Steve's sandbox

Tag: cycle

  • Samuel Franklin – Beijing, China, February 2015

    my very patient teacher

    一般说和在国外学习中文比起来，在北京纯粹的汉语环境中练习中文有好多好处，特别是无限与当地人聊天的机会。我觉得这样的道理辩解我常常坐出租车的习惯。虽然很多与司机的闲谈有点儿像，但是我几次有过很有趣的对话。比如，有一次我遇到了一位对国外非常感到好奇的司机。我告诉他我来自英国以后，他先问我是否在英国每一天都有24个小时。我向他保证在英国每一天的确都有24个小时。接着，他想确认在英国每个星期都有七天，星期一到星期日。我又使他能够放心。然后他问我英国有没有四个季节。这次我开着玩笑说，英国只有两个季节—一个很长的雨季和一个很短的阳光灿烂的季节。不过，我意识到他可能会相信我，所以我决定通知他英国其实也有四个季节。顺便一提,他是一位能够的驾驶人。我向另外一个司机学习，在北京所有开出租车的司机都要考上一个包括英语部分的考试。这个消息让我吃惊，因为大多数外国人对北京司机的英语能力没有很好的印象。她笑着解释她什么外语都记不住。最后，有一位司机敬烟给我，但我不抽烟；并不是说这个事提高了我的口语水平。

    过去一个月我旅游到了很多不同以前没去过的地方。其中，云南是我最喜欢的省份。这不仅是因为那里的气候一直很宜人，还是因为尽管我不常欣赏自然风景，在大理和丽江的风景仍然给我留下了很深的印象。一个特殊的亮点就是在大理的山上，在一个茶园做普洱茶。在云南我甚至抽空锻炼：我在丽江的虎跳峡爬了几个小时的山，在大理的洱海骑了七个小时的自行车（我迷路了）。上个月我也享受在日本一边放松一边吃太多日餐。

    我最近从河北的石家庄回到了北京。为什么会有人要去河北呢（在中国污染最严重的省份）？当然是为了参加一场国际象棋比赛！我参加了中孚杯的公开组，通过5.5/9的表现得到了个奖金。排在前10名的棋手都很厉害，我认可了几位代表中国的特级大师。除了主要的公开组以外，还有各种年龄组—大概300多个孩子参加了这样比赛—对中国国际象棋的未来看来令人鼓舞。

    最后,春节的时候，我和几个朋友从我们位于27楼的房子里看到了成千上万的烟花无休无知地燃放。在北京的表演真壮观，我们一时甚至以为世界毁灭开始了。而且春节时北京几乎没有人，所以使用公交时不用担心人太多。不幸的是，现在我没有坐出租车的借口。

     

    I went for a walk in Kunming

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    It’s said that compared to studying Chinese in England, practising one’s Chinese in a pure Mandarin speaking environment confers a great many advantages, in particular the limitless opportunities to have conversation with locals. For me, this kind of reasoning justifies my habit of frequently taking taxis. Although much of the small talk I’ve had with drivers has been a bit samey, I have had a number of interesting exchanges.  For example, I once came across a driver who was particularly curious about the world abroad. After telling him I was from England, he first asked me whether the English day has 24 hours. I assured him that English days do indeed have 24 hours. Following that, he wanted to confirm that the weeks back in England have 7 days – Monday to Sunday. I reassured him they do. Then he asked me whether we have four seasons in England. I joked that we only have two seasons – a long rainy one and a short sunny spell. But realising he would believe me, I decided to inform him that we do actually share another similarity in the form of four seasons. He was, by the way, a very competent driver. I learned from another driver that all Beijing taxi drivers have to pass a test that includes an English language section. This surprised me, as most foreigners’ impressions of Chinese drivers’ English are not very positive. She smiled and explained that she’d already forgotten any English she’d ever known. Finally one generous driver offered me a cigarette, but I don’t smoke; not that this exchange contributed much to my spoken Chinese.

    This past month I travelled to a number of places I’d never been before. Yunnan province was my favourite among them. This is not only because of the perpetually pleasant weather, but also because of the beautiful scenery in Dali and Lijiang, which is normally the kind of thing that doesn’t affect me very much. A particular highlight was making Pu’er tea at a plantation in the mountains in Dali. In Yunnan I even managed to find time to exercise: I went hiking in Lijiang’s Tiger Leaping Gorge and cycled for seven hours by Erhai Lake in Dali (I got lost). Last month I also enjoyed a week in Japan, relaxing and eating too much Japanese food.

    Recently I returned to Beijing from Hebei’s Shijiazhuang. Why would anyone want to go to Hebei (China’s most polluted province)? To play in a chess tournament obviously! I entered the tournament’s open section, where 5.5/9 was enough to win me a modest cash prize. Those finishing in the top 10 of the event were all serious players, a number of whom I recognised as top Chinese grandmasters from before. Apart from the main open section, there were also various age group categories where around 300 juniors were playing – an encouraging sign for the future of Chinese chess.

    Finally for New Year’s, a few friends and I, from our apartment on the 27th floor, watched an endless display of thousands upon thousands of fireworks being set off all over Beijing. The scene in Beijing was truly spectacular, and it even felt at times that we were in the middle of an apocalypse of sorts. During the spring festival in China, Beijing becomes relatively empty, so one does not need to worry about it being too busy on public transport. Unfortunately that means I presently lack an excuse to take a taxi.

    You won’t find ‘selfie’ listed under ‘skills’ on my CV!

     

  • Samuel Franklin, China – December 2014

    Samuel, Beijing, China – December 2014

     

    首先，我想简单地介绍一下我的在北京骑自行车的经验。由于一系列不幸事件的发生，我已经买到了三辆自行车。我最初到北京时，没有打算骑车。我认为因为北京的公共交通四通八达，而且我的房子离大学不会那么远，所以不用花钱买自行车。此外，在伦敦，作为一个驾驶者，我培养了 一个对烦人骑车人的反感。不过，第一学期一开始，我很快就意识到更好骑车。每天早上打的是金钱的浪费，而且8点之前我不愿意走30多分钟的路。所以我第一次买到自行车时，我很不情愿地花了一百块（他送了一把锁）。当然，骑多么便宜的车很快出了问题。去学校的半路上，它突然破坏了。下次我投入了更多钱（两百块钱），得到了很合适的自行车。我失去它以后 ，就买到了我最新的一辆自行车。希望这辆是更耐用的。

    在中文的方面，我参加了一场演讲比赛。每个留学生的班要提名一个人参加。毫不吃惊，没有人志愿参加，所以我很友好的同学决定我参加将会是最好的。然后，老师告诉我我需要在数百多人面前，做五分钟的演讲，不可以用笔记。他也说他们会拍每个人的表演。比赛的话题就是“我有一个梦想”，我讲的是“我们为什么在不做梦？这个趋势好不好？”在高级比赛中，来自各种国家的留学生都说得很流利，而且各色各样的话题反应了很多不同年情人的乐趣。最终，不知何故，我排在第三。这里有比赛的网址（我在第四页上

    上个月，我也继续让自己熟悉中国西洋棋的景色。比如我参加了一场当地比赛并获得了第一名。虽然，参加那场比赛的棋手并不那么强，但是经过每一个比赛和我见到的对手，我体验了中国西洋棋的一些情况。例如，在中国没有很多的比赛，但很多人常会在咖啡馆里集合下棋。我也加入了北大的象棋队，为北大下了几次比赛。迄今，我们还保持不败赛季，可是于清华的大赛还没发生。最后，我参观了中国的棋院，那是中国西洋棋队训练的地方，也是中国国际象棋协会的办公室。我参观时，他们举办中俄14岁以下的国际比赛。

    最终，在北京你能注意到越来越激烈圣诞气氛。很多的销售商业趁着圣诞节送礼的习俗来推广各种特价商品。有些大使馆也举行了圣诞活动。例如，我去了一场德国圣诞市场，享受了热葡萄酒和椒盐脆饼。昨晚，我们在一个圣诞酒吧竞猜排了第四名；我们缺乏足够关于圣诞电影的知识。

    Beijing Station, December 2014 – Samuel Franklin

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION

    Firstly, a quick word on my experiences of bicycles in Beijing. An unfortunate series of events has meant that I have already bought three bicycles. When I first arrived in Beijing, I had no intension of cycling. I knew that there would be an extensive public transport system and expected that my apartment would be close enough to the university, so that I would not need to expend on bikes. Moreover, as a driver in London, I have cultivated a dislike of annoying cyclists on the road. However, as term started, it quickly became apparent that I wouldn’t manage without one.  Catching a taxi every morning is a waste of money, whilst I am not willing to walk over half an hour to school before 8am. And so when I bought my first bike, I reluctantly dished out 100rmb (£10; they also threw in a lock). Of course, using such a cheap piece of equipment quickly led to problems and one day, about half way on my way to class, it broke. Next time, I invested more (200rmb) and obtained a quite suitable bike. After I lost it, I bought my third one. Hopefully this one will last me more than a month.

    As for language, I participated in a speech competition. Every foreign student’s class has to nominate one person to participate. Not surprisingly, there was nobody in my class willing to volunteer, so my classmates kindly decided it would be best if I just did it. Afterwards, my teacher told me that I would be presenting in front of a few hundred people, giving a five minute speech, no notes allowed. He also told me each speaker’s performance would be filmed. The theme of the competition was ‘I have a dream’, and I chose to speak on ‘Why do we no longer dream? Is this trend good or bad?’ In the top level competition there were exchange students from all over the world, who all spoke very fluently, and their topics reflected a great many interests and concerns of young people my age. Ultimately and inexplicably, I took third place.

    This month, I have also continued to familiarise myself further with the chess scene in Beijing. For example, I entered a local tournament and came first. Although the field was not particularly strong, through each game and meeting with a new opponent, I came to understand aspects of the Chinese chess scene. For instance, whilst there are not so many tournaments in Beijing, many people frequently meet in cafés to play games. I also joined the Peking University team and have now played a few matches for them. We remain undefeated, but the big match against Tsinghua is yet to take place. Finally, I visited the Chinese chess institute, which is where the national team train and the national federation is based. When I went, they were hosting an under 14 China-Russia match.

    Finally, there is an increasingly pronounced Christmas spirit here in Beijing. Many retailers take advantage of the gift giving custom to promote special deals. Some of the embassies have hosted events too. For example, I went to the German embassy’s Christmas market, where I enjoyed mulled wine and pretzels. Fifth place in last night’s Christmas themed pub quiz is also something to build on.