Saturday, May 31, 2008
Getting Around the "Great Firewall of China"
Whooops... I recently just sent my blog link to some friends who are already in China and they said that they can't open the url. This means that the Chinese firewall is doing what it's supposed to block Americans from sharing their views in China. In the next few weeks I'm going to have to find a way of getting around the firewall. Maybe I'll start using another website that isn't run by Blogspot, but in any case I'll still use this url until I leave on June 17, and I'll keep you updated if I change any urls. I have friends who have blogged from China before so it's definitely not too difficult, and I've heard that the web restrictions are going to be a little more lax this summer so as not to be too inconvenient to tourists.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
How to teach yourself a language
My opinion about learning foreign languages is that it is most efficient to study the language in a classroom environment for 1-3 years and then take off for a country where they speak the language. Going to a country with no knowledge of the language makes it extremely difficult to learn because no one wants to explain to you all of the very basic vocab over and over, but once you have a little background, people for the most part are willing to speak slowly for you. On the opposite end, taking classes for many years without spending much time with native speakers is also ineffective. Textbooks and artificial speaking environments are crucial at first but they become less and less helpful as you get better at the language.
The bottom line though is that the only way of acquiring a foreign is exposure, exposure, exposure… and since travel is expensive, one of the easiest ways to do this is using media… watching foreign TV, listening to online radio, podcasts, or one of my favorites… listening to foreign pop songs. And thanks to YouTube, this is incredibly easy. One of my favorite Chinese pop songs is called “Tong Hua” (Fairy Tales). It's about a girl who dies from love and a guy who expresses his love for her through music. It's the most popular song in Taiwan right now.
Tong Hua by Guang Liang
Music has been proven by psychologists to be a more effective method of remembering things, which is why we sing the ABCs when we are young to remember the alphabet. Singing is fun and with the internet it’s incredibly easy to find translations for foreign songs. One great site for translations is called “Learn Chinese Through Music” (http://www.learn-chinese-through-music.com/)
Let me know if you have any more suggestions for good Chinese songs or websites.
The bottom line though is that the only way of acquiring a foreign is exposure, exposure, exposure… and since travel is expensive, one of the easiest ways to do this is using media… watching foreign TV, listening to online radio, podcasts, or one of my favorites… listening to foreign pop songs. And thanks to YouTube, this is incredibly easy. One of my favorite Chinese pop songs is called “Tong Hua” (Fairy Tales). It's about a girl who dies from love and a guy who expresses his love for her through music. It's the most popular song in Taiwan right now.
Tong Hua by Guang Liang
Music has been proven by psychologists to be a more effective method of remembering things, which is why we sing the ABCs when we are young to remember the alphabet. Singing is fun and with the internet it’s incredibly easy to find translations for foreign songs. One great site for translations is called “Learn Chinese Through Music” (http://www.learn-chinese-through-music.com/)
Let me know if you have any more suggestions for good Chinese songs or websites.
My cultural preparations
I’ve never been to Asia before so I am expecting this trip to a culture shock. I’ll be staying in a homestay for most of my two months in Beijing and so I especially feel the need to expose myself to Chinese culture before taking off.
Over this past year, I have made a real effort to learn about China. I have been taking Chinese language classes for the past year with Tai Lao Shi (the world’s best Chinese teacher), last semester I took a survey course on Chinese history (from the ancient Shang to Mao Zedong in one semester), I’ve been watching Chinese movies and listening to Chinese songs (most notably Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Tong Hua by Guang Liang) and I had a “Chinese language exchange partner” for a brief period who was actually just a businessman downtown who wanted help with English in exchange for Chinese help. As my friend Jeremy put it, it seems like I’ve come down with a case of "Yellow Fever".
Here are some of the books and movies that I plan to read/see this summer to help prepare me for my trip, if you have any more suggestions, please add them as comments:
The Geography of Thought by Richard Nisbett
China: Fragile Superpower by Susan L. Shirk
Man's Fate by André Malraux
Seven Years in Tibet
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
A Great Wall
Over this past year, I have made a real effort to learn about China. I have been taking Chinese language classes for the past year with Tai Lao Shi (the world’s best Chinese teacher), last semester I took a survey course on Chinese history (from the ancient Shang to Mao Zedong in one semester), I’ve been watching Chinese movies and listening to Chinese songs (most notably Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Tong Hua by Guang Liang) and I had a “Chinese language exchange partner” for a brief period who was actually just a businessman downtown who wanted help with English in exchange for Chinese help. As my friend Jeremy put it, it seems like I’ve come down with a case of "Yellow Fever".
Here are some of the books and movies that I plan to read/see this summer to help prepare me for my trip, if you have any more suggestions, please add them as comments:
The Geography of Thought by Richard Nisbett
China: Fragile Superpower by Susan L. Shirk
Man's Fate by André Malraux
Seven Years in Tibet
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
A Great Wall
My take on US-China relations
One thing I like to do before traveling to a foreign country is to write down my impressions before going and then looking over them after the trip is over. So here are my free-flowing ideas on the US and China...
Like many others, I see China as a country that is already and will become more and more of a key player in the international stage. It seems inevitable that China will surpass the United States in GDP and in the process of the US’s trade imbalance with East Asia, China is hungry to buy up much of the US’s deficit. This is dangerous. It means that China wields an uncomfortable amount of power over the American economy because theoretically they can ask for their money back whenever they want, causing American interest rates to go up and making America's economy grind to a halt. Realistically, this is unlikely since a hit to America’s economy is a hit to China’s, but the bottom line that should be taken from this increasing political and economic interdependence, is that I think we need more Americans studying Asian languages and cultures, as opposed to European ones. As Susan Shirk (author of China: A Fragile Superpower) argues, wars are caused by misunderstandings and if the US and China are not able to understand each other in the future, there is a definite possibility of an escalation of conflict. In large cities, Chinese who speak English are much easier to find than Americans who speak Chinese, which is unfortunate. After all, there are more native Mandarin-speakers in the world than there are English-speakers; what makes Americans think they don’t need to learn foreign languages? What impact will this have if most interactions between Chinese and Americans are primarily in English? It is also unsurprising but important to note that most Americans who speak Chinese are of Chinese decent. What impact will this have if most interactions between Chinese and Americans in Chinese are between Chinese and Chinese-Americans? The bottom line is that in my opinion we need more Americans studying and becoming interested in Asian languages and cultures, which is a large part of the reason why I've become interested in Asia recently.
Like many others, I see China as a country that is already and will become more and more of a key player in the international stage. It seems inevitable that China will surpass the United States in GDP and in the process of the US’s trade imbalance with East Asia, China is hungry to buy up much of the US’s deficit. This is dangerous. It means that China wields an uncomfortable amount of power over the American economy because theoretically they can ask for their money back whenever they want, causing American interest rates to go up and making America's economy grind to a halt. Realistically, this is unlikely since a hit to America’s economy is a hit to China’s, but the bottom line that should be taken from this increasing political and economic interdependence, is that I think we need more Americans studying Asian languages and cultures, as opposed to European ones. As Susan Shirk (author of China: A Fragile Superpower) argues, wars are caused by misunderstandings and if the US and China are not able to understand each other in the future, there is a definite possibility of an escalation of conflict. In large cities, Chinese who speak English are much easier to find than Americans who speak Chinese, which is unfortunate. After all, there are more native Mandarin-speakers in the world than there are English-speakers; what makes Americans think they don’t need to learn foreign languages? What impact will this have if most interactions between Chinese and Americans are primarily in English? It is also unsurprising but important to note that most Americans who speak Chinese are of Chinese decent. What impact will this have if most interactions between Chinese and Americans in Chinese are between Chinese and Chinese-Americans? The bottom line is that in my opinion we need more Americans studying and becoming interested in Asian languages and cultures, which is a large part of the reason why I've become interested in Asia recently.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Step 1: Getting the visa
Today I waited for an hour and a half in line at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to apply for a visa to China. As my friend Andrew pointed out, it’s pretty funny that the Chinese Consulate is actually in San Francisco’s Japantown. I wonder how that happened…
Recently the Chinese government has made visa regulations stricter in preparation for the Olympics, which is understandable for security but risky in terms of making a profit on the event, as the Greece Olympics failed to do in 2004. I learned about some of the recent visa restriction changes from the guy in line in front of me who began to raise his voice at a Chinese official when she asked him to provide proof of his return ticket and hotel reservations. It seemed like he was a frequent traveler to China, but didn't know the the recent policy changes. Realizing that he was going to have to wait in the hour and a half long line again the next day, he cursed loudly in front of everyone and stormed off… welcome to Chinese bureaucracy buddy! I was worried for his sake that he was going to be denied entry for his behavior.
On my return visit to the consulate to pick up the visa, I noticed a sign on the window that said that for non-US citizens the visa costs $90, but for US citizens it costs $130. Then, the sign said that the visa used to cost $100, but because of the Olympics this summer, it's up to $130. A little dismayed, I asked the woman behind the window why the price raise... she answered "Your president want!"
Recently the Chinese government has made visa regulations stricter in preparation for the Olympics, which is understandable for security but risky in terms of making a profit on the event, as the Greece Olympics failed to do in 2004. I learned about some of the recent visa restriction changes from the guy in line in front of me who began to raise his voice at a Chinese official when she asked him to provide proof of his return ticket and hotel reservations. It seemed like he was a frequent traveler to China, but didn't know the the recent policy changes. Realizing that he was going to have to wait in the hour and a half long line again the next day, he cursed loudly in front of everyone and stormed off… welcome to Chinese bureaucracy buddy! I was worried for his sake that he was going to be denied entry for his behavior.
On my return visit to the consulate to pick up the visa, I noticed a sign on the window that said that for non-US citizens the visa costs $90, but for US citizens it costs $130. Then, the sign said that the visa used to cost $100, but because of the Olympics this summer, it's up to $130. A little dismayed, I asked the woman behind the window why the price raise... she answered "Your president want!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
