Just Say No

The United Nations wants to abolish the use of the Traditional Chinese writing system.

Let me back the Firefly-class starship up just a little.

Back in the day, there was only the Traditional Chinese writing system. During the 20th Century (especially during the Cultural Revolution) the writing system was 'simplified' (or 'modernized', depending on how you look at it) to increase literacy. Today, traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and ex-pat communities whose settling residents left China before the language reform.

For the record, I'm learning the Simplified Chinese writing system, although most Chinese speakers (especially those who travel internationally) end up learning both. I don't really feel there is much of a difference between the two - there are many characters (even difficult ones) that are the same in both writing systems. Because I want to travel more in Taiwan than in China, I probably should learn the Traditional system as well (my Chinese teacher has given us the choice), but I feel that, since the Simplified writing system is more widespread that it will help me more than the Traditional writing system right now.

Besides, if my mother can read my notes to her, that's all that really matters to me.

Go here to Just Say No.

Chinese Final

I took my final in Chinese XL 1 tonight. That means I can sleep for a couple weeks before class starts up again, right?

Taking this class has been a great experience for me. I made some great new friends, although I don't communicate with them as much as I'd like. I've also learned some serious time management skills.

What can I say in Chinese? I can ask for your honourable surname, what name you go by, what your occupation is, where do you work, etc. I can mention a few hobbies, and say some simple past-tense things. I can negate what I can say. I can ask for something to eat and drink, or offer something to eat or drink to company.

I ask the time, and say the time. I can figure out dates, too. I can ask how old someone is.

What's most funny to me is that most questions asked in class are related to dating. How do I ask someone out in Chinese? What is a girlfriend called, and how is this different from a man's ai ren (爱人).

I can write most of what I can say. I can read or infer a little more than what I can write or say. Some characters I know what they translate to in English, but not how to say them in Chinese.

Massages Lost In Translation

I've been getting acupressure massages from the guys at the Galleria Mall, on Artesia and Hawthorne, for a few months now. They're all Chinese, and speak very little English. Over time they've discovered I know a few words of Chinese, and I think they appreciate that I try to communicate with them. That, and I think they appreciate the fact I'm a regular and tip well.

But anyway, I digress. I've managed to form some sort of friendship with one of the fellows, a happy guy named "Li". He's one of the best, and for the locals who are interested, there's a tall, skinny guy who's good and a couple of the gals are good too. The tiny quiet one who doesn't have red hair is good. The one who has red hair is good, but I sense she prefers the quick customer who will give her cash than in building a customer base.

Today when I went to the mall to get a massage, Li started saying a lot of Chinese to me, most of which went completely over my head. I heard "Mei guo ren" ( 美国人/American), so I assumed that he wanted my nationality. I said (in Chinese) something to the effect that I could only speak a little, and that I'm American. He happily said something (which sounded like a lot) to his coworkers, repeating that I only speak a little and something else I didn't understand. He then asked me something I really didn't understand, and before I could say I didn't understand he said, "My Mandarin too much, yes?" I said yes and he said, "Si Shi?" (四十/40), for how long (in minutes) I usually get my massage.

I don't know how much better an acupressure massage is from a regular one, but the good masseuses manage to completely unknot my shoulders, and it lasts for days. But I think I go to get massages more because I want to be touched than I have painful knots in my shoulders (I don't, because I get massages!). I don't touch anyone at all most days. Sometimes a friend will touch my shoulder, or I'll touch a friend's shoulder. Sometimes I'll shake hands with someone. My coffee buddy usually gives me hugs when he drops me off at my building. I don't think I'd do well in solitary confinement.

If you think about it, how many people do you touch in a day? I think on an average day, I don't touch more than five people, and then only casually. I speak to many more.

I don't know why this bothers me so much, not being touched. I recall articles I've read regarding how little Americans touch one another, compared to Europeans and South Americans. I'm sure someone has tried to link obesity/overeating with lack of touch.

After my massage was over, Li told me he liked the hand cream I was using (I had just bought some Aromatherapy Orange Ginger hand cream from Bath & Body Works, and was wearing a sample) and taught me the Chinese word for "lotion" as I taught him the English word. I've already forgotten it (Although "mei" was one of the syllables. But "mei" usually means "pretty", in my experience). Maybe I can consult my mom and she'll know the term. I told Li (in Chinese) that my Dad is American, my Mother is Taiwanese, and that I didn't have a photo with me today. I told him in English I would bring one "next time". He seemed happy and I assume he let everyone in on the news.

Writing in Chinese

The Pen Matters - Doubting to shuo

The other day in class, my Chinese teacher told my class that we would all have to learn how to read Chinese, and not rely on pinyin. I think everyone in class (including me) groaned. Then I thought of it as a quaint challenge (and we all know how I react to challenges).

I think Westerners find languages that use non-Roman letters difficult precisely because the writing looks strange to them. Written Chinese is so complex as to stroke order and proportions that I think Westerners (and especially Americans) are intimidated into not learning the writing system.

Then I think of the "cool factor" of visiting China or Taiwan; if I'm fully able to communicate with the people around me, and to pick up information from, say, maps and/or road signs, then I would enjoy the visit so much more. I wouldn't be frustrated by the language barrier.

Even though I'm quite frustrated over my character workbook, at least I have a purpose for torturing myself with it. Maybe that will make me more motivated to do my homework well, and eventually be happy about having an assignment to work on.

Learning Chinese In Westwood

Last night I drove up to UCLA to go to my Chinese class. You can probably fit a dozen Montana Tech campuses on UCLA's campus. I felt lost just driving around. I'm just happy that I found my class with little difficulty. I can't imagine what it must be like to have an entire load of classes there. But I have the coolness factor of saying I go to UCLA now.

Class was, I must admit, a lot of fun.

We have a huge class - something around thirty students. A lot of people want to speak Mandarin, apparently. My teacher is from Taiwan, so I think that will be an immense help because she has a native understanding of the language and would be better at correcting pronunciation as well as teaching "everyday" or "speaking" Chinese rather than just "book" Chinese.

There are a lot of different people in my class. Young, old, white, hispanic, asian (non Chinese), poor, rich (or at least richer than myself). It's nice to know that I'm going to be stuck there with a lot of bananas (or twinkies, an asian-american slang derogatory to mean one is only yellow on the outside) and horny creepy guys.

In class we introduced ourselves and learned the initials in bo po mo fo.

Movie Review - Chungking Express

I bought this movie off of YesAsia because I wanted to see something else that had Takeshi Kaneshiro in it. I usually don't purchase stuff "blind", but I really liked Takeshi in House of Flying Daggers (even though the movie wasn't that great) and everything on the internet seemed to point to Chungking Express as a good start to the rest of his filmography.

The copy I bought was a VCD copy, because it was the only "Chinese" copy with English subtitles I could find (according to the edition notes on YesAsia) and wasn't the Quentin Tarantino version. I ended up buying the Quentin Tarantino version at Barnes & Noble last weekend because it was in widescreen and all on one disc (the VCD version is on two discs). I haven't watched the DVD copy through all the way, but there are some translation differences that I'm somewhat disappointed in, most notably in Cop 223's password to his message service: it's "Undying Love" on the DVD, and "Loving You For 10,000 Years" on the VCD. For some reason, "Loving You For 10,000 Years" sounds more appropriate. You'll understand if you've seen the movie. I think the Quentin Tarantino DVD also uses a slightly different cut of the movie, which bothers me. Maybe one of these days I'll get really good in Mandarin and Cantonese that I can watch the movie without subtitles so I can buy a "Chinese" DVD version of the film. But then I'll have to get a Region 5 player, and that causes all sorts of other problems.

Strangly enough I held off watching the movie until after I moved; this was the first movie I watched in California. There's so much stuff I really liked in the movie that it'll take much too long to put it here (and probably ruin the movie). I realize the first part of the film may drag, but it does a great job at setting up the more memorable second part of the film.

There's an idea expressed in the second part of the film (and in the first, to an extent) that I really related to. Cop 663's girlfriend has left him, and he envisions his apartment as sharing the emotional loss with him. "You used to be so chubby!" he tells a thinning bar of soap. "You've lost a lot of weight; you need more self-confidence!"

Then Faye (played by Faye Wong) breaks into Cop 663's apartment and redecorates (among other things), which I believe encourages Cop 663 to get over his heartbreak and helps bring him and Faye together.

Hopefully I haven't given too much away. But I really like that Wong Kar-Wai has expressed this concept - that our surroundings are a reflection of what we are going through internally - so well. There's a lot of hope in this movie, and a lot of hope for refinding lost love. It's beautiful.

There's also the cliched "isolation in the city" theme working here, but it's not too bad to deal with. This is a movie to rewatch just for the little gems of interesting stuff to see and think about. I really like the handheld camera shots, especially when they're choppy (probably just a low shutter speed).

To summarize, I'd recommend finding a copy that Quentin Tarantino didn't touch, although his DVD isn't necessarily bad. The translation differences do bug me, though. It's not that expensive to get a "real" copy from YesAsia, and I think the extra trouble is worth the effort. Watch this on a lonely rainy night with lots of popcorn.

The Language Barrier

Well, Mom apparently is safely on her way to Taipei. Eva Air says the flight is "early", which in my experience rarely happens. She will arrive at about 22:10 tomorrow night, local time. I don't know when she's even getting back. She has a visa that will allow her to stay in-country for 60 days, but I *think* she's coming back in October.

While the reason why my mother is going to be out of the country is completely valid, I'm going to miss her a lot. She's my best friend (yeah, I'm a nerd, I know), and we chat on the phone all the time. I'm actually kind of jealous that she's going over, because the food there is so very delicious.

Mom's been teaching me bits of Mandarin, which we use on the phone. When I visit my favourite Math professor's wife, who is Chinese, I tell her all the new phrases I've learned and what I can remember from my last visit. I'm far, far from being conversational in Mandarin, but it's a lot of fun.

I wish Mom had brought me up bilingual. While I understand why she only wanted me to learn English growing up, it would be so cool to be fluent in another language. All the multi-racial kids (mostly Asian/White descent) I knew in California are bilingual, and I feel kind of left out.

Language is such an important part of human culture, and I feel I've missed out on a lot of my heritage. Especially since most of American culture disappoints me.

It sucks not being able to even communicate to your relatives. Even though English proficency is mandatory in Taiwanese and Chinese schools (you even have to pass an English test to get your college degree), that does not necessarily mean the people educated there are fluent in English.

It would be nice to visit Taiwan next summer when I get done with school and the only thing I have to worry about is my (other) best friend's wedding in August. And hopefully starting the new job (don't know what it is yet) in September. That would be a lovely plan.