Trials & Tribulations

So it is that YouTube celebrated its sixth birthday with the stunning announcement that it moved past the 3 billion views-per-day mark last weekend. That’s a 50% increase over the previous year. Put another way: It’s equal to “nearly half the world’s population watching a YouTube video each day, or every U.S. resident watching at least nine videos a day,” the company pointed out on its corporate blog.

#!/bin/sh

# try to ping google, if failes run dhclient

ping -c 5 www.google.com
RETVAL=”$?”

if [ "$RETVAL" -NE "0" ]
then
dhclient
fi

Error:

“The update metadata index is correctly signed, but failed an integrity check. ”

fix:

cd /var/db/freebsd-update

rm -rf ./*

Dangan: personal files, containing details of their political, family, educational and employment background. Everyone in China is required to have one.

Beigu: Northern auntie, a derogatory expression for mainland girls.

Nandehutu: An ancient Chinese saying meaning, Leaving things ill-definied is better. The closest English quivalent is , Ignorance is bliss.

Jia Yangguiz: Fake foreign devil. A word used by ultra-patriots to refer to westernized Chinese.

Xin Xin Renlei: The “new” new generation: Gen Xers and Gen Yers whoes lifestyle includes bar culture, multiple sex partners and the internet. A far cry from the simpler and traditional lives of their earlier generations.

 

Yaomohua: To demonize

Songgao Xie: Platform shoes. Popular among young women in Japan, korea and China, where women especially want to look taller. The shoes cause accidents and broken ankles because of their fantastic but impractical platform.

 

Xinbake: starbucks, considered one of the most “in” places for urban youth. Quite the opposite of its status in the Statues, where it is considered a somewhat soulless and uninteresting corporate creation.

Huli Jing; The fox spirit comes in the guise of a beautiful maiden to seduce men and slowly devour them. Refers to attractive young women who make men crazy for them.

 

Dudou: Sexy baby doll clothing that exposes the shoulders.

Xiao Yazi: little duck, a gigolo or male prostitute. Because femail prostitutes are called “chickens”, male prostitues became “ducks”

 

Chihewanle: eat drink and be merry

Shengdan: Christmas. More of an excuse to eat and spend time with family than anything having to do with Christianity or Jesus

Qingren Jie: Lovers Day – Valentines day

Kan Renao: Enjoy the scene

Cou yidun: have a feast

Yangsheng: Cultivate one’s body to keep its balance and health

Sanlitun: A neighbouthood in Beijing that offers many entertainment places like cafe shops, restraunts and bars; a place where young people love to hang out.

 

Xingui: The new aristocrats, or nouveaux riches. During the Cultural revolution, educated people were purged by the goverment and everyone was equal (equally poor that is). The new market economy has made it posible for people to have money and a strong education. This group of people constitute the “new aristocrats”

Nuujin: An Ox and a ford – Oxford

Cha Canting: popular Cantonese fast-food restraunt that offers quick meals and milk tea.

 

Hutong: old style chinese homes that create narrow aleyways and little courtyards.

Hou Xiandai: postmodern

Baima Wangzi: A prince charming on a white horse.

 

Erguotou: Fiery Chinese corn liquor

Qingzhong: The seeds of emotionsl refers to awful romantic partners

Huigen: wisdom roots, affinity with Buddhism.

 

Three P.:  pigu, pifu, piqi – nice butt, soft skin and sweet temperament

pretty, pure and pleasing

Haigui: Sea turtles; refers to overseas returness who come back with advanced degrees, westernized lifestype and nice jobs. Unlike endangered sea turtles, their numbers are growing every year.

 

Chile Ma: have you eaten yet? Traditional Chinese greeting, equal to “how are you” This phrase expresses the importance that food plays in Chinese society.

Lile Ma: Have you divorced yet? A new Chinese greeting since the divorse rate in China is skyrocketing.

Waiqi: Foreign Enterprise,  with the market economy those Chinese who are able to land jobs with a foreign enterprise make several times more than their domestically employed countrymen. These people are both admired and resented by other Chinese.

 

Sanlitun: A district of Beijing that houses many foreign embassies; known for its night life and bars.

Yao Tou Wan: “head shaking tablets”, better known as Ecstasy. Drug use is becomiong increasingly popular and hard to control among Chinese youth.

 

Maren; To criticize or insult people.

Zhengyi: Fight and discuss; controversy

Toujizhe: An opportunist. Prior to the opening of the market economy, there was no room or need for opportunisits in Chinese society. Today the culture has changed, and opportunists, seeking both money and attention have sprouted up all over the country.

Baotang: to  make soup.

Cehua: To plan, promote, position and publicize. One of those flashy new words that has entered the Chinese cocabulary along with the opening up of the market economy

 

Xiao Mi: “Little Secret”, slang term for mistress

Taitai: Wife, usually one who dosn’t have to work to support the family.

Maizidian: A funky artistic, counterculture district in eastern Beijing

Couhe: “to match and combine”; settling for second best.

 

Chuji Jieduan: the primary stage of socialism, the Chinese Communist Party’s description of the current political system in China.

Meinu Zoujia: Literally, a pretty femail auther;  in actuality, one of a group of average-looking femail authors who like to include flattering photos of themselves on the covers of their books. just as so-called political analysits such as Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter appear on the covers of their sensationalized books in  the United States

Bazi: “Eight characters”,the taoist reference to the year, month, day, and hour of one’s birth.

 

Xiaorendezhi: “small people finally grab their change”: the triumph of the little man. Closest English translation is probably “Evey dog has his day”

Meigou Huzhao: Beautiful country’s documents of protection; American passport

 

Hanjian: Chinese traitors, a historical pejorative term.

Emie Jiuzu: The ancient practice of extermination an entire family through the ninth extended relatives as punishment for wrongdoings.

Shogua: The practice of forcing widows to remain single till death to keep their purity. Obviously this is not a custom that is particuly popular in today’s modern China.

Wenzi Yu: The execution of dissident authors.

 

Jiachou Buke Waiyang: Ugly or embarrassing domestic issues shoulden’t be told to outsiders. Although most personal issues such as income are open topics for discussion, this one usually is not.

 

Fandong: reactionary

Yuanfen: The fate that brings people together

Laogong: “Hubby”

Tuoyi Wu: Strip dance

 

Ding Dong

Bang Dakuan: Being gold diggers – one of the downsides of the success of the new market economy

Xuanmei: beauty pagent. Such practices are becoming increasingly popular in the new image-conscious China.

Haidian district: Beijing’s college district. Major colleges like Bejijing University, Poeple’s University, and Tsinghua University are all located in this district.

 

Hongbao: A red envelope, normally containing money, used as a gift for friends and relatives on special occasions; often referred to in Hong Kong as Lai see.

Cei: To beat and attact someone; a popular slang among the young uneducated people in Beijing.

Gemenr: Beijing slang for mate or buddy.

 

Yingyu: English

Meiguo Meng: American dream.

Waiqi: Foreign enterprise; a sino-foreign joint ventures company in China.

ER-HUA: the distinctive er suffix added to words pronounced in the Beijing accent.

Putonghua: Standard Mandarin Chinese

Huxiang Xuexi: Learning from each otherl mutual-exchange language lessons. Many romances between foreigners and locals seem to sprout up through these relationships.

 

Chunjie: Pure and clean, meaning innocent or innocence; used as an adjective and as a noun.

 

Gongkuan: Public money, often refers to things that can be reimbursed or paid for by the goverment or work units. The Chinese are true artists when it comes to writing off expenses to the goverment or their companies.

 

Ha Rizu: Fan of Japanese culture

Ha Meizu: Fan of American culture

 

Jiang Haishi Laode La: “old ginger is always spicier”

 

Taizi Dang: A party made of princes. It refers to those who hold high positions in goverment or business as a result of their family’s high-ranking political background. Nepotism was once common practice in China.

 

Huise Shouru: gray income; income other than one’s salary, often cash under the table or reimbursements for expenses.

 

Ziaozi: petite bourgeois; refers to an emerging group of young people who enjoy things Western, from coffee to jazz. They are not rich, but pay attention to tehir lifestyple. They would fit in quite well with their counterparts in the West.

 

Huijia: Return home. Family and home are extremely important in the Chinese culture. One must never forget where he or she came from, and returning home for special events is more than just a nice thing to do; it is a requirement of any self-respecting Chinese.

 

Xiahai: To jump into the sea: to go into business. In China, starting a business is probably even more risky than jumping into the sea.

 

Sizhu Bupa Reshui Tang: Dead pigs aren’t afraid of boiling water.

 

Heuwulei: Five black types, jargon used in the Cultural Revolution to identify those deemed to be reactionaries.

Gaogan Zidi: Children of high-ranking Communist Party officials: privileged rich kinds in China.

Liu Si: The Tiananmen uprising of June 4, 1989

Erhu: Two-string Chinese musical instrument.

Da Gong: To work in order to make a living. It especially refers to pesants who migrate to the cities to become manual laborers. In a broader sese, it refers to all employees who work for others instead of themselves. Since enterpreneurship is encouraged by the market economy, many Chinese consider being a boss more success than working for someone else.

 

Chuzhang: deparment cheif.

Youhua Zuhe: Optimization

 

gone bad, like a pot of soup that has been overspiced.

 

Dashiqin, Mashian. “beating is a way of showing love”

In China rank is key, people get different treatment according to their status.

 

“you should also say that your annual salary is what an average Chinese would make in one hundred years”

“You need to impress your partners with your power ans success. We Chinese buy it”

“Finally, don’t forget to say that you disagree with the Falun Gong cultists and the Taiwan separatists”

 

Rule one: Never construct a sentence staring with “when I was in the Unicted Sates…”  People just don’t liek it. And frankly, they don’t care either. You will only distance youself with such claims”

Rule twoL Never drop English words into your conversation. And never ever ask someone, ‘How do you say this in Chinese?’ Even if you have honestly forgotten how to say something in Chinese, the locals tend to think you’re faking it. They think you’re just showing off and they’ll resent it.Sure, they respect your education and experience in the west, but they don’t like to have their noses rubbed in it. We are talking about proud, sensitive poeople”

Rule three: Under no circumstances should you wear shorts to meet with your coworkers, even after work. Show them some respect.

Rule four: Display photos with big shots.

 

Iron Rice Bowl: The iron rice bowl refers to guaranteed lifetime employment in state enterprises, whioch was the central theme in Mao’s socilist economy.

 

 

Getting there

Arrive at Pudong International Airport

Bus/Subway/Maglev train

The media:

China Daily

Shanghai Star

 

Culture & etiquette

Pushy venders will shout at you, jump in frount of you or even tug your arm, and it takes a while to train yourself to simply ignoew them, as the locals do.

As for personal appearence, skimpy clothing is fine (indeed fasionable), but looking scruffy will only induce disrespect. All foreigners are – correctly -assumed to be comparativly rich, so why they would want to dress like peasants is quite beyond them.

In terms of sexual mores pretty much anything goes in Shanghai these days, though public displays of homosexual behaviour will raise an eyebrow.

Prostitutio, though illegal, has made a bid comeback – witness all the new “hairdressers”, saunas and massae parlours, evey one a brothel. Single foreign men are likley to be approaced inside hotels; its common practise for prostitutes to phone around hotel rooms at all hours of the night, so disconnect the phone.

 

Travel essentials

CostsL

The minimum daily budget you can comfortbly maintin is around $30/200RMB a day, if you stay in a dormintory, get around by subway and eat in local restraunts.

Tipping is never expected.

 

Passports and money should be kept in a concealed money belt, and its a good idea to keep around $300US seperately from the rest of your cash, together wiht your traveilers cheqe, insurance policy details and photocopies of your passport and visa.

 

Never drink with a stranger if you haven’t seen a price list.

Not looking obviously wealthy also helps if you want to avoid being ripped off by street traiders and taxi drivers, as does telling them you are a student – the chinese have a great respect for education, and more sympathy for foreign students than for tourists.

Electricity

220volts, the most common type of plug dual flat prong.

 

www.chinaembassycanada.org

Heakth:

Diarrhoea. it usually strikes in a mild form while your stomach gets used to unfamiliar food.

Get plenty of rest, drink lots of water. replace lost salkts with oral rehydration solution.

Avoid milk,greasy or spicy food, coffee and most fruits, in favour of bland foodstuffs such as rice, plain noodles and soup.

Meidcal resources

Canadian Society ofr International Health www.csih.org

 

Insurance

www.roughguides.com/shop

worldnomands.com

 

Tote a laptop – just about every cafe has free WiFi as does McDonalds.

To really make any money here, you need to either be employed by a foreign company or start your own business.

Zhaopin www.zhaopin.com Huge job site in Chinese and English

The international Post offiice is 276 Suzhou Bei Lu. This is where poste restants letters end up (having letters addressed to you c/o Poste Restante, GPO, Shanghai

Time:

8 hours ahead of GMT,  13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Canadian department of Foreign Affairs www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca

useful websites

shanghaiist www.shanghaiist.com News and a forum, with lots of quirky local gossip; entertaing and informative

sinomantia www.sinomania.com A california based website with current Chinese news stories and a good populat music section with MP3s

SmartShanghai www.smartshanghai.com The definiitive nightlife site, with plenty of restraunt reviews too; up to date, with events listings, bitvhy user reviews, maps to show where venues are and a personal section

YesAsia www.yesasia.com Online shopping for Chinese movies, CDs, books, collectables and so on

Zhongwen www.zhongwen.com A dictionary useful for studens of Chinese and anyone struggling to communicate in Chinese

urbanatomy www.urbanatomy.com Extensive website that’s rather more useful than the accompanying print magaine, thats shanghai

The City