The 水男 novel isn't too hard for me to read, it turns out. I've read the first four chapters or so, and it's all about the extended family quarrelling and beating each other up during the author's childhood. That's all juxtaposed with a little girl he sees later in a park. I don't know if it's any good yet, but five years ago I'm pretty sure there ( Read more... )

I finished it! WHOOP! Now I know all about the trials facing kids who leave China to study, and their parents, and I can get stuck into the novel. One thing: please will someone explain the term 'AA制'?

Later: Chinese Wiki says AA制是源於大中華地區的詞彙，意思是各人平均分擔所需費用，通常用於飲食聚會及旅遊等場合。AA制這個詞彙的起源尚未有確定查證，但可能是來自藥劑學的人士，因為英語“aa”或“ana”用於藥物處方的釋義可以為'各以等量', but I don't ( Read more... )

Almost finished "Girls And Boys Who Go Abroad To Study". It's incredibly boring but I have to finish it now, or else it'll be ages before I'm able to say I've read a whole book in Chinese. Luckily it's written in infantile language so that even I can read it fairly fast. And I want to finish it quickly so I can get on with reading "水男", which is a ( Read more... )

Well, I had to give my Beijing slapper book back to the Edinburgh library, but then I realised that Dublin kind of almost has a Chinatown on Parnell Street. It should be pedestrianised, it's not very nice. Maybe one day... Anyway, there's a library slash bookshop there, and after much deliberation, and staring at the spines of books with gimlet ( Read more... )

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When I landed at Dublin airport yesterday, I passed the Irish Finance Minister on the tarmac. He's fairly distinctive looking. No doubt it's good luck if a finance minister crosses your path.

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Dear sinophone babes, how do you express a hypothetical in Mandarin? Would "if I had a bike I would be happy" be something like "要是我有单车，我就高兴了" or "我有单车了就开心"? Where does the 了 go? And how do you say "if I had had a bike when I was a child, I would have been happy?"

"Mountain rise bifurcation. Die, upwards work door three already three. Work already. Boat death man concave (ahem) boat ritual bifurcation. Primary/tortoiseshell concave work man three. Rise boat unit-of-measurement mouth ( Read more... )