China Travel Guide » Study Abroad http://www.chinalogue.com One Stop Travel Guide to China Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:05:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 The Benefits of Learning Chinese http://www.chinalogue.com/economy/the-benefits-of-learning-chinese.html http://www.chinalogue.com/economy/the-benefits-of-learning-chinese.html#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2007 02:21:46 +0000 Adam http://www.chinalogue.com/economy/the-benefits-of-learning-chinese.html Following is an artiticle from oregonlive.com . I am guessing from the name that she is not a native Chinese; but, she went all the way up the ladder of one of the biggest pizza chains in part (I assume,) because of the ability to speak Chinese. I am amazed with the amount of opportunity out here, but also daunted by it – there is so much activity and I want very much to be a part of it, as should you.

I have really been thinking a lot about the value in focus and purpose. It can be very easy (or maybe just a habit) to look for the negative aspect of things, and, by looking, obstacles are easy to find. Life is always full of challenges and problems, but it is also here that man creates meaning in his life. It is he that persists in spite of these obstacles that gets the greatest value out of life. Well……………as Plato once said “To know good is to do good.”

Papa Murphy’s names new president and CEO
Posted by The Oregonian April 19, 2007 17:34PM
Categories: business
Clarice Turner has been hired as president and chief operating officer of Papa Murphy’s International, the Vancouver-based pizza chain announced.

Turner worked 16 years for Yum! Brands in executive positions at subsidiary Taco Bell Corp.

She earned her undergraduate degree in geology and a master’s in business administration from San Francisco State University. She also attended Fudan University in Shanghai, China and the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

Papa Murphy’s is the sixth-largest pizza chain in the country with nearly 1,000 locations in 30 states and Canada.

– Allan Brettman

]]> http://www.chinalogue.com/economy/the-benefits-of-learning-chinese.html/feed 0 Li Xiao Long http://www.chinalogue.com/information/culture/li-xiao-long-2.html http://www.chinalogue.com/information/culture/li-xiao-long-2.html#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:00:43 +0000 Adam http://www.chinalogue.com/information/culture/li-xiao-long-2.html I guess you can choose your own name here, so that is my Chinese name. It means “Little Dragon,” which is the Chinese (real) name of Bruce Lee. That is my joke with the ladies – never fails to get a laugh. I like to ask people their name when I meet them – In Chinese this is “Wo Jiao Shenme Mingzi?” Then they ask me my name and I say, “Wo Jiao Li Xiao Long!” For my first two weeks here I was Zheng Leng (Jackie Chan,) but I think Li Xiao Long is better.

Funny enough – I got that job at MAERSK. I guess there were probably two reasons for this: First, I made sure I got paid for the last class, and secondly, I called the guy who seemed to be the decision maker from last time, and told him that I thought that he had make a mistake in not choosing me just because I didn’t have Business English Teaching experience, per se. Anyway, I am glad that I got a call back. I was going to refuse it out of spite, but that wouldn’t do any good. Tonight I had five students; three of them were new from a couple weeks ago. Very smart and good English; First, we started with common American idioms – (the grass is greener on the other side, the early bird gets the worm, etc.) After that, we read an article about recent talks between Korea and China regarding a Free Trade Agreement – it was pretty heavy in high level business terms regarding trade, tariffs, etc. I had them rotate paragraphs, ask me when they needed clarification on words, and, at the end, discuss the overall meaning of the piece. Time flew by and I will employ this format from here on out.

I have been offered a couple other jobs. I have a possibility for one at LG, which is a big Korean-owned company that makes cell-phones and air-conditioning units. So, I can then keep the curriculum that same for both companies. I am happy to have my days filled with the gym, school, and work. It is also really nice that I can do it at my own pace – I need to keep reminding myself that I am very, very fortunate to have this opportunity in life where I can really focus on improving.

]]> http://www.chinalogue.com/information/culture/li-xiao-long-2.html/feed 0 The Chinese Challenge http://www.chinalogue.com/what-to-do/the-chinese-challenge.html http://www.chinalogue.com/what-to-do/the-chinese-challenge.html#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2007 02:18:13 +0000 Adam http://www.chinalogue.com/economy/the-chinese-challenge.html It came to me last night – after spending a frustrating evening trying to get by in Chinese – quite unsuccessfully. I am here in China for one primary reason and that is to learn the Chinese language. Now, let’s be honest with each other, this isn’t your Mammy’s Spanish were talking about – this is Chinese!!! Couple that with the fact that I have never learned a language before and that I’m starting my first at 32 (33 in a month) and we have quite a challenge on our hands. I am willing to put everything I have into it, and if I can do it anyone can, do anything. Oh yeah, I have another confession to make, I am tone-deaf! – and Chinese is a tone-based language. I am so tone-deaf in fact, that, when I was waiting tables at the Cheesecake Factory, I was banned from even singing “happy birthday.” Believe me, this is a true story.

So, here is the theme and challenge. The name of this website is Chinalogue – which, is very apropos for my situation. I am here in a great city where Mandarin is spoken on the streets. I am going to make it a point to speak as little English as I can get by with, and I am going to document my trials and tribulations of learning this language all the way through. I will update what I am learning as I learn it. So far, I can say some pretty basic phrases; how are you, how’s the weather, where is this/that – but, I really need to think slowly and translate in my mind first.

Otherwise, I am still waiting for hot water in my apartment, then I will go ahead and get my own internet connection.

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