Category: in china

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in china

whatever he’s been drinking, i want some of that too!

There are many people studying Chinese now. I hope that all of you reporters, and the other ladies and gentlemen in attendance, can take up the study of Chinese. I believe that Chinese is one of the easiest languages in the world to learn. Otherwise, how can you explain why 1.3 bllion people have chosen it as their mother tongue?

said by china’s foreign minister, mr. yang jiechi in a press conference this morning.

i have a class in half an hour, am struggling to remember a dozen characters and starting to feel like i want to kill someone. because, you know, it’s so simple!

(from danwei.)

Categories
in china photography

a month ago

walking around with the holga in the park, freezing my fingers and toes in the cold. more here.

i’m might be seriously falling in love with this camera.

Categories
in china

the unwritten rules of chinese culture

“… cultural interpretation is a key business skill, as your writer points out. of course, that’s easier said than done. i have studied english for more than a decade, but I still become lost in some situations.

one time i attended a housewarming party held by a foreign friend. when asked whether i wanted a second helping of food, i replied politely in the traditional chinese way: “no, thanks” which actually means “yes, i do, but just a little“. needless to add, i went home hungry, and i’m sure many foreign businessmen have gone home “hungry” too due to miscommunication.

and so, when in china, it would be wise to “ask twice” when discussing matters of import. after all, for chinese, “beating around the bush” is a form of politeness, one that saves the face. “

spotted on a letter to the editor of a local magazine.

Categories
in china photography

anita na china . com

anitanachina.com é um projecto novo: uma foto por dia durante o ano do rato, para ajudar a mostrar a (nossa) vida na china nos dias que correm. vem na sequência das muitas vezes que nos fizeram a pergunta “como é a china?”, e da vontade de a mostrar, de forma mais coerente e explicada, aos amigos e família.

é ao mesmo tempo um exercício fotográfico (para me obrigar a saltar da cadeira e ir fotografar) e uma maneira de me obrigar a escrever em português – tarefa complicada nos dias que correm.

o nome surgiu de um comentário no flickr, pela joana. :)

night view

anitanachina.com is a new project: a photo a day for the year of the rat, to help portray our daily life in china.
it’s a photographic exercise, but at the same time, it’s written in portuguese because i miss writing in my mother tongue (a task that is becoming increasingly difficult). english readers should find it quite easy to navigate though.

the name “anita na china”, literally “anita in china” is a play with some portuguese child books that used to feature a character, anita, discovering the world around her: anita in the train, anita goes to the farm, anita in the theater, etc. the idea for the name was given to me in a flickr photo comment, by joana. :)

Categories
in china

and on the 5th day…

… of christmas chinese new year, it’s the “god of fortune and wealth” birthday. to invite him in, what do you do? fireworks, of course.

on the 40th floor, overviewing shanghai

because p.’s company wouldn’t pass the opportunity to attract wealth (and having fun firing some big artillery), we were invited to join the party on the boss’ house rooftop, still covered in snow.

for a couple of hours or so, we marvelled at the view from the 40th floor: everywhere we looked, fireworks and strings of firecrackers exploded loudly and bubbles of color filled the air. it’s one of those sights that really takes your breath away. (but if you dared to close you eyes for a second, i reckon the noise around you and smell of gunpowder would certainly prompt imaginary visions of armageddon)

anyway, all in all, it was fun. i don’t know how to efficiently photograph fireworks (especially with frozen hands and toes) so these are my humble tries.

    

you can find a lot of better pictures of it on flickr.