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changing coins to bills – harder than it seemed Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 18, 2009
The other day, I wanted to take the pile of 硬币 (coins) from my room and 换纸币 (exchange them for bills). The people at the nearby bank told me that they didn’t want my bills, well that was my first time to 听到 (hear) a bank didn’t want any money- maybe I should have asked…
stuck at the border Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 15, 2009
Hello readers! Some days the border crossing can be quick, other days it can feel like molasses. The other night I was coming back over the border to Shenzhen and was stuck in a line that remained motionless while all the other lines advanced at a rate of one person per roughly 45 seconds. We…
Unbelievable Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 13, 2009
The other morning, I was in a taxi and saw that the driver was playing with his cellphone at a stoplight (the stoplights in Shenzhen can last about 90 seconds). My colleague inquired, “开车还可以炒股?” (As a driver you can play the stock market too?) “那你怎么了解行情呢?” (Well how do you find out what’s going on in…
Bookstore in SZ Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 8, 2009
Yesterday I made my way to a bookstore in Shenzhen stocking foreign titles. Near the overpass of the road with the store, I saw a banner saying 推崇阅读 (respect/praise reading), meanwhile there were performers playing the 二胡 (erhu, a traditional Chinese instrument) and taking donations from passers-by. As I exited the building, I saw plenty…
Online Purchases Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 5, 2009
Hello readers! The other day I was trying to set up a purchase on 支付宝 (Alipay), an online payment site. When I tried to 充值 (add funds), I found that there was a security certificate problem with my 银盾 (internet banking USB key). Even through I had prepared my 交易密码 (trading password) for the bank…
Halloween Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 30, 2009
Hello everyone- 万圣节快乐 (happy Halloween)! Halloween also goes by the name of 鬼节, but one thing’s for certain- people dress up as all kinds of 怪物 (monsters), or even superheroes like 蜘蛛侠 (Spiderman) 蝙蝠侠 (Batman) or 超人 (Superman). My plan for the day includes a Halloween concert at the 海边 (beach) which promises to be one…
Net Slang pt.1 Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 27, 2009
Hello to all my reader 盆友 (friends)! 哇吓咪 (why) am I talking like this? 94俺 (it’s just that I) want to teach you some net slang. Don’t 晕 (feel faint) and don’t break a 汗 (sweat). By the end of this, you’ll saying, “at first he 745 了(really had me mad), but he’s no 愤青…