ceeforty's blog

Anything Goes Good, Anything Goes Bad

ceeforty — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 20:36:42 -0800

A catchphrase, while it can be oversimplifying, and even insulting, is a handy way to interpret the seemingly nonsensical sights and occurrences while living abroad. I would be very curious to know how visitors to America summarize our bizarre ways, but I’m not in a position to surmise. In Spain we...

The Untranslatable

ceeforty — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 20:29:15 -0800

One of the joys of learning a language is discovering words or phrases that have no direct translation. You can spot these multi-faceted gems because they take a bit of extra care to explain. Each connotation chips away at the word in an attempt to lay bare the essence, but the essence can only be...

Cheese vs. Rock in Shanghai

ceeforty — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 03:57:31 -0800

Rock vs. Cheese

I used to ask my Shanghainese students what their favorite music was. I used to find out the names of their favorite Chinese artists and buy their CDs. I used to integrate lyrics and music history into my lessons. I used to have a music club.

I used to be so wide-eyed.

My...