Three Minutes of Hell
I never liked giving speeches. I've become better at them over time but they're still not my favorite. Tomorrow night I have my Chinese class final exam. It's simple, get up in front of the class and speak in Chinese for three minutes. Probably going to be the longest three minutes of my recent life. The speech is written - I'm memorizing it. I've got a deck of pictures to go along with it to help my recall. The teacher will film it, if it's not overly horrendous I will post the video. As you may be able to tell from the few English words, it's mainly about family.
你好。大家晚上好。
我叫Josh. 我的女朋友叫我小明。
我不喜欢 这个名字。我喜欢大明。
这是我的女朋友叫 Jean。我叫她豆豆。她是新加破人。
她喜欢笑。
她有一个妹妹，叫 Joanne.
和一个弟弟，叫 Ben.
Ben 有一个女儿，叫 Giselle.
我不是新加破人。
我不是英国人。
我不是 澳大利亚人。
我是美国人。
我来自纽约。
我家没有八个人。我家有四个人。 爸爸，妈妈，姐姐和我。
他们住在美国。
这是我的爸爸，叫Dan。他是教授。
这是我的妈妈和她的朋友门。她叫Sal. 她也是教授。
我的妹妹叫Amaya。
她有三个孩子。一个女儿和两个儿子。
他们叫Caleb,Mach and Dee.
我没有孩子。
我和我的女朋友 一起住。
我们住在波东巴西。
我的女朋友 是 CFO。
她的工作很忙。
这个星期她在印度.
我是顾问
这是巴黎。我在巴黎工作了三年。
我在学习中文和法文。
我喜欢做饭。
我喜欢喝咖啡。
我喜欢旅行。这是韩国。
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Singapore - Destruction
Top Down, All Around
Were they dropped from helicopters or assembled on top of the building? They chewed noisily, reducing the building next door floor by floor. They reminded me of the hungry caterpillars you see on nature shows, biting down a jungle tree one leaf at a time. Our living room became brighter and breezier by the day, the neighborhood microclimate shifting slightly.
Were they dropped from helicopters or assembled on top of the building? They chewed noisily, reducing the building next door floor by floor. They reminded me of the hungry caterpillars you see on nature shows, biting down a jungle tree one leaf at a time. Our living room became brighter and breezier by the day, the neighborhood microclimate shifting slightly.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Singapore - to be Four...
Prepping for 1st Grade
Nowhere are parents as crazy as here in Singapore. There is a Hokkien word used here, "kiasu", which translates to "a fear of losing that is used to describe someone who is overly competitive." While we were dropping off Jean's niece at ballet class this morning at the mall, I noticed many small businesses aimed at kiasu parents. They were targeting parents of four year olds - here are some of the classes they can attend to prepare themselves for 1st grade!!
Nowhere are parents as crazy as here in Singapore. There is a Hokkien word used here, "kiasu", which translates to "a fear of losing that is used to describe someone who is overly competitive." While we were dropping off Jean's niece at ballet class this morning at the mall, I noticed many small businesses aimed at kiasu parents. They were targeting parents of four year olds - here are some of the classes they can attend to prepare themselves for 1st grade!!
Friday, October 5, 2012
Singapore - More Language
From the Pan to the Fire
Chinese makes French seem like a leisurely hobby. The day after I started French class I also began a Chinese class. It meets Tuesday and Thursday nights for two hours at a time but demands daily study twice that. Whereas I study two hours of French outside of class per week, I easily spend ten times that on Chinese.
Chinese makes French seem like a leisurely hobby. The day after I started French class I also began a Chinese class. It meets Tuesday and Thursday nights for two hours at a time but demands daily study twice that. Whereas I study two hours of French outside of class per week, I easily spend ten times that on Chinese.
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