http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/rss Tony's latest journal entries Lang-8 Inc. Fri May 24 16:12:19 UTC 2013 Fri May 24 16:12:19 UTC 2013 Lang-8 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Lang-8
I got my second job last week. The company burns coal to provide heating in Northern China and they were keen to learn about effective methods for recycling and disposing of the by-products of burning coal. I guess that's why they chose to visit an Australian company that uses coal and other resources to generate electricity.

The Australian company has an exhibition centre to show people how their power stations work. And there was a guide, too. The guide showed the Chinese guys around the power stations and I acted as interpreter. The tour took an hour and there was nothing particularly challenging for me. I think that's because the tour is open to the public and the guide has to explain things well.




Posted at Sun Mar 10 15:03:38 UTC 2013
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/234282227779824358567809800020623701106 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/234282227779824358567809800020623701106 Tony Sun Mar 10 15:03:38 UTC 2013
The documentary is divided into four episodes and each of them explores a style of Chinese cuisine from different parts of China. Two Chinese chefs, Ken Hom and Ching He Huang, takes us on the journey and they are also the narrators. I first came cross Ken Hom's name when I ate at the Din Tai Fung in Sydney 2,3 years ago. They used his comments on their food as an advertisement. "The best dumpling in the world" was said to be Ken Hom's comment on their dumplings. Later I learned that he was a well known chef here in Australia and a friend's father had even attended his cooking classes here. He was described as "the godfather of Chinese food" in the documentary series.

The other chef in the show is a British educated Taiwanese lady called Ching He Huang. She is quite Taiwanese and quite British. Many viewers on Youtube find her attractive.

Ken Hom said many times in the documentary that China and Chinese food had become so much better over the past 20, 30 years that he could finally feel proud to be Chinese and come to terms with who he is. I have to agree with him. Nowadays, people in China care about cooking and eating. A lot of people would describe themselves as "foodies" and they would seek out good restaurants with the same enthusiasm and passion about food that can be only found in some Western countries.



Posted at Wed Jan 16 02:40:25 UTC 2013
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/27527787382538943759637727728929859147 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/27527787382538943759637727728929859147 Tony Wed Jan 16 02:40:25 UTC 2013
Fish Market is one of my favourite places in Sydney. The combination of good seafood and a scenic setting is just irresistable, and I go there every week.

We got some boiled prawns and some tuna and kingfish sashimi, picked an outdoor table and started eating our food with gusto. I prefer raw fish to seafood that is cooked. So every time we go there, we'd get raw oysters or raw fish. Drinking beer, eating fresh seafood, and watching a beautiful sunset, I was intoxicated. It's moments like that make me happy, rather than the mundane everyday life.

There is a shop in Fish Market that sells cheese. When we left, I decided to get some really strong, stinky cheese. A Chinese food writer once said that the Chinese can't appreciate cheese just as Westerners can't appreciate a Chinese delicacy called fermented tofu. I wanted to prove him wrong.



Posted at Sun Jan 13 04:14:30 UTC 2013
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/247729584650929600931231829618925495883 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/247729584650929600931231829618925495883 Tony Sun Jan 13 04:14:30 UTC 2013
It's an artilce about a Chinese restaurant called "Golden Century". The restaurant has been judged Sydney's best late night dining by a group of famous chefs. I've passed the restaurant many times, but I've never actually dined there. I think I'll definitely give it a go since the chefs praised it so much.

The article, however, is not just about how good the food is. The author of the article used a lot of words to describe the head chef Hung Leung.

"Unlike many of his competitors Leung has avoided the cult of "celebrity chef"; he is a mystery even to his diners."

"It took Leung five bemused minutes to accpet that a journalist wanted to interview him."

"In those large Chinese restaurants the restaurateur seems to be the face of the restaurant more so than the chef... The notion of the chef at the forefront of the restaurant seems to be more a Western tradition, and a recent one at that"

"Asked what he valued so much about his chefs and especially his head chef, the boss paused.

'You can find his working area is very clean. Number two, he just work and less complain, and not ask too much. Three, when is very busy he is always calm.'"

I almost burst out laughing when I read the boss' Chinglish comments on his head chef. If you know how to read between the lines, you'd probably find the author a bit racist. The article is very interesting, though.



Posted at Thu Jan 03 03:37:24 UTC 2013
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/302386996956076736509342553504776863442 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/302386996956076736509342553504776863442 Tony Thu Jan 03 03:37:24 UTC 2013
I'd like to get a better job in 2013. What I'm doing now has little to do with my major in university, and I've been thinking about changing my job forever.

I want to take a few more NAATI tests and become a full fledged translator/interpreter. I'm not saying I want to work full time as a translator. But if I can get some translating/interpreting jobs once in a while and make some quick cash on the side, that'd be great.

I've been exercising regularly. I jog, swim and go to the gym. I want to keep it up in 2013. I read and write every day. And I want to keep doing that, too. As an eminent Chinese official called Zeng Guofan from the late Qing Dynasty once said in his letters to his son, perseverance is the highest virtue in life.

I asked my flatmate what his New Year's resolutions were. He said he wanted to memorize 10 Chinese words a week. Better to have something achievable, he said. I had to agree with him.



Posted at Wed Jan 02 05:04:32 UTC 2013
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/304397352475438471458472801601689177299 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/304397352475438471458472801601689177299 Tony Wed Jan 02 05:04:32 UTC 2013
I must say I love Catonese cuisine. Chinese food is usually very oily and uses lots of different sauces. Sometimes all I can taste is sauces and spices when having Chinese. Catonese food, however, places more emphasis on the original taste of the ingredients. Steamed fish is a good example. They'd kill a live fish instead of using frozen stuff, and steam it with perfect timing. Steaming is a cooking method that can preserve the food's flavour very well because no oil or water or anything else other than steam is used in the operation.

I think yum cha is also very "clean". Many snacks in yum cha don't contain oil at all. Besides, the Chinese tea we drink when having yum cha is very refreshing. Another good thing about yum cha is that you can sit there for hours, enjoying tea, dim sim and a pleasant conversation with your friends without worrying about anything else.

In a Cantonese restaurant, the waiters and waitresses would talk to you in Cantonese. Some non-Cantonese Chinese people find that off putting. I don't have a problem with that, though. I can understand Cantonese very well and my spoken Cantonese is understandable. I'm reminded of the joy and convenience a foreign language(Cantonese is like a foreign language to many Chinese)can give you every time I have yum cha.



Posted at Sun Dec 30 02:12:50 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/140157087311963401956421719858894556371 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/140157087311963401956421719858894556371 Tony Sun Dec 30 02:12:50 UTC 2012
Yesterday was Christmas Day, but somehow I didn't feel like it was Christmas Day. I went to have dinner with a friend at a Korean restaurant near Chinatown. Most shops and restaurants might be closed, but Chinatown was still business as usual. They actually got much more business than usual because people had no choice but to go there.

I read an interesting by the Hong Kong based columnist Chip Tsao ysterday. He also feels that Christmas is not like Christmas anymore and he blamed that on left-wing politics and the immigration policies of many Western countries. Those left-wing politicians allow people from Middle East and Africa to immigrate to their countries and promote so called "multiculturalism". As a result, in some schools, they don't even teach about the Nativity and Jesus Christ. That's why Christmas has become so "tasteless" according to the columnist.

Chinese New Year, like Christmas, has become less interesting. Younger generations don't seem to care much about the holiday. I've spent many Chinese New Years, but my most memorable Chinese New Year in recent years was spent with a group of Vietnamese friends. We burned paper money for our ancestors, had some home made Vietnamese dishes, and went to a Vietnamese/Chinese temple to pray for good luck in the next year. They've preserved something we've lost.

Nowadays, chicken and fish don't taste as good as they used to be because we farm them and feed them lots of drugs. Similarly, traditional holidays have become something else. But that doesn't matter, I suppose. As I watched images of bunches of mindless people celebrating Christmas on TV, I started laughing myself. If people are happy, why shoud it matter?


Posted at Wed Dec 26 02:46:38 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/159933595782574223650206613614496990521 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/159933595782574223650206613614496990521 Tony Wed Dec 26 02:46:38 UTC 2012
I'm learning Japanese and I find it hard to memorize new words and expressions. When I first started learning English seriously, I spent half a year studying really hard. And then I was able to read English language books without much difficulty. As I grow older, learning languages becomes harder.

I started learning Japnese and Korean because I thought they'd be easy for me. The two languages imported the majority of their words from English and Chinese. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I recognize half of the words when I see them. I thought I had an edge compared to Western learners of the two languages. But no. Without hard work, nothing can be accomplished.

Some people say watching TV series and movies in the language you're learning can improve your listening skills. I don't agree. However, watching movies with subtitles in both your native language and the language you're learning may be a good method through which you can improve your language skills.

I'm watching a Japanese TV series based on a novel by the Japanese mystery writer Keigo Higashino with the help of both Japanese and Chinese subtitles and I hope to enjoy the show and improve my Japanese at the same time.



Posted at Wed Dec 19 01:32:54 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/3937053094386078942986688412926323118 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/3937053094386078942986688412926323118 Tony Wed Dec 19 01:32:54 UTC 2012
I decided to follow the critic's advice and read some classics. So I went to a local library the other day and borrowed a anthology of essays written in Literary Chinese called "Guwen Guanzhi" (古文觀止). The title of the book implies that the essays in the anthology are the best of the best and you don't have to look for other classical books because this book captures the very essence of Chinese literature. I was surprised to find that some of the essays included in the book date back to 2000 years ago.

I read a piece titled "A biography of Hsü Wei" and I found it fascinating. Hsü Wei was a painter, poet and wrtier from the Ming Dynasty. Although he was a once-in-a-hundred-years genius, he didn't do well politically. And in the old days, the only path for an educated person is to become a government official and serve the people and the emporer. Frustrated with his unsuccessful political career, Hsü Wei spent several years travelling across China and recorded his travels with poems and paintings. Like many other geniuses, he finally went mad and died a miserable death. The brief biography is a vivid description of Hsü Wei and some parts are extremely emotional and moving.

Some of the most important characteristics of classical Chinese are conciseness, parallelism and rhythm, which makes reading really enjoyable, kind of like singing a song.

A well-known HongKong writer and commentator wrote in his column a few days ago that today's young people, which he termed "the Ipad generation", are retarded (yes, that's the word he used) because they don't read classics and, as a result, they don't know how to think for themselves. I certainly don't want to be one of them.



Posted at Mon Dec 17 03:48:07 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/193512242947070481009942893138442955182 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/193512242947070481009942893138442955182 Tony Mon Dec 17 03:48:07 UTC 2012
I bought a car recently, but I'm not good at driving. In order to improve my driving skills, I go for a drive with one of my friends who has a full license whenever I can.

I went for a drive yesterday. Although I have been in Sydney for quite a while, I'm not really familiar with the city, which is a shame. I didn't know where to go. So I asked my flatmate to recommend a place that was worth a visit. We went to some sort of national park first, but it started raining when we arrived at the park and a walk in the park was out of the question. Then my flatmate thought of somewhere else to go.

The place was surrounded by hills and water. The scenery was amazing. There was a cafe/restaurant sort of place located close to the water. Actually, the area where people ate was on the water, which allows diners a good view. We had dinner there. My flatmate ordered an Angus eye fillet, I a seafood platter. The drizzle and overcast weather made the scenery all the more picturesque. Drinking my wine and enjoying the scenery, I was gripped by a warm, pleasant dizziness.


Posted at Sun Dec 16 05:57:06 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/144005646008750942875944397640414767534 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/144005646008750942875944397640414767534 Tony Sun Dec 16 05:57:06 UTC 2012

I got a female cat a month ago and I named her "Sora".

Sora is an adorable little creature. She is very good looking. Men tend to like good looking women, although people say you can't judge a book by its cover. I think the same goes for pets. Whenever she comes up to me and whenever she rubs herself against my legs, I'm filled with love and affection.

She does things on her own terms. They say you're not supposed to approach them, that you should let them approach you. But I just had to approach her and pat her sometimes because she is so freaking cute.

I prefer cats to dogs because cats are quiet most of the time, whereas dogs are very active. When I tell that to a female friend, she said that men who like cats better tend to have extramarital affairs. I don't know where she got the idea, but that doesn't prevent me from loving Sora.



Posted at Thu Dec 13 04:06:00 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/137700703220139993000739196312193313198 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/137700703220139993000739196312193313198 Tony Thu Dec 13 04:06:00 UTC 2012
I watched the trailer on Youtube and to my surprise, I found two American actors Tim Robbins and Adrien Brody in it. It seems that nowadays they are not happy with leading Chinese stars any more. Christian Bale acted in the last Chinese blockbuster "The Flowers of War". And now we have the opportunity to see two Hollywood actors acting in a Chinese movie.

The Chinese title of the movie is simply "1942". It makes me wonder what happened in that year. After reading a few reviews of the movie and watching the trailer, I finally understood that the movie is about a large-scale famine and millions of people suffering from it.

There was such a big famine and I know next to nothing about it. To be honest, I'm embarrassed about my historical ignorance. In 1942, China's top leader was Chiang Kai-shek. The film also depicts his reactions to the famine. We Chinese are all too familiar with his name. Even my Aussie flatmate has heard of the name because he has been to Singapore where there is an airport named after the Chinese leader. But when he asked me who he was and what he did, I found myself struggling with the answer.

"Back to 1942" could be a good history lesson and I hope to learn a lot about our past from watching it.


Posted at Sun Dec 09 14:58:18 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/295058655271954642704854494099962571182 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/295058655271954642704854494099962571182 Tony Sun Dec 09 14:58:18 UTC 2012
I've only read the first 20 pages of the book, so I wouldn't be able to form an overall impression of the book. Still, I have a feeling that the book will be an interesting read.

One of the book's two protagonists is a media tycoon. He is faced with bankruptcy due to financial difficulties. Still he eats at expensive restaurants. Here is a scene from the novel where he is dining at a fancy restaurant:

Armstrong flicked open the folded slip but showed no interest in its contents. Seven hundred and twelve francs, service non compris. He signed it, rounding it up to a thousand francs. A smile appeared on the head waiter's face for the first time that evening--a smile that would disappear when he discovered that the restaurant was the last in a long queue of creditors.

I couldn't help laughing when I read words like that. The author is so funny and witty.

Posted at Thu Dec 06 12:14:40 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/173472387349696536208840430929933478318 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/173472387349696536208840430929933478318 Tony Thu Dec 06 12:14:40 UTC 2012
Hong Kong is widely considered to be worse off after China's takeover in 1997. When he talked about Hong Kong, Chip Tsao first talked about a novel by the famous Japanese novelist Mishima Yukio titled "Kinkaku-ji" (Temple of the Golden Pavilion). Temple of the Golden Pavilion is a must-see for people visiting Kyoto and Japan. However, the temple we see today is not the original. The original was burned down by a novice monk of the temple 60 years ago. Mishima's novel is based on the incident. In the novel, the novice monk is unable to withstand the temple's extreme beauty. Beauty becomes a burden. Besides, he thinks beautiful things will be gone eventually. In order to preserve the temple's beauty in people's minds and free himself from the burden, he finally sets fire to the temple and burns it down.

In China, more than 2000 years ago, the first emperor Chin Shih Huang built his palace "Epang Palace". The empire collapsed after his death and the palace was burned down by mobs.

There are similarities and differences between the two incidents. They were both destruction of beautiful things, but Temple of the Golden Pavilion was burned down because of the monk's obsession with beauty while Epang Palace was destroyed out of hatred.

Chip Tsao didn't say any more than that, but I think I get it. Hong Kong's colonial history and rule of law make the city beautiful, and now we are watching the destruction of such beauty.

Posted at Wed Dec 05 03:27:31 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/239599098858011117553879831764012083630 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/239599098858011117553879831764012083630 Tony Wed Dec 05 03:27:31 UTC 2012
Once upon a time, there was a Chinese warlord called Tsao Tsao. One day, he was moving his army to a certain destination in preparation for a battle. And the timing was the key to victory. The weather was scorching hot and the army ran out of drinking water. The soldiers were thirsty and the army was moving very slowly. Then, all of a sudden, an idea flashed into Tsao Tsao's mind. He told his soilders that there was a forest not far ahead, and that there were a lot of plum trees there. The soldiers' thirst was alleviated by Tsao Tsao's words and they marched on at a faster speed because they wanted to reach the forest and eat the plums as soon as possible.

I think I'm like those soldiers. Although I can't go travelling now, I'm fascinated by vivid descriptions and stories of those places that I want to visit.

Posted at Sun Dec 02 05:02:31 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1805841 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1805841 Tony Sun Dec 02 05:02:31 UTC 2012
I did the tests for the purpose of immigration because in this country they seem to think that people who are bilingual are more likely to get a good job and contribute to society, and those people are given additional points for immigration. I passed the tests with relative ease, so I think it might not be that hard to work as a translator and interpreter. I will take a few more tests from NAATI and I hope to become a professional translator and interpreter in both directions in the near future.

There are things I'd like to do and goals I'd like to achieve before I turn 30. Becoming a translator and being able to work wth words are on my to do list. And I've taken my first step.


Posted at Thu Nov 29 02:17:37 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1801353 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1801353 Tony Thu Nov 29 02:17:37 UTC 2012
I believe that's a good method for selecting books. The past is always better than the present in terms of books and literature. Yesterday I picked up a Chinese language book that had been written 400 years ago from a local bookshop and started reading it. I found the book fascinating. It's a short story collection, and every story is fun to read. The author used the most concise language to tell stories with a lot twists and turns. Conciseness and clarity are an virtue that is lost in today's Chinese language literary circle. Reading the book is like having a history and literature lesson.



Posted at Wed Nov 28 05:09:02 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1799928 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1799928 Tony Wed Nov 28 05:09:02 UTC 2012
The movie tells the story of a Hong Kong triad group and the power struggle surrounding the election of its leader. There are two episodes. I actually watched the second episode first, and I thought it was very good.

I think Chinese mafia and triad groups are not perceived as out-and-out bad guys. They are glorified by Hong Kong movies such as "Young and Furious". Many teenage boys want to join a gang and lead a life as glamorous as that depicted in the movies.

A few days a ago, an infamous mafia boss based in Macau was released from prison, having finished serving a 13-year sentence. This guy kept a very styish public appearance before convicted. He wore expensive suits and drove sports cars. He even went so far as to produce an autobiographical movie and invited many Hong Kong movie stars to act in it.

I prefer "Election 2" to the first episode. Both can be watched independently. The second episode has solid story telling and it's more realistic, I think.



Posted at Sun Nov 25 02:00:06 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1794631 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1794631 Tony Sun Nov 25 02:00:06 UTC 2012
I got a message from my cousin yesterday. He is going to Tailand with a few friends. He asked me if I'd like to join them. I lost all interest when I heard that he'd already recruited two girls. Thailand is famous for sex tourism and having two girls with us could be inconvenient. I'm not saying I'm going to do anything. It's just that I have the feeling the trip would be boring.

Still, I want to go somewhere. There are a lot of places I haven't been to in Asia. I'm especially interested in Chinese speaking countries, Japan and South Korea. I love Southeast Asia, too.

I think couchsurfing is a fantastic idea, considering how expensive travelling could be. When you travel, all you need is a local to show you around. I don't trust travel guides written by an outsider. I believe only the locals know where to eat and where to have fun.

There are a few things people need to consider when couchsurfing. It's important to meet like minded people. I'm pretty easy and laid back and I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time with somebody who takes things too seriously. Trusting people and getting people to trust you are also challenging.

Anyway, I hope to do a lot of travelling and meet a lot of people next year. I don't know where to go yet. Wherever I go, I'll go with a friend, a local friend if possible. I believe a Japanese saying that goes like this: In travelling, a companion. In life, compassion (旅は道連れ世は情け).




Posted at Thu Nov 22 03:44:32 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1791865 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1791865 Tony Thu Nov 22 03:44:32 UTC 2012
I am only good at cooking a limited number of Chinese dishes. So I went to an Asian grocery store and bought a few ingredients and sauces that are essential for Chinese dishes. When I got home, however, I was told by my flatmate that he wanted to have Vietnamese for dinner. This guy loves Vietnamese and he went so far as to do a Vietnamese cooking course. "Fine," I said, "Let's do it."

The dish he wanted to cook was "Cambodian beef salad". He took out the recipe from the course and together we went to a local supermarket to shop for the items on the list. We also got a mortar and pestle. Must be a complicated dish, I thought.

We used the mortar and pestle to make the marinade for the beef. A lot of spices and sauces went into the marinade and it smelled pretty good. Then we sliced up all the vegetables and made the dressing. The last step was to grill the marinated beef and cut it into little pieces and mix everything together. Done. It was not as complicated as I had expected.

It tasted amazingly fresh. Both the vegetables and the beef. We opened a 10-year-old red wine to accompany the salad.

Posted at Wed Nov 21 10:00:16 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1790665 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1790665 Tony Wed Nov 21 10:00:16 UTC 2012
In the Chinese world, one of the most influential food writers, if not the most influential, is Chua Lam. He's lived in many countries and he's written a lot of books about food and travelling. He believes the most important thing in life is pleasure. I'm a big fan of his and I share this blief.

Many Western food writers and critics know a lot about Western food, but they are not equally knowledgeable about Eastern food. Chua Lam is an expert when it comes to Chinese and Japanese food. He went to university in Japan and he is fluent in Japanese. He used to be a judge of the Japanese cooking show "Iron Chef".

Chua Lam has influenced me greatly. If he says a resturant is good, I will most likely give it a go. Last time I went to Melbourne, I dragged my companion all the way to Richmond to eat at a Vietnamese resturant called Pho Dzung because Chua Lam says their pho is the best in the world.

He is a fantastic writer. His writing is very concise. You don't see the redundancy that plagues many Chinese language writers in his pieces. His economy with words is one of the reasons I like him. I hate people who are repetitive and dull. Reading his pieces helps me write better.

I enjoy reading his books. Getting his books is very easy here. In Sydney, almost every library has a Chinese section. You can always find his books in the Chinese section. I just borrowed a few yesterday.


Posted at Sun Nov 18 07:36:48 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1785565 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1785565 Tony Sun Nov 18 07:36:48 UTC 2012
Kamikaze is located in Darling Harbour, which is good because you can have a good view when eating there. When we got there, I discovered that Kamikaze was not one of those traditional Japanese restaurants. It's a "teppanyaki" place where food is cooked on an iron plate. I'm not a big fan of teppanyaki, but I decided to have dinner there anyway.

On the back of the menu, the meaning of the word "Kamikaze" was explained. I knew the word means God's wind or divine wind in Japanese but I didn't know the origins of the word. When China tried to invade Japan many many years ago, they sent a fleet to Japan. The fleet was toppled by a big storm and Japan was saved. The Japanese thought God's intervention saved them; hence kamikaze or divine wind. Interesting story, I thought.

The food turned out to be better than I had expected. Although the cooking method was simple, the freshness of the ingredients and the different sources made the dishes very tasty.

Posted at Fri Nov 16 11:32:50 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1783061 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1783061 Tony Fri Nov 16 11:32:50 UTC 2012 중국어 신문에서 한 취직광고를 봤어요.
"일본어 또는 한국어를 잘하신 분을 찾고 있어요"라고 했어요.
저는 한국어를 잘 못하지만 그 회사에게 연락했어요.
다음주 월요일에 면접할 예정이에요.
일을 하고 한국어를 공부할 수도 있으면 좋겠어요.

Posted at Thu Nov 15 01:26:35 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1780934 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1780934 Tony Thu Nov 15 01:26:35 UTC 2012 그 사진을 보고 저는 한국에 갈 생각이 생겼어요. 전 부산에 가 본 적이 없어요.
나중에 부산에 한번 갈 수 있으면 좋겠어요.
저는 매운 음식을 잘 먹으니까 한국 음식이 좋아요.
그런데 한국에 가려면 한국말을 엄청 잘해야 돼요.
요즘은 한국어 공부를 시작했어요.
될 수 있으면 내년 봄에 한국에 가고 싶어요.

Posted at Wed Nov 14 11:04:46 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1779882 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1779882 Tony Wed Nov 14 11:04:46 UTC 2012
As an Asian, I'm certainly excited about the news. However, I have to admit that I don't really know the definition of the "Asian future". I think it's all about money.

Last week, I went to the Mercure hotel near the airport to have dinner with a friend. I was surprised to see a sign at the entrence of the ground floor restaurant telling people to wait to be seated in both English and Chinese. I mean, it's not like the hotel is located in the centre of the city. I couldn't imagine Chinese tourists coming to a hotel located so far from the city. But shortly after we finished our dinner, a group of 7, 8 Chinese tourists showed up, and I was finally convinced that having Chinese staff memebers and Chinese signs at the hotel was probably not such a bad idea.

Yesterday, I took a friend to the fish market at around 12 30 in the afternoon, and the place was jam packed full of people, Asian people. We ended up going to the nearby park to have our seafood because all the seats at the place were taken.

In the article, it says Australians' income levels will be significantly boosted thanks to a rising Asia, and that Australia's prosperity is pegged to Asia. That, I think, is the reality behind the fanfare of the "Asian future".

Posted at Sun Oct 28 11:42:04 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1752065 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1752065 Tony Sun Oct 28 11:42:04 UTC 2012
They interviewed Mo Yan after he had won the prize, and he said calmly that he didn't attach too much importance to the prize, that he was a writer and he would keep on improving his writing. What a humble guy, I thought. I would overflow with joy and lose my cool.

I had heared of the novelist, but I had never actually read any of his works. I downloaded some of his most famous works onto my iphone a few days ago. I think there are two reasons they awarded him the prize. Firstly, he is a great story teller. Secondly, his stories are easy to understand by Western standards. He doesn't use a lot of figures of speech that only people who are familiar with the Chinese language would be able to understand. In other words, his works are translatable.

The works of many of the winners of Nobel Prize in Literature are simply unreadable. Some people say Japan's Haruki Murakami will win the prize some day. I think that is unlikely because people enjoy reading his novels. In my opinion, only writers writing unreadable novels can win the prize. Mo yan's novels, however, are okay in terms of readability.






Posted at Thu Oct 18 06:17:48 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1734826 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1734826 Tony Thu Oct 18 06:17:48 UTC 2012 But what exactly is Gangnam style?

I've been to Gangnam a few times. I was told that Korea's richest people all live in the area. I was surely impressed by the neon lit buildings and well dressed people there. The scenery there was super modern. My friend took me to an apartment building called "tower palace", where his uncle lived. His uncle is one of the richest men in the country and the apartment cost a fortune. I was told that many rich businessmen and K-pop stars live in the same building. I joined the family for dinner.

I think Gangnam style means wealth and flamboyance. What are your thoughts on this?

Posted at Wed Oct 03 10:11:47 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1708983 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1708983 Tony Wed Oct 03 10:11:47 UTC 2012
My friend told me that eel is considered exotic here and not many people eat it. I told him that eel was good for his life quality and that he should have some. And then he accused me of being superstitious. The friend is an Aussie guy of Chinese descent, but he wouldn't believe anything about traditional Chinese medicine. Of course he doesn't believe that some foods can boost your sexual prowess.

That, I think, is another difference between the East and the West. In many Asian countries, we think certain foods have special powers. And that's not necessarily superstitious. That's called traditional Chinese medicine. It's based on thousands of years of observation of foods and herbs.

I've asked many Chinese and Japanese and Korean people if eel is good for men and we all agree it is. What are your thoughts on this?

Posted at Tue Sep 25 12:17:48 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1695606 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1695606 Tony Tue Sep 25 12:17:48 UTC 2012
If you take a look at those people, you immediately notice that they are thugs. There is no respectable looking people among them. I despise them because they look ugly and uneducated.

There is a lot of looting going on in the name of anti Japanese demonstration. Japanese restaurants are burned down and people driving Japanese cars are assaulted. I must point out here that the restaurant and car owners are Chinese. In other words, they are hurting Chinese people, not the Japanese.

I'm really worried that people would associate me with those thugs simply because I'm Chinese. I must assure people that I've got nothing to do with them. I'm not anti Japanese. Quite the opposite, I love Japanese stuff.

It's a pity that the Chinese government allows the protests to take place. I would arrest those people and put them in jail if I were the president.

Posted at Thu Sep 20 01:28:53 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1686521 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1686521 Tony Thu Sep 20 01:28:53 UTC 2012
I got up late in the morning, put on some casual clothes and went to the cafe down the road to have breakfast. I ordered an eggs benedict and a latte.

My coffee was served shortly. Sipping the bitter coffee, I picked up a local newspaper scattered on the table and started reading. Melbourne and Adelaide topped Sydney on the "the world's most livable cities" list and a columnist from Sydney Morning Herald has a lot to say about that. She has lots of pride as a Sydneysider and some of the things she said were really funny. I almost laughed out loud.

Occasionally lifting my eyes up from the newspaper, I saw lots of churches and old buildings around the cafe. I saw people walking on the streets with a carefree look on their face. I took my time with my breakfast and tried to take in the scenery.

In the afternoon, I went to a community centre to play table tennis wih my friend. He beat me 5, 6 times. I only won once. That's somewhat demoralizing. Still,I was in a better mood after the vigorous exercise.

We went to the fish market afterwards. Sipping my beer, eating seafood, and watching a miraculously beautiful sunset, I felt like I was approaching the pinnacle of happiness.




Posted at Sun Aug 19 03:36:56 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1633491 http://lang-8.com/251120/journals/1633491 Tony Sun Aug 19 03:36:56 UTC 2012