Monday, November 28th, 2011
At first, I thought it said, “No Black People Allowed”… but then I figured it out. What do you think it means?
Category China, Chinese, Chinese Caption Contest, Culture, Language, Tongue-In-Cheek | Tags:
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Posterous.
Monday, November 29th, 2010
So I was out with my Chinese tutor last week. We were having a great time learning about comparisons and weather patterns, etc. But then in the middle of the lesson, she said something that I didn’t understand at all. Not. A. Word. I kept asking her to repeat it more slowly, again, and again. But I just couldn’t get it… twas seemingly hopeless! And very frustrating.
It’s easy to get arrogant when learning a new language and I tend to celebrate at every small accomplishment. But on the flipside, it’s also easy to get quite frustrated when you don’t understand the simplest thing. Oh well.
On this occasion, with a smile on my face, I voiced my frustration to my tutor: “Why is it taking so dang long to learn this dang language!?”
Also with a smile, she answered by teaching me a Chinese proverb. Here is that proverb…
“Impatience Spoils The Results”
Once upon a time, an old farmer planted a plot of rice. Everyday he went to the field to watch the seedlings grow. He saw the young shoots break through the soil and grow taller each day. But still, he thought they were growing too slowly.
He got impatient with the young plants. “How could the plants grow faster?” He tossed in bed during the night and could not sleep. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head! His idea could not wait until daybreak. He jumped out of bed and dashed to the field. Under the light of the moon, he began working on the rice seedlings. One by one, he pulled up the young plants by half an inch. When he finished pulling, it was already morning. Straightening his back, he said to himself, “What a wonderful idea! Look, how much taller the plants have grown in one night!” With great satisfaction, he went back home.
In a triumphant tone, he told his son what he had done. His son was shocked! By this time, the sun had risen, and the young man was heart-broken to see all the young plants dying.
People now use “ya miao zhu zhang” to describe the behavior of those who are too eager to get something done, only to make it worse.
Time to give my Chinese tutor a raise.
揠苗助长
古时候宋国有个农夫，种了稻苗后，便希望能早早收成。
每天他到稻田时，发觉那些稻苗长得非常慢。他等得不耐烦，心想：“怎么样才能使稻苗长得高，长很快呢？” 想了又想，他终了想到一个“最佳方法”，就是将稻苗拨高几分。
经过一番辛劳后，他满意地扛锄头回家休息。然后回去对家里的人表白：“今天可把我累坏了，我帮助庄稼苗长高一大截！”
他儿子赶快跑到地里去一看，禾苗全都枯死了。
人们现在用拔苗助长形容急于求成，违法客观规律，只会把事情办坏。
Category China, Chinese, Culture, Language | Tags:
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Posterous.
Friday, April 2nd, 2010
This one even has some English and I have no clue what it could mean…
Two questions:
Where can I get one!?
Where can I get another one?
Category China, Chinese, Chinese Caption Contest, General, Language, Tongue-In-Cheek | Tags:
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Posterous.
Monday, January 25th, 2010
“Global warming: destroying penguins’ earth-shaped umbrellas for centuries…”
What do YOU think it means?
Category China, Chinese, Chinese Caption Contest, General, Language, Tongue-In-Cheek | Tags:
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Posterous.
Sunday, December 13th, 2009
This is another obvious one… “Don’t kick ugly dogs!”
What do YOU think it means?
Category China, Chinese, Chinese Caption Contest, Culture, Language, Photos, Tongue-In-Cheek | Tags:
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Posterous.
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
I think it says, “Look! … up in the sky! … it’s a bird! No. … a plane! No. … It’s Supertrainattendants!”
What do YOU think it says?
Category China, Chinese, Chinese Caption Contest, Culture, Language, Photos, Tongue-In-Cheek | Tags:
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Posterous.
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
This one’s obvious… “Short people should not jump over tall fences.”
What do YOU think?
Category China, Chinese, Chinese Caption Contest, Culture, Language, Photos, Tongue-In-Cheek | Tags:
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Posterous.
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
I think it says, “When God calls, you’d better step on it.”
What do YOU think?
Category China, Chinese, Chinese Caption Contest, Culture, Language, Photos, Tongue-In-Cheek | Tags:
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Posterous.
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Many people have expressed interest in sending me mail while I’m in China, and to say I’d be more than happy to oblige is an understatement. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a letter or care package from a loved-one is worth at least a million and one. BUT, sending mail to China isn’t always easy. It’ll take some work (Aside: Doesn’t all snail mail take a little work these days, though?). And that’s why I’d be all the more appreciative when I receive things, from the smallest postcard to the largest box of heavy books.
I do have some minimal advice:
FedEx and UPS charge random extra fees for sending things to China. The US Postal Service does not, making it a bit cheaper.
Postcards from exotic American tourist traps are one of my favorite things in the world.*
If you live by a Chinatown, there are usually small shops that sell books and magazines that also offer cheap overseas shipping services.
It’s always lighter to use a padded envelope rather than a box.
I miss the Sunday morning comic strips in English.*
Packages under 4 pounds cost exponentially less than packages over 4 pounds. I speak from experience.
To send a package, you’ll have to fill out a customs declaration form, so don’t include any you-know-what.
The only LEGO I brought with me is a branded photo album from my aunt.*
If you’re sending a postcard or a letter, you just need the first part of the following address. If you’re sending a package, it’s probably best to put both the pinyin (Roman characters) and the Chinese characters on the outside. Just in case.
Make sure “CHINA” is always on top in big letters, so at least it gets to the right country.
My refrigerator is completely void of awkward magnets.*
Check that I’ll be in the country in the next month after you send it… the post office here only keeps packages for 30 days until they’ll send it back.
And FYI, nothing is ever 100% guaranteed to get to me. This is also spoken from experience. Please don’t give up, though! Maybe start small?
My current mailing address (last updated March 2011):
CHINA
Tianjin, Hedong District
No. 63 Chenglin Road
Tianjin Polytechnic University
International Office – Daniel Konold
300160
中国天津市河东区成林道63号天津工业大学国际办公室-康丹300160
*hint hint
Category China, Chinese, General, Travel | Tags:
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Posterous.
Monday, October 26th, 2009
I’ve been in China for two weeks now! I figure it’s as good a time as ever to start learning the language. In fact, learning Chinese is my number one priority for this year and it’s already been going swell! My little city is a perfect place to hear the common dialect spoken through most of China, making it the perfect place to study. Sorry, did I say little city? I meant my city of 13 million. (For a little perspective, that’s 5 million more than NYC, America’s largest city. ‘Just sayin…) But Tianjin is only the 4th or 6th largest city in the country, with Beijing and Shanghai taking the cake as the big dogs. To paint the picture, there are literally people everywhere at all times of the day. A simple street-crossing turns into an unbeatable Frogger level. A simple bus ride becomes an awkward adventure to get the last remaining seat. A simple trip to the supermarket turns into a war zone with your grocery carts as the weapons.
Personally, I love it. There’s always someone to practice language with! The first few days here have been full of meeting people and stumbling through what I’ve remembered of spoken Chinese. But I’ve met many people who speak English as well. They’re always willing to help me out and welcome me to their grand city.
One bit of humorous information that an English-speaking friend offered was, “I love it here in Tianjin… because it’s pronounced, ‘tea and gin,’ two of my favorite things!” I thought that was quite clever, actually, and have been using it ever since. There’s hope; this language thing can’t be too bad after all.
In this image, we see the two characters that make up Tianjin. They’re very distinctive and should be easy to spot when you’re gallivanting around the city. Specifically, the characters are “tian” and “jin”. “Tian” is one I remembered from my studies because it’s used in many of the words I’ve learned so far, like days, times of day, weather, etc. By itself, it means “heaven” or “the concept of heaven” described by Confucius. And I’ve since learned that “jin” stands for all sorts of things as well. As a verb, it could mean “to cross over water” or “to ferry”, and as a noun, it’s a common family name. Together, the two characters make up Tianjin, my beautiful city’s name. It’s literally translated, “The Heavenly Ford,” and rightfully so, because it’s where hundreds of years ago the Emperor (who’s considered very heavenly) forded the Hai He River.
Make sense? Two characters down – over 80,000 left to go!
Category China, Chinese, Culture, Language, Travel | Tags:
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Bookmarks, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Posterous.
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS)
danielkonold.com is proudly powered by WordPress.org and
