Today, I was reading a report in Chinese. And when my colleagues saw me, all I got was looks surprise.
In the morning, my South-East Asian colleague stopped by my desk and dropped a 100% surprised “You’re reading in Chinese?” comment. Then, my Chinese colleague came by and her “You’re reading in Chinese” comment had a bit of contempt in her tone, as if to mean “Why on earth would you be reading Chinese?” Finally, a foreign colleague came by. (Yes, I was still not done with my report :) ) Her “You’re reading in Chinese?” sounded more as a sign of bewilderment, and a bit of guilt, as she followed by saying, “I have not brushed up my Chinese in a while”.
I am always a bit of a shock that people would be surprised that I read Chinese. I am a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese language and literature. I have spent 4 years in university studying Chinese language, both written and oral, and countless numbers of hours reading books, articles, magazines, writing papers and expressing my thoughts in the language. I have written for college competitions articles in Chinese too. Anyone undergoing such a study for a degree would have to learn fully to read, write and speak the language. It’s actually just like any other language.
Would you ever ask an Italian language major: You’re reading in Italian? Or French? Or English? When you learn a foreign language, do you only learn the spoken word, and not the letters? So why should it be different with Chinese language? Only because it takes a bit more efforts to study the characters and practice? If you were only to learn to speak a language, you would be half literate, right?
I still need a bit more time than a Chinese native to go through an article, but any Chinese language major would not let himself or herself give up if faced with a Chinese report. After all, language is a tool, a tool to communicate and learn about the country and its customs. So I hope next time you meet a Chinese literary major of foreign nationality, do not ask them to explain why they are reading in Chinese. On the contrary, ask them how they are progressing, what they have read in Chinese recently, or, better yet, give them a language challenge so that they can hone their skills! :) No true language major would refuse nor would they have it any other way. :)
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
New kind of retail therapy in Beijing- Shin Kong Place
Long anticipated Hua Mao Shopping Center finally opened in Beijing! I visited it this Saturday, and because I liked it so much, went back on Sunday again. It does not look anything like the malls in Beijing, but very much resembles Hong Kong and Singapore's shopping malls, even the name is very "foreign"-- Shin Kong Place (mandarin pinyin: xinguang tiandi).
The first thing that strikes you as you enter is the interesting design. It's clean and simple, with lots of interior art, such as a waterfall expanding 2 floors and one section decorated with hanging red flowers, so it looks like a red ceiling. The ground floor has the usual brand names in make-up and luxury goods (Coach, Fendi, Prada, Givenchy--- and a huge counter for Bobbi Brown), but the second floor has quite a lot of surprises, and brands that are not otherwise available in Beijing: Jil Sander, Bang & Olufsen, The Bridge, and a cool shop for shirts with a super cool shop window - Thomas Pink. All along the shopping mall, there are nice coffee shops in open places, so I tried a coffee at Ciao Cafe and did some people watching.
5th floor mainly features home collections and stuff for bathrooms and kitchen, as well as fine porcelain pieces. That's were we had the most fun and spent a bit too. I got lost in Alessi, with cute (but very overpriced!) pieces that make you laugh in the kitchen, and then walked over to a store with imported Italian goods, such as fingerprint-free cans, espresso machines, olive oil. They had a live cooking demo and kindly offered to show how to make espresso in those small tins. I had before burnt myself on one of those, and even now remember such excruciating pain, so kept away from the pot-monster, but tried the coffee that they made. Right after, we got offered another espresso at the counter next door, this one made in an automatic coffee machine. By now, already hyper from all the coffee, I just walked by Nespresso shop though really wanted to try one of their blends too. The shop had their new ad playing with George Clooney and a tall, dark, handsome Italian staff who really looks like he belongs in an Italian coffee shop. :)
Bathroom stuff was also completely overpriced, but guess they can charge premium rates as no other shop in Beijing has such a selection. Bjorn bough some stuff at Natural Mill, a store with lovely cream colors and good quality.
Top floor features restaurants such as Ding Tai Fung and Bellagio, set to open for May holidays. So we ended up going to the food court at B1, for Bread Talk snack.
Anyway, the Natural Mill stuff arrives today, and I have a feeling we'll be dreaming Shin Kong dreams in our new, natural, covers! Looking forward to it!
The first thing that strikes you as you enter is the interesting design. It's clean and simple, with lots of interior art, such as a waterfall expanding 2 floors and one section decorated with hanging red flowers, so it looks like a red ceiling. The ground floor has the usual brand names in make-up and luxury goods (Coach, Fendi, Prada, Givenchy--- and a huge counter for Bobbi Brown), but the second floor has quite a lot of surprises, and brands that are not otherwise available in Beijing: Jil Sander, Bang & Olufsen, The Bridge, and a cool shop for shirts with a super cool shop window - Thomas Pink. All along the shopping mall, there are nice coffee shops in open places, so I tried a coffee at Ciao Cafe and did some people watching.
5th floor mainly features home collections and stuff for bathrooms and kitchen, as well as fine porcelain pieces. That's were we had the most fun and spent a bit too. I got lost in Alessi, with cute (but very overpriced!) pieces that make you laugh in the kitchen, and then walked over to a store with imported Italian goods, such as fingerprint-free cans, espresso machines, olive oil. They had a live cooking demo and kindly offered to show how to make espresso in those small tins. I had before burnt myself on one of those, and even now remember such excruciating pain, so kept away from the pot-monster, but tried the coffee that they made. Right after, we got offered another espresso at the counter next door, this one made in an automatic coffee machine. By now, already hyper from all the coffee, I just walked by Nespresso shop though really wanted to try one of their blends too. The shop had their new ad playing with George Clooney and a tall, dark, handsome Italian staff who really looks like he belongs in an Italian coffee shop. :)
Bathroom stuff was also completely overpriced, but guess they can charge premium rates as no other shop in Beijing has such a selection. Bjorn bough some stuff at Natural Mill, a store with lovely cream colors and good quality.
Top floor features restaurants such as Ding Tai Fung and Bellagio, set to open for May holidays. So we ended up going to the food court at B1, for Bread Talk snack.
Anyway, the Natural Mill stuff arrives today, and I have a feeling we'll be dreaming Shin Kong dreams in our new, natural, covers! Looking forward to it!
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