Chinese Blog Assignment #5

More sentences about food…

1.    我想要一碗蛋花汤。

2.    你喜欢吃什么？

3.    中国和美国的雪碧雪碧味道不一样。

4.    我喜欢吃锅贴。

5.    再来一瓶啤酒！

My thoughts about “Beijingers split on having only one child”

     http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-04/25/content_12392197.htm

When I stumbled across this article, I found it very interesting because it shows that there are some changes in public opinion regarding reproduction where the majority surveyed in Beijing revealed that they do not care whether or not their child is a boy or a girl. Moreover, most people want to only have one child, not really needing the One Child Policy to dictate how many kids they can have. I find this interesting because the increasing neutral preference to the gender of the baby reflects the changing perspective that females can indeed have the same ability as males to bring in the money and be self-sufficient as well as supporting their parents. The decrease in enforcement of the One Child Policy also reflects the current economy, which can explain why many couple only wants one child without government intervention – because it is very expensive to raise a child, regardless of what country the child is born. The statistics demonstrated in this article, however, represents predominantly those who live in urban Beijing and not really rural Beijing where there is still a predominant view on reproduction, that you need more than one child to support the farm, and that it is better to have male children.

Chinese Blog Assignment #4

About food…

1.     每个周末我吃寿司。

2.     我喜欢吃水果和蔬菜。

3.     我经常做饭。

4.     既然天气这么好, 我准备了一顿野餐。

5.     你最喜欢什么菜？

What I miss about China…

Having being well adjusted to the American lifestyle, there are a lot of things I don’t look forward to whenever I visit China, such as getting sick from the pollution and the crowdedness of the streets. However, one thing that I always look forward to is the food. I love authentic Chinese food that my grandparents would cook for me. In the U.S., I am on a constant search for restaurants that offer good, authentic Chinese. Sometimes I am disappointed by the quality. However, I am never disappointed with whatever food I have in China. Even though I am somewhat of an adventurous eater, there are still some things I cannot bring myself to eat, such as snake or turtle. What is also great about eating in China is that good food is often cheap. I always found it hilarious how my relatives in China, whenever I visit, would steer me towards American restaurants such as McDonald’s or KFC thinking that it would be my favorite places to eat. To their surprise, I usually end up refusing to eat at those places and would rather eat at the local restaurants.

Chinese Blog Assignment #3

Talking about the weather…

1.     冬天比较冷。

2.     春天天气很舒服。

3.     明天的天气怎么样?

4.     天气预报说明天有雨。

5.     今天的天气很好,我们出去走走吧。

My thoughts on China’s ban on indoor smoking…

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/24/us-china-smoking-idUSTRE72N0RH20110324

China has millions of smokers and to ban smoking indoor at public venues as well as, “forbid vending machines from selling cigarettes and ensure that designated outdoor smoking zones not affect pedestrian traffic” (Reuter) is a massive step forward. There is no doubt the link between smoking and even second hand smoke to various cancers, predominantly lung cancer. Though commendable to have such a law, it will also be one of the hardest to enforce. China is not only the world’s largest producer of cigarettes, smoking cigarettes is also deeply ingrained the social (and public) culture of the people. Though it may take years before any change in health can be seen, all small changes matter, as second-hand smoke is equally as lethal as just smoking the cigarette itself.

Chinese Blog Assignment #2

A night out in Shanghai, China...

保罗,

我五点钟会起床. 我们五点半离开旅館.
这是我们的旅程表:

我们先打的到 Yuyuan Garden 吃晚饭.
然后, 我们坐公共汽车到 Shanghai Museum.
以后, 我们直走逛上海的夜景.
然后, 我们坐地铁到 TheBund 去唱卡拉OK.
最后, 我们坐公共汽车回到旅馆.

~ 林南茜


My thoughts on Chinese censorship...

I think that China is on to something with regards to censorship. Though they sometimes take it to extreme, I think that it is something that the U.S. should do. However, given how the United States of America was founded on the principle of free speech (ie. the First Amendment), it is something that is not possible to do. The main reason for censorship by the Chinese government is to try to protect the political establishment. However, they do also censor media that contains things such as criminal activity, pornography and other obscenities. The U.S. is currently having problems with blocking sites like those because they are protected under the veil of free speech, no matter how lewd the content and how damaging and offensive it may be. Though I do not agree with complete government control of censorship of media, I do think that some control is warranted. And it’s not as if the Chinese government has absolute censorship powers. There are lots of ways around the system that sometimes goes undetected, and there is always more than one way to get information.

Chinese Blog Assignment #1

Lesson 9
1. 虽 然这条裤很 便宜, 可是颜色不合适。
2. 我 喜欢穿灰色的鞋。
3. 那 个夹克跟我的一样。
4. 请 问, 我能不能试穿那个T－恤衫?
5. 这 条 牛仔裤多少钱?

My Thoughts on "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" by Amy Chua
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

When I first read this article, I thought that I might be able to relate since my parents are Chinese immigrants and still abide by many traditions. However, the more I read, the more I feel as if Amy Chua is just trying to find an excuse for her extremely strict parenting method. Those who are not familiar to the Chinese culture may read this article and interpret Amy Chua's parenting method as a culture stereotype that all Asian parents are this way to their kids.

I would like to say from personal experience as well as my friends and relatives that are Chinese that not all Chinese parents are this strict. Though they would prefer to want their child to succeed and highly encourage practice, practice, practice, they also do not deny their child from having a life. I know plenty of Chinese students who had traditional Chinese parents that let them choose their own extracurricular activities, watch T.V., have sleep overs, things that Amy Chua did not let her daughters do, that ended up being valedictorians of their class and go onto Ivy League universities (or other top-tier university), and eventually the professional school of their choice. This therefore disproves Amy Chua that the only way to superior children is to be a strict helicopter parent.