Pleasanty Surprise of Groping

For those who travel to China the first time, it’s almost certain that they will experience some surprises—pleasantly or otherwise. One of the often mentioned surprises is how commercialized the major cities have become: the shiny skyscrapers, the crowded shopping centers, the jammed but hairsplitting traffic, and the ubiquitous advertising billboard.

Wondering in the Pudong district in Shanghai, a foreign tourist might easily get a false impression of walking down the Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Until he pays attention to the billboard like this one:











Okay, it can’t be Chicago. Even Playboy wouldn’t be caught to put out the billboard ads with a tagline like that. If they did, the surprise could be at least very unpleasant, if not completely disastrous.

So, it’s China, still. Anything goes in modern China? True. But before you tempt to taste the pleasantry of groping, be alert with the notorious Chinglish. The literal translation of that tagline is close to “Find something new and be pleasantly surprised.”

Pleasantly surprised, huh? Even without groping.

(Photo source: New York Times, April 17, 2007)

Straight Answer From Daily English Show

In my last posting, I said I had no clue what "nappy-headed hos" means. And I couldn't find a plain explanation anywhere even after Googling it hard. No more. I got the straight answer from Sarah, who's the producer and host of her Daily English Show. A lesson for me: always ask an English teacher first. Here is how she explains it:



Having followed Sarah's Daily show for a while, I'm amazed by her energy to produce the show everyday. Does she sleep? Does she have a clone? Plus, she's so at ease in front of camera that I thought her best career path might be in Hollywood. Hey, if Nicole Kidman can hit big with an Australian accent, why can't someone with a New Zealander accent?

My Problem with Don Imus

Don Imus, an influential radio host, lost his job last week. His crime? Racial slur he said on the air about the athletes of the New Jersey's woman basketball team during the WNBA final. Many people really had problem with his words. And the wave of the outrage from all corners out powered the wave of Imus's radio shock. In a short succession, it brought him down, despite he couldn't apologize enough for what he said.

Here is my problem with Imus: I had no clue whatsoever he's talking about. When the news first broke out, I browsed YouTube and found the video clip that caught him saying "nappy-headed hos". I watched the clip ten times and was still clueless. Then I did a search on those words on Google. It came back empty handed--none turned out in the search results could explain what the words mean, a rare performance of Google that must make Microsoft happy.

After reading articles on newspapers, I still couldn't get a straight answer from those reporters, who might be too concerned with political correctness to tell it in a plain word. I only got a hint that it's the language that the rappers sing often.

Do I need to listen to Snoop Dogg in order to understand what Imus said?

In Her Own Words: From the Author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

I wrote about the book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Here you can hear the words directly from the author, Prof. Dweck of Stanford University.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

After a long dormant winter in Michigan, I was delighted to see a refreshing spring shower last night.

My favorite weather is rain. Not just any kind of rain. I used to love thunderstorms on Shanghai’s steamy summer afternoons. Rain pounded heavily on the windows. Huge tree trunks bent at the force of the gusty wind. The heat vaporized in an instant. Sometimes the rumbling thunders were so close as if it would split the top of our roof. But I was never shaken by them. Curled up on a bamboo chair, I would calmly watch the power of nature in full swing.

Several years later, a friend pointed out to me the only reason I could have enjoyed these thunderstorms is because I wasn’t in the storm.

Now I feel like this is a poignant analogy to what’s happening in today’s world.

Wars, fights, bombs ... became part of our everyday vocabulary, as news breaks out and being syndicated 24 x 7. Situations are being analyzed by commentators, analysts and consultants over and over. But who are these people to judge the wars? They are not part of it. Ask those who are suffering, those who will likely die tomorrow or those who are simply dying inside.

A fellow language learner once expressed hopefulness that learning languages will increase communication and understanding among countries. I would like to believe him and believe language and culture exchanges can make a difference somewhere . Is this only his wishful thinking? Are we too naive?

I am just a casual blogger who is neither interested in history nor politics. But if we human beings ever learn something from history, how come our politics never seem to make sense?

I feel lucky that I will be able to wake up and see May flowers that these April showers will bring. Life is good for me.