nice thread Ame...

always nice to have a sense of familiarity...

so many things to comment on Chinese-ness...

China's has never been my top priority places to visit... have never been to the Great Wall even...lol... but the best trip i had there was when i went to Harbin... very nice ice sculptures... dang freezing, tho... lol... and the time i went... toilets were still mostly the hole in the ground.... much has changed over the years... maybe one day i'll get to visit at leisure...

Chinese film will always have a place in my heart... different nuances and techniques among Mainland from Hong Kong and from Taiwan based films...and more recent Hollywood produced ones... but all well appreciated... i especially like films from the 5 Kingdom era...

I'd ramble on and on ...art, medicine, culture, business, philosophy, fortune, folklore, holidays, spiritualism, astrology, feng shui, literature, calligraphy, history....ramble ramble ramble...and still continue to ask and learn something new...

but come now... who could appreciate Chinese-ness without appreciating the ever and all encompassing mentality of Confucius??




love this thread you started... hope you don't mind if i occasionally post more of his sayings, and those of his students...

xie xie...

Gosh.....Pansy, you put me to shame with your better command of Chinese!!!

I have always been known as the Western Chinese here as I speak more English than Chinese, I can just manage simple phrases of Chinese... though I can rattle on and on and have a decent conversation in Mandarin. And I can never recite any idioms in Mandarin....... I'm lost there too!

I've been to Singapore a few times. I agree about the cab drivers being nuts but I've always had a great time.
I was taken to eat in a Chinese restaurant in that casino with what looks like ship on top of it, can't recall the name, food was amazing.
I thought the people were really nice and respectful, typical SE Asian people.

That will be the Marina Bay Sands, Joe!
I stayed in Singapore for nearly 3 years and picked up my spoken Mandarin from there.

You think the cab drivers there are nuts? Wait till you meet the ones here...... or have me ferrying you around, hehehehe!! I can be nuts too!

Yes that's it. We had a drink in the bar on the roof first, where the swimming pool is, very smart.
I promise I never went near Orchard Tower, is that the right name, 4 floors of ?????, not the nicest name but there you go.

lol... aren't all cab drivers a little nuts... lol...
the cab drivers you were referring to...they must've been Cantonese... ... a loud and colorful bunch they are..! you should see them in action as waiters....lol!

Wow, Joe.....you come to Singapore often? It is just a drive across the causeway from my hometown in Johor Bahru, south of Malaysia. I go back often as my mum and family are there, and my youngest brother is in Singapore. If you ever come by this way, maybe, we could meet for a drink somewhere....but not that place you mentioned up there...

To be honest, where I grew up I was not exposed much to any foreign culture much; however since moving to the Austin, Texas area, I have had much interaction with many different cultures, even more so since I've joined Mingle! I love all my foreign friends, and my Chinese friends in particular are the very best! They are wonderfully sensitive, loving, caring, kind, hard working and intelligent people. Chinese food is one of my absolute favorite cuisines!

Not sure when I'll go back, depends on work, but don't worry, I wouldn't leave you for a ladyboy
I went to the yacht club when I was there, now that is posh, when I go back I'll take you there.

I think you could say that about most SE Asia people, I've been to Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma) too and the same, people are great.

nah... i wouldn't go so far as saying that about me... lol... my chinese is more due to historical value...my english is so much better...
westernized mentality with eastern hang-ups... lol...

But they are beautiful....don't you agree, until they open their mouth and speak!!
I once took a Dutch friend to the famed street here in KL, and I was hiding in the back seat. They saw me, got offended...... and snubbed my friend! LOL.... my poor friend didn't know where to hide his face!

Thank you thank you.....Missy! And you are the 'best-est' of my Western friends on Mingle!

To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world. Chinese proverb

We are in the same boat then........ you sort of described me!
My chinese speaking friends call me the 'ang moh' woman!

does speaking the same language with a different accent, count? ..coz i've been thinking of doing that, just wasn't sure it sounded right (((joe)))

lol... to my dad's frustration, he would tell us "hua na gong", when we were younger... haha

I love Chinese dumplings

Here's to the year of the Goat!

longest traffic jam... 12 days, 62 miles long...


http://www.autoevolution.com/news/the-longest-traffic-jam-in-history-12-days-62-mile-long-47237.html

It all happened on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway near Beijing and, ironically, the cause of the huge traffic jam was the road work on the highway. Trucks carrying construction supplies to Beijing, most of them supposed to be used on the expressway in order to ease traffic, were blocked at the exit, thus causing a traffic jam that lasted over 12 days.

How could you people forget about Po?