experience over the past 80 years and looking ahead to the arduous tasks and bright future in the new century, our Party should continue to stand in the forefront of the times and lead the people in marching toward victory. In a word, the Party must always represent the requirements of the development of China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of the development of China's advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in China."
The translator was certainly not one of my former students. Notice the last sentence which (s)he begins with "In a word..." and then goes on to use 37 more words to make the point! Chinese-English teachers teach their students in high school that this use of "in a word" is a good model for concluding an article or essay...so I get hundreds of essays about 90% of which conclude with "In a word".
I now tell my students that if they use such an ending in their papers, I will take off one point for each additional word they add. In this case, the translator gets a score of 64 (-36) simply based on that last sentence.
In short, attempting to describe The Three Represents with a single word is, in a word, impossible.
:: SOMETHING YOU WON'T FIND ON A CHINESE CAMPUS ::
I often get this question from my students: "How are your American college students different from your Chinese college students". The next time I get this question, I'll point them here (the aftermath of Ohio State's victory over Michigan).
I often get this question from my students: "How are your American college students different from your Chinese college students". The next time I get this question, I'll point them here (the aftermath of Ohio State's victory over Michigan).
:: MORE BLOGS ::
I have added some new China-related blog links to the left side of your screen including the three blogs I wrote about in my last two entries. Also, if you are jonesing for even more China blogs, check out the almost-definitive China Blog List at John's Sinosplice.
I have added some new China-related blog links to the left side of your screen including the three blogs I wrote about in my last two entries. Also, if you are jonesing for even more China blogs, check out the almost-definitive China Blog List at John's Sinosplice.
:: WESTERN MEDIA ON CHINA ::
I came across a very interesting blog recently: "Western Media on China".
Having lived in China for 4.5 years, I often find myself reading western news articles about China and scratching my head and wondering which China they are writing about - certainly not the one that I am living in. There is a small but perceptible anti-China slant in many articles written by western journalists. "Western Media on China" is a Chinese Journalist's perspective on how western journalists cover China. It's a fresh viewpoint on China-related news that many westerners don't get a chance to see or hear. Add it to your "Must Surf" list today.
(Related note: A couple of years ago, a professor from Yale got in touch with me through my main website. She was teaching a journalism class and they were studying this very issue. She was looking for some feedback on whether a "foreigner" who is actually on the ground in China perceives a negative slant to some western articles. I lost touch with her but I think I'll dig out her e-mail address and try to find out the denouement of her students' project.)
I came across a very interesting blog recently: "Western Media on China".
Having lived in China for 4.5 years, I often find myself reading western news articles about China and scratching my head and wondering which China they are writing about - certainly not the one that I am living in. There is a small but perceptible anti-China slant in many articles written by western journalists. "Western Media on China" is a Chinese Journalist's perspective on how western journalists cover China. It's a fresh viewpoint on China-related news that many westerners don't get a chance to see or hear. Add it to your "Must Surf" list today.
(Related note: A couple of years ago, a professor from Yale got in touch with me through my main website. She was teaching a journalism class and they were studying this very issue. She was looking for some feedback on whether a "foreigner" who is actually on the ground in China perceives a negative slant to some western articles. I lost touch with her but I think I'll dig out her e-mail address and try to find out the denouement of her students' project.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)