Taiwan Number 1

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Taiwan Number 1

«‹›933 »

BONGHITZ: Jan 1, 1970

What have we become?

# ? Feb 21, 2017 22:29

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 15, 2024 00:09

Xelkelvos: Dec 19, 2012

Magna Kaser posted:

In 2017 this is true, but when handwriting was how you had to get poo poo done simplified characters had a lot more appeal. These days it's not really better or worse and it's all about aesthetics, which is why you still see traditional characters all over the mainland and they have even had talks about bringing them back every now and again.

If you wanna read about some even wackier things than simplification check out Gwoyeu Romatzyh which is from the ROC era and who's designers thought it could potentially even replace characters entirely.

It sorta boggles my mind at how Chinese does have a perfectly serviceable phonetic system by way of Zhuyin (aka Bopomofo) that could be used like Japanese kana, but I've only ever seen it used in elementary school classrooms and electronic inputs. Instead they skip straight to Pinyin which is okay I guess, but still a little odd to me imo.

# ? Feb 21, 2017 22:33

Telsa Cola: Aug 19, 2011; No... this is all wrong... this whole operation has just gone completely sidewaysface

Fleta Mcgurn posted:

My parents live in Barcelona, so I'm hoping to be there, too, but I'd be happy enough elsewhere in the country. I've lived and worked in Spain before and know that it's a lifestyle and place I enjoy (although hopefully I won't be stuck in the deeeeeeep countryside again, unless I'm actually doing arch work [not bloody likely in Spain].)

Off topic but what was/is your focus in arch? Im finishing up my BA and Im always curious what people pick.

# ? Feb 21, 2017 23:04

hakimashou: Jul 15, 2002; Upset Trowel

Xelkelvos posted:

It sorta boggles my mind at how Chinese does have a perfectly serviceable phonetic system by way of Zhuyin (aka Bopomofo) that could be used like Japanese kana, but I've only ever seen it used in elementary school classrooms and electronic inputs. Instead they skip straight to Pinyin which is okay I guess, but still a little odd to me imo.

To be honest English has a perfectly good phonetic system which we also don't use even a little bit at all.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 00:33

Fleta Mcgurn: Oct 5, 2003; Porpoise noise continues.

ladron posted:

for real living and retiring in Barcelona has always been a dream of mine.. if your parents need a phd in multicultural education plz hmu...

Our immigration lawyer is fantastic and only costs 120 Euro for the entire process. I'm very sure he could help you out; PM me if you want his info!

Telsa Cola posted:

Off topic but what was/is your focus in arch? Im finishing up my BA and Im always curious what people pick.

I have an MSc in Osteoarchaeology with a focus on human remains, but can do animals as well (depending on the region.) Animal bone analysis is the only reason I ever make money. If you're based in the USA, I'd say get the hell out before your entire life is spent filling out BIA paperwork swearing to god the pig molar you find is a loving pig and not a people ARGH! *triggered*

Glenn Quebec posted:

Worst part of the year is coming up: I have to play make escort with my Hong Kong counterpart. Once or twice a year she comes to New York for some reason and I'm basically her bitch. I don't know how since we are equivalent to one another but it's just a given because we have to work with each other all the time.

The past three years:

One of my three bosses: "Oh, hey Glenn. Eustace is coming next Thursday. You'll show her around right?" And I say yes because I'm a colossal pussy.

Que receiving an email from her for a one hour meeting everyday while she's in town.

Invariably I have to stay late and chat with her about nothing but it's slightly work related. Without fail on Friday we will get drinks with the team and I'll have to take her to her hotel (because NYC is so confusing and scary) I'll say yes to a few drinks at the hotel bar and she will be on the edge of blacking out before I leave to go home.

Nevermind that she has been to NYC about 5 or 6 times in three years. Everyone expects me to babysit and I cannot unfuck myself out of this short of a role change.

AMA about my annoying HK counterpart.

If you guys are the same, like, rank, can't you tell her to screw off? Nicely?

# ? Feb 22, 2017 01:14

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

Glenn Quebec posted:

Worst part of the year is coming up: I have to play make escort with my Hong Kong counterpart. Once or twice a year she comes to New York for some reason and I'm basically her bitch. I don't know how since we are equivalent to one another but it's just a given because we have to work with each other all the time.

The past three years:

One of my three bosses: "Oh, hey Glenn. Eustace is coming next Thursday. You'll show her around right?" And I say yes because I'm a colossal pussy.

Que receiving an email from her for a one hour meeting everyday while she's in town.

Invariably I have to stay late and chat with her about nothing but it's slightly work related. Without fail on Friday we will get drinks with the team and I'll have to take her to her hotel (because NYC is so confusing and scary) I'll say yes to a few drinks at the hotel bar and she will be on the edge of blacking out before I leave to go home.

Nevermind that she has been to NYC about 5 or 6 times in three years. Everyone expects me to babysit and I cannot unfuck myself out of this short of a role change.

AMA about my annoying HK counterpart.

You need to plunge and post about it.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 01:18

Ailumao: Nov 4, 2004

Xelkelvos posted:

It sorta boggles my mind at how Chinese does have a perfectly serviceable phonetic system by way of Zhuyin (aka Bopomofo) that could be used like Japanese kana, but I've only ever seen it used in elementary school classrooms and electronic inputs. Instead they skip straight to Pinyin which is okay I guess, but still a little odd to me imo.

Zhuyin and Pinyin are basically the exact same thing outside of what glyphs are used. They cover pretty much the same range of sounds, have the same initials and finals, and do it almost in the same way. Pinyin is made up of letters, but really it's made up of a bunch of pre-made initials and finals (ie "zh-" "-uang") which match up to Zhuyin glyphs almost 1:1.

Zhuyin is actually older than Pinyin but never really got popular or saw mass appeal in the Sun Yat-Sen era. It was designed around a lot of other stuff like Gwoyeu and Xinwenz (which had strong KMT and CCP backing respectively in the ROC era) and kinda fell away. It wasn't until the KMT went to Taiwan that it kind of resurfaced and they decided to use it as their pronunciation tool. In the mainland they famously hired Zhou Youguang to make a system which ended up being Pinyin, but Zhou wrote he didn't have to use latin characters as a base and they experimented with a lot of stuff and just landed there.

One big thing you seem to be misinterpreting is that Zhuyin is a Chinese version Japanese kana, when it's more like a Chinese version of the IPA. It's only real use is pronunciation, and it was never designed to be used in the place of characters in any capacity. This is why you only see it in classrooms, input, and dictionaries in Taiwan--because that's it's only purpose.

If Zhuyin could replace characters, then Pinyin could as well since you're really only switching out "ㄅ" for "b", etc... And there are people who say you could use one or the other but it's harder than it seems since there are so many homophones and tones are kinda just jacked on to both systems with markers that are almost an afterthought for most people and blah blah.

There are some things that say people coming from European-language backgrounds learn Chinese better with Zhuyin though since you come in fresh which probably holds some water, but for native Chinese speakers there's not really that big a difference. I've actually read it's the weirdo Yale-Mandarin romanization that leads to the best pronunciation from English speakers, since it was designed specifically for English speakers to learn Mandarin, but forget that one.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 01:23

Ichabod Tane: Oct 30, 2005; A most notable
coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality.

https://youtu.be/_Ojd0BdtMBY?t=4

Fleta Mcgurn posted:

Our immigration lawyer is fantastic and only costs 120 Euro for the entire process. I'm very sure he could help you out; PM me if you want his info!

I have an MSc in Osteoarchaeology with a focus on human remains, but can do animals as well (depending on the region.) Animal bone analysis is the only reason I ever make money. If you're based in the USA, I'd say get the hell out before your entire life is spent filling out BIA paperwork swearing to god the pig molar you find is a loving pig and not a people ARGH! *triggered*

If you guys are the same, like, rank, can't you tell her to screw off? Nicely?

That's what I've been trying to say. I feel like I have been telling her to gently caress off politely.

"Hello Eustace,

How are things in HK? In reference to XYZ could you please take me off of the e-mails? I know that its protocol to include each other on every step of the way to keep up regulations but I would rather be looped in later in the deal when things seem to be coalescing.

Best,

Glenn."

# ? Feb 22, 2017 01:24

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; Can't post for 11 minutes!

Holy poo poo, you bad boy.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 01:27

hakimashou: Jul 15, 2002; Upset Trowel

This thread should have a discord and that discord should have a markov bot based on a certain recent prolific poster.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 01:31

Ichabod Tane: Oct 30, 2005; A most notable
coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality.

https://youtu.be/_Ojd0BdtMBY?t=4

Baronjutter posted:

Holy poo poo, you bad boy.

"Haha Glenn,

You are being a bad boy!

I think its safer to keep you on these e-mails in case someone has a question pertaining to U.S. Regulations.lol

I appreciate you feeling comfortable with me though.

Best Regards Eunice."

Then I respond with "but thats when you loop me in, when someone has a question not way before." Then she doesn't respond and puts on a weekly call using HK time and if it actually has something pertinent ( one out of four) and I'm not on, I'm hosed.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 01:32

Telsa Cola: Aug 19, 2011; No... this is all wrong... this whole operation has just gone completely sidewaysface

Fleta Mcgurn posted:

I have an MSc in Osteoarchaeology with a focus on human remains, but can do animals as well (depending on the region.) Animal bone analysis is the only reason I ever make money. If you're based in the USA, I'd say get the hell out before your entire life is spent filling out BIA paperwork swearing to god the pig molar you find is a loving pig and not a people ARGH! *triggered*

Haha yeah I am based in the USA but Im studying to be a Mayanist with a focus on spacial use post-collapse and cave use. I have my foot in the door with several Parks departments due to my professor but due to the recent administration I'm looking at other options. Anyways thanks for satisfying my curiosity.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 01:49

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; Can't post for 11 minutes!

I love how hyper-specialized academia can be. Post-collapse Mayan cave use.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 01:51

Fleta Mcgurn: Oct 5, 2003; Porpoise noise continues.

Telsa Cola posted:

Haha yeah I am based in the USA but Im studying to be a Mayanist with a focus on spacial use post-collapse and cave use. I have my foot in the door with several Parks departments due to my professor but due to the recent administration I'm looking at other options. Anyways thanks for satisfying my curiosity.

Oh, that's specialized enough that you should get tons of work! Sounds awesome!

Glenn Quebec posted:

That's what I've been trying to say. I feel like I have been telling her to gently caress off politely.

"Hello Eustace,

How are things in HK? In reference to XYZ could you please take me off of the e-mails? I know that its protocol to include each other on every step of the way to keep up regulations but I would rather be looped in later in the deal when things seem to be coalescing.

Best,

Glenn."

I meant more in regards to her visit; give her a Lonely Planet and call her an Uber and say, "I'm going to visit someone in the hospital, so my phone will be off all day, have fun!"

# ? Feb 22, 2017 01:59

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

Baronjutter posted:

I love how hyper-specialized academia can be. Post-collapse Mayan cave use.

I regret not being interested in American archaeology until recently since it's probably the most vibrant field now. We know next to nothing about 95% of it, there's so much to do.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 02:24

raton: Jul 28, 2003; by FactsAreUseless

Fleta Mcgurn posted:

Our immigration lawyer is fantastic and only costs 120 Euro for the entire process. I'm very sure he could help you out; PM me if you want his info!

I have an MSc in Osteoarchaeology with a focus on human remains, but can do animals as well (depending on the region.) Animal bone analysis is the only reason I ever make money. If you're based in the USA, I'd say get the hell out before your entire life is spent filling out BIA paperwork swearing to god the pig molar you find is a loving pig and not a people ARGH! *triggered*

If you guys are the same, like, rank, can't you tell her to screw off? Nicely?

China find pig boner; eat or ride; ask the expert

# ? Feb 22, 2017 02:56

Telsa Cola: Aug 19, 2011; No... this is all wrong... this whole operation has just gone completely sidewaysface

Grand Fromage posted:

I regret not being interested in American archaeology until recently since it's probably the most vibrant field now. We know next to nothing about 95% of it, there's so much to do.

Yeah I do field work in the Yucatan and there is so much to do that I feel pretty confident that I will be busy for the rest of my life.

Telsa Cola fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Feb 22, 2017

# ? Feb 22, 2017 03:03

Haier: Aug 10, 2007; by Lowtax

Relin posted:

is reused wooden chopsticks still a thing in china? bacteria love to get into the nooks and crannys of wooden/stone things (anything porous). there should be a movement to at least some form of plastic chopstick if they're going to be cheap and not have new wooden ones for every meal

Real talk: I have been to people's houses where the wooden chopsticks had black mold growing on them. This caused me to start bringing a spoon and fork in my bag if I am going to someone's house for a meal and, if the chopsticks are disgusting, I feign ignorance about usage and use my fork. If I bring my own chopsticks then that would be seen as rude or strange, but being a foreigner and pretending to be unable to use them saves us all face.

hakimashou posted:

Do they still do the healthy cleaning of the saucer, bowl, spoon, cup, and chopsticks before every meal at restaurants with tea?

I was told it was to clean 'the dust.'

They would also do it at places where your table setting came cleaned and shrink wrapped.

If I remember, in TCM tea is considered an anti-bacterial and disinfectant (and explains why every drat cleaning thing in China has green tea in it). Hot water + tea = As good as bleach. I also cleans all of your organs and fixes imbalances and it's a gift from Heaven, etc.

Glenn Quebec posted:

That's what I've been trying to say. I feel like I have been telling her to gently caress off politely.

"Hello Eustace,

How are things in HK? In reference to XYZ could you please take me off of the e-mails? I know that its protocol to include each other on every step of the way to keep up regulations but I would rather be looped in later in the deal when things seem to be coalescing.

Best,

Glenn."

LMAO at the business English that ESL people have no clue about meanings. You might as well just write "Ayo, bish, loop me in up wit it l8r when ya coalesce. Ni hao."

# ? Feb 22, 2017 03:08

Ailumao: Nov 4, 2004

hakimashou posted:

Do they still do the healthy cleaning of the saucer, bowl, spoon, cup, and chopsticks before every meal at restaurants with tea?

I was told it was to clean 'the dust.'

They would also do it at places where your table setting came cleaned and shrink wrapped.

I think this is a southern thing. I still see it a lot in Shanghai through Guangdong, but don't really see it ever in Sichuan or anywhere north of Nanjing, really.

Also lol if you trust that shrink wrapped stuff. It's probably somehow the worst.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 03:14

P-Mack: Nov 10, 2007

Magna Kaser posted:

I've actually read it's the weirdo Yale-Mandarin romanization that leads to the best pronunciation from English speakers, since it was designed specifically for English speakers to learn Mandarin, but forget that one.

To an extent it wasn't even designed for actual learning, it was more so a US soldier could open his emergency phrasebook and read out "Wou meigworen, bu sheji" and hopefully be close enough to intelligible to not get shot.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 03:46

Hirethor: Dec 16, 2008; You think you know hip?
YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT BEING HIP!

Today I went for my weekly Go Karting fun and there was a full group (1 dozen) of Chinese in their late teens ahead of the group I got placed in, so we'd alternate. I got to sit and watch them race while waiting for my turn, there were as many spin outs as there were laps done. Eventually the guys working there remotely turned the karts to 50% power, and they still crashed all over the place. One of the poor workers was out there righting the karts the entire time.

That story is just a coincidence though, I actually came to post this:

I wanted to see if there were any good Kan Re Nao photos and that showed up as the #1 result in the videos tab, doesn't seem to anymore though.

Edit: Please post your finest Kan Re Nao photos

Hirethor fucked around with this message at 03:59 on Feb 22, 2017

# ? Feb 22, 2017 03:53

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; Can't post for 11 minutes!

Telsa Cola posted:

Yeah I do field work in the Yucatan and there is so much to do that I feel pretty confident that I will be busy for the rest of my life.

You should make a thread.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 03:53

Fleta Mcgurn: Oct 5, 2003; Porpoise noise continues.

Baronjutter posted:

You should make a thread.

Agreed!

For me, I'd rather eat actual poo poo before ever entering US borders again, let alone working there. Especially in CRM. gently caress CRM.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 04:03

Telsa Cola: Aug 19, 2011; No... this is all wrong... this whole operation has just gone completely sidewaysface

I will try to put together a Ask/Tell thread about Mayan archaeology and general archaeology this weekend.

CRM pays bills I guess, I know a few people who work for Tribal Boards of Reservations and they seem pretty happy.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 04:15

LentThem: Aug 31, 2004; 90% Retractible

Haier posted:

If I remember, in TCM tea is considered an anti-bacterial and disinfectant (and explains why every drat cleaning thing in China has green tea in it). Hot water + tea = As good as bleach. I also cleans all of your organs and fixes imbalances and it's a gift from Heaven, etc.

Its like that story about Mao - he never brushed his teeth, instead rinsing his mouth with green tea every morning and chewing the leaves

Fleta Mcgurn posted:

For me, I'd rather eat actual poo poo

yo if you want a poo poo-eating hookup i got you covered

# ? Feb 22, 2017 04:24

The Great Autismo!: Mar 3, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

Telsa Cola posted:

I will try to put together a Ask/Tell thread about Mayan archaeology and general archaeology this weekend.

please link it here because that sounds cool as gently caress

# ? Feb 22, 2017 04:25

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

Magna Kaser posted:

I think this is a southern thing. I still see it a lot in Shanghai through Guangdong, but don't really see it ever in Sichuan or anywhere north of Nanjing, really.

Conversely I see it any time I'm out with Chinese people here in Sichuan.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 05:27

Electro-Boogie Jack: Nov 22, 2006; bagger mcguirk sent me.

oohhboy posted:

LOL. I straight up told you guys I do exaggerate or change some details to varying degrees for dramatic effect.

Do you really think Haier is being completely honest with his posts. The stories he tells I believe no doubt has some embellishments or reordering events for pacing to it makes for a better story. He might have found out what the peanut girl had, but omitted it to let the imagination run a little wild. The stories could straight up fake, but he has your attention and I have yours.

So it really should be me telling you to take it easy. I have been having fun the whole time bitching or no bitching as the journey good or bad is my goal, not to walk back through the door back in New Zealand with no stories to tell.

But for real I am coming out today a winner.

She turned up and we took a Taxi to Wong Tai Sin where the doctor was. The medical "Complex" is in the Temple Mall North or is it south? I looked it up and they can't seem to make up their minds. But of the two malls it is the one with the dirty fa�ade.

There are about 6 practises next to each other but none of them work cooperatively with each other although one was a dental surgeon. This meant they all waste a lot of space by having duplicate pharmacies which naturally waste space resulting in higher rent. But they have their system for better or for worse.

Of all the doctors she could have chosen she chose the busiest because of the whole big lines must mean he is good! There was a practise right next door that had a 5 minute waiting time instead of the 40+ just to see this doctor.

Of course this is Hong Kong and the place looks more like an old school package delivery service as there are boxes and boxes of medical supplies filling most of the waiting room with barely enough space to get to the doctor's door. Half a dozen people have spilled outside waiting just like me instead of heading next door. I try to read the inscriptions on the window next door but failed to ascertain why we couldn't have gone there instead as it didn't appear to be a speciality.

Name finally gets called up and the doctor is a slightly over weight, maybe about 55 years old. Behind him is multiple shelves with filled completely with patient files. Like outside the inside is full of packages. I wonder if they really do go through that much supplies or that everyone else uses his office as storage and pay him so that their practices look professional. There is some sort of organization to the madness.

He goes straight into it asking all sorts of questions which I thankfully could answer without issues. He is furiously writing this down on a notebook no different than one found in class. Like doctors everywhere his writing is mostly intelligible to the average person and on some level might have been a show. Unlike the other patients before me I stay on point and only take up 2 minutes at the most unlike everybody who seem to take long enough to tell their life story. He tells me not to eat fruit(Vitamin C has a laxative effect) or too much meat(Lack of fibre) and normal water(!) instead of Hot or Cold.

The consult ends with a "Are you afraid of needles?" I say "No" and I am promptly shown a alcove where a nurse who is standing by I spot some really old glass ampoules with the break open neck inside an open stained box. She takes a minute to draw what I assume is either antibiotics, vitamins or saline. A quick jab in the butt and I am back in the waiting room waiting on my prescription.

This takes quite a while as the look of madness is madness. My name is finally called to the window where I get handed 10 different medications with instructions all in Chinese talked in terms I don't understand. The variety of meds was clearly more of a shotgun like approach to the problem. The nurse tells me to have hot water because it is healthy and have some fruit. We pay the $500 and make our way out.

My Aunt asked whether I want anything to eat being that I woke up and went straight to the doctors. I know I should have something to eat as my hunger signals is still broken so I reply in the affirmative. She moves around going to towards food outlets only to turn away. We get to a McDonalds where she sits down at. I assume we are going to eat there so I start looking at the placards. I turn around seeing her staring at the medications but then puts them away. I sit down next to her perplexed before she tell me to put it into my backpack.

We leave, continuing to with her continuing to meander stopping to buy some traditional snacks to take home for herself.

As we walk around some more I get a message from my Sister. It is a photo of the playing card I gave her so that Chow Yun Fat could sign it when he appeared at the pastry shop she works at. I am ecstatic and perk up immediately at the news but ask why it reads 2016 as the year of signing? She replies maybe it had something to do with the year of release of From Vegas to Macao. I look it up and nope, he just got the year wrong. But that is ok because that card is still badass and now it has a little bit more story to it I can tell than a card with the correct year. It is so getting framed at the first opportunity.

The meandering continues as she points out eateries we are not going to eat at. We finally get outside and move pass the bus terminal before she realises she is lost. She says we have to head to the MTR to get her bearings. Maybe she wanted to take the MTR back home. Nope, she exits and starts heading towards my home.

She continues to point out places to eat taking me on a tour while getting lost again before I point out which way to go this time. I keep thinking this will be the place where we are going to get something to eat but we continue with her tour. We take a detour and things are not going great downstairs so I finally take control. I straight up said "This is the place we are going to get some BBQ pork on rice to takeaway and we are heading home".

We get inside and she tries to convince me to stay here and eat. It looks dingy like every other place you would not find in a guide book for tourists, even ironically. I turn up my assertiveness a notch adding "*No* we are not staying here to eat, we are taking away". We leave with the food in hand and a start power walking the couple hundred meters home stopping by a 711 for some bottled water and personal hygiene supplies.

I take the lead as I now can't meander at all. She continues to point out eateries and how this has this or how nice the food is while point out the obvious as always.

I finally get home and make for the toilet with some urgency. We finish lunch and start going through the medication(Thankfully has the names in English) jotting down the notes on the laptop as I go taking them one at a time. She continues to insist that I take them all at once. I continue to take them one at a time as I needed the water anyway and it allowed me to mark them off as taken while taking notes.

We finally get to the Kaopectin. She got rather distressed when I poured the correct measure into the cup I was using that had a small amount of water left in it so that it was easier to see what I was doing and making it easier to drink. I knew it didn't matter as the Kaopectin was meant to mix with the food and water. She doesn't let this go even as she heads out the door. She leaves in a bit of a huff having pushed accidentally the only button I have seen so far, questioning her intelligence.

So again she gets me in trouble or close to it before I pull myself out of the problem because of her good intentions. I wish it wouldn't keep happening but she is infallible in this regard. However we do get the important things done even with her unintended actions so mission accomplished

Going to see John Wick 2 with the Brother in Law. It is going to be a good finish to a winner of a day.
I don't think she is mental, just not quite all there with her quirks nor is she the brightest. Most of the time I let her do her thing but sometimes you just have to step in and when you get frustrated you sometimes end up stepping on a neck.

Stop the posts. No more posts.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 05:45

Ichabod Tane: Oct 30, 2005; A most notable
coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality.

https://youtu.be/_Ojd0BdtMBY?t=4

I don't think I could just ditch her, excuse or otherwise. It's expected of me to play host.

Let me set up the first real project I had to do with her. My predecessor left the firm on bad terms and so I had zero catch up time to get comfy in my role. First thing we had to do a loving video conference to explain our budget to the NY-HK Teams and it was 90% of me talking with her speaking up and I prepared the template for our material. Everyone was like "Wow you guys are a great team. What a great deck, good job."

Lo and behold I become the go-to guy who knows how to interact with the HK team. Suddenly I'm seen as some sort of sinophile. I'm serious, people assume I have some sort of interest in Chinese culture or history. I just need to vent because when I bitch about it to my wife she tells me I'm being a dick.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 06:08

The Great Autismo!: Mar 3, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

Grand Fromage posted:

Conversely I see it any time I'm out with Chinese people here in Sichuan.

do u and magna ever get together in chengdu and figure out how you two live in the exact same city, but have exact opposite experiences ?

# ? Feb 22, 2017 06:22

The Great Autismo!: Mar 3, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

seriously it's like

Magna: I've never seen that before
GF: i've seen it three times a week for the past year and a half

# ? Feb 22, 2017 06:23

Ailumao: Nov 4, 2004

The Great Autismo! posted:

seriously it's like

Magna: I've never seen that before
GF: i've seen it three times a week for the past year and a half

I've come to accept I live in a pocket dimension of China.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 06:37

Fleta Mcgurn: Oct 5, 2003; Porpoise noise continues.

Glenn Quebec posted:

I don't think I could just ditch her, excuse or otherwise. It's expected of me to play host.

Let me set up the first real project I had to do with her. My predecessor left the firm on bad terms and so I had zero catch up time to get comfy in my role. First thing we had to do a loving video conference to explain our budget to the NY-HK Teams and it was 90% of me talking with her speaking up and I prepared the template for our material. Everyone was like "Wow you guys are a great team. What a great deck, good job."

Lo and behold I become the go-to guy who knows how to interact with the HK team. Suddenly I'm seen as some sort of sinophile. I'm serious, people assume I have some sort of interest in Chinese culture or history. I just need to vent because when I bitch about it to my wife she tells me I'm being a dick.

Oh, bugger.

Well, it's a star in your crown that you haven't chucked her into a barrel like Donkey Kong, if that's any consolation...

# ? Feb 22, 2017 06:46

LentThem: Aug 31, 2004; 90% Retractible

i always assumed it was the difference between working in education and working in IT

ive done both and seen a looooot more poo poo during my time in the former

# ? Feb 22, 2017 06:48

big time bisexual: Oct 16, 2002; Cool Party

Hirethor posted:

Edit: Please post your finest Kan Re Nao photos

here's a kan re nao simulator. click and drag your avatar onto the image below

# ? Feb 22, 2017 07:32

oohhboy: Jun 8, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

UltraRed posted:

gently caress the haters. If they don't like it they can burn one of their goony calories flipping their scroll wheel down a few notches. I do enjoy your stories, but hope you're not too stressed out during your trip. Traveling usually makes me uncomfortable because I don't like to not know what's going on.

This.

I am making it more stressful sounding than I make it out to be. I have been enjoying the journey. When you are on holiday it is a close to a consequence free life you can as you have already "Spent" the money so if you get into trouble like getting stuck in the middle of nowhere you just spend your way out of it and if you are lucky you get to have a cool ride. You get to choose how lasting the relationships are with people you meet are. You get to mess around culturally. Try things you wouldn't back home. See awesome stuff. Appreciate he Pro and Cons. Flex your brain on new ideas and languages.

Yes it can be stressful, but on when on holiday you can more often than not just flip it around to get a positive story out of it because it ended well. Go, go have a holiday.

---

Whitey Magic Wizardy

MY BIL is an English teacher. He came over here with a pretty clear purpose, work in HK for 2 years go home, get a real job when he returned home. Sister on the other hand got pressured into staying as Mom brought her over to "Visit" family before promptly leaving stranding her. Sure, she has her Husband, but it was an absolute dick thing to do. The BIL having a job which he landed within a week softened the blow though so it wasn't like she didn't have support.

Mother tried the same shitck with me, offering to by me a ticket and asking me to go look for a job there. This was a couple months before she sent Sister over, but even then I knew it was a bad idea so I flat out turned it down. "You can go to Disneyland", "Teach English", "Computers" "There are jobs everywhere(you can do)", "visit relatives".

This didn't stop her from suggesting it every time we met which was making her rather tiresome in this regard. While I was vindicated as Sister couldn't get any traction, I wasn't happy about it. I did use it as a reason not to go and it was a very strong one. I also didn't have much money at the time unlike now so that meant once I was in country I couldn't get out or spend my way out of trouble.

Then Grandpa got sick and this time he wasn't going to make a comeback. Again she pressured me to go and I might have had she not mentioned staying for jobs thing again. So I asked for guarantees I wasn't going to get the same treatment as Sister did. She wouldn't and kept silent. We did Skype calls and I have been told he really though I was there with him. It was unfortunate that family politics got into the way of me visiting him, but I decided it was the best for everyone.

Back to our dinner, being an English teacher with impressionable kids and a mischievous streak he would do really simple things or give explanations that the "Chinese can't do".

He once snapped his finger in front of a student and the who class was mystified as this strange new thing. He tried to teach them but they just couldn't get it through to them. He let it carry on trying to teach them this as it was one of the best ways to teach any language, making the students use it no matter how bad the result might be. They would normally not be so expressive as conformity and memorisation was the normal lessons real world be damned, that said this mentality isn't as strong as the Mainland but do produce multiple suicides a year often in clusters based on this reason so I still has a has a long way to go.

Eventually the students declared they couldn't do it because they were Asian so BIL mischievously told them is was white people magic and they brought it wholesale(This happens often). They did so because it gave them a way out and confirmed that Asians and the whitey are different. While this was somewhat a dick move he had succeeded in his goal for getting them to use English naturally.

Another thing that keeps happening is that the they note that BIL's arm is hairy unlike Asians. They wanted an explanation. He told them that when people go to different places people "Adapt" leading to physical change. The student asked if he went to the same place would he grow hairy arms like the BIL had. Given that he wasn't going to explain evolution to him and that he wasn't really trying or be able to cause a cultural sea change he said sure "You will get hairy arms if you go".

There are other things like his showing up in T-shirt and Shorts like I do even if he feels a little cold himself just to mess with the students as they come in wearing puff jackets in 17 - 22 degrees weather(Some do the weird thing of wearing the puffer jacket but wear shorts...). Again they are mystified by this and again he would use it to give a lesson , getting them to talk, to press him on the subject. He would eventually when he wanted to move on tell them it was whitey magic or natural powers of the white man.

He doesn't care what possible lasting damage or benefits he does culturally to them as his goal is to teach English and to use the best methods to so. I completely appricate this in "White magic" will never get old. This is one of the things he tells no one but me, not even Sister as she wouldn't appreciate the joke and the method behind the madness even though she was raised in NZ as she has "Reverted to type", being more Hong Kong girl like as time goes on.

I completely support him on this. It is too funny to pass up and I would have done the same. We vibrate on the same wavelength but just so that we are clear he isn't me but White. He is an awesome guy and I couldn't be more happier for Sister.

there is more, but next time.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 07:33

value-brand cereal: May 2, 2008

Electro-Boogie Jack posted:

Stop the posts. No more posts.

No. More posts. All the posts. Fuel this thread with the posts

# ? Feb 22, 2017 07:34

Pirate Radar: Apr 18, 2008; You're not my Ruthie!
You're not my Debbie!
You're not my Sherry!

value-brand cereal posted:

No. More posts. All the posts. Fuel this thread with the posts

The concrete in the posts is already beginning to crack.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 07:41

Power Khan: Aug 20, 2011; by Fritz the Horse

Haier posted:

Real talk: I have been to people's houses where the wooden chopsticks had black mold growing on them. This caused me to start bringing a spoon and fork in my bag if I am going to someone's house for a meal and, if the chopsticks are disgusting, I feign ignorance about usage and use my fork. If I bring my own chopsticks then that would be seen as rude or strange, but being a foreigner and pretending to be unable to use them saves us all face.

Nah, that's a very good idea. I had an India travelling veteran as colleague and that dude always carried a bunch of things, even here. Among them, fork, knife, spoon, and most important: toilet paper.

# ? Feb 22, 2017 07:49

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 15, 2024 00:09

Haier: Aug 10, 2007; by Lowtax

CHINA SEX EDUCATION - CHAOSHAN EDITION:

# ? Feb 22, 2017 07:54

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Taiwan Number 1

«‹›933 »