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[cret09]

Hi,

Have you guys learned Chinese before? Any information about good Chinese language program? I am thinking of studying Chinese to improve my career prospective.

I am looking forward to find one that is with good teaching faculty, well developed study materials and good flexible study time.. 

If you know any, please let me know
thanks

[voxprincipalis]

Now taking bets on when the other half of this spambot couple will arrive.

VP

[marigolds]

What's with the Bonnie-and-Clyde spambots lately?  Very odd. 

[sciencephd]

Perhaps you should master English first ?

[mended_drum]

Hi!  Have you guys ever considered learning to spam?  it seems that lots of people are making extra funds this way, and in this economy it's hard to turn away extra moolah!  Using a three step program that I will sell you for four easy payments of $19.95, you too can irritate people across the planet!  Send your inquires to: ugottahavballz@spambots.com.  Thanx!

[sciencephd]

What I don't understand is that 'part B' of these spam posts never seems to materialize.  It's like all foreplay with no ending.

[mended_drum]

What I don't understand is that 'part B' of these spam posts never seems to materialize.  It's like all foreplay with no ending.

It's because it's no fun engaging in a battle of wits when you're completely unarmed.  (Shout out to the Mary Tyler Moore Show.)

[galactic_hedgehog]

Ni hao.

[dr_evil]

Wow.  That was quite the delay for part II of the spambots.  Sha bee (I have no idea how this should really be spelled.  The things we learn when we have a desire to swear in multiple languages.)

[promovenda]

People, I don't think this is a troll.

[galactic_hedgehog]

From Dr. E's post, it seems as if the spambot had arrived and already been removed.

[dr_evil]

From Dr. E's post, it seems as if the spambot had arrived and already been removed.

Yes, the mods are working quickly this morning.  There was a post with the spammy link earlier.

[dellaroux]

This calls to mind a story--not meant to be exemplary or cautionary, just a story that's still unfolding:

A friend of mine spent a lot of time learning Chinese because he had apparently decided--after one long-term marriage in which his former spouse got a lot more money and real estate in the divorce settlement than he'd planned for, and a long-term relationship in which, two weeks after he declined to marry his partner, she up and married someone else--that a Chinese bride would solve his problems...he wanted someone sweet, comfortable and submissive.

Lots of us tried to point out the sexism, racism and logical fallacies inherent in this argument (especially the assumption I was hearing a few years ago from several fellows who seemed to think that Asian wives were automatically going to be submissive, and that by dating them, the fellow would somehow "show" or trump the rampant WASP-y feminists and black womanists they had dated in the past on "how to treat a guy right.")

These fellows basically seemed to want to avoid anyone who would make them work too hard or grow too much--I'm not making this up. Making any marriage work is work, and they seemed to think they'd found an end run around the requisite focus, emotionally charged communication, and discovery that they couldn't always have their own way...their new brides would be more "culturally compatible" with them, as they said.

There are other cultural assumptions, of course, behind the idea that this might not be a good idea, but the main issue here was that there was an American-Asian couple in the group who did have a good, if at times tumultuous, marriage, who remain a lot of fun to be with, and truly do work well together. This fellow apparently thought his assumptions about the racial profiles were why that worked, and no-one could get him to see beyond them.

So, anyway, with this particular friend--He learned passable Chinese, began corresponding with a few women on websites he found, and married one a few years ago.

She moved to the US, found a group of friends in a city about 300 miles away, and is mostly there, leaving him with the bills, the rent on two places, the job in a field very far physically, and also conceptually distant, from his own--and the green card application.

They barely see each other, barely talk, and while I feel badly for him in some ways, he couldn't hear what people were trying to say to him beforehand, and no-one now wants to say "I told you to think more about the dynamics of this." He's really lonely and I'm still not sure he's seen how his own assumptions contributed to the issues he's facing now. 

It's hard to see how it's going to work out. But that's what the title made me think of, anyway. Something about cultural assumptions, language, and why we learn stuff, I guess.

[spectacle]

This calls to mind a story--not meant to be exemplary or cautionary, just a story that's still unfolding:

A friend of mine spent a lot of time learning Chinese because he had apparently decided--after one long-term marriage in which his former spouse got a lot more money and real estate in the divorce settlement than he'd planned for, and a long-term relationship in which, two weeks after he declined to marry his partner, she up and married someone else--that a Chinese bride would solve his problems...he wanted someone sweet, comfortable and submissive.

Lots of us tried to point out the sexism, racism and logical fallacies inherent in this argument (especially the assumption I was hearing a few years ago from several fellows who seemed to think that Asian wives were automatically going to be submissive, and that by dating them, the fellow would somehow "show" or trump the rampant WASP-y feminists and black womanists they had dated in the past on "how to treat a guy right.")

These fellows basically seemed to want to avoid anyone who would make them work too hard or grow too much--I'm not making this up. Making any marriage work is work, and they seemed to think they'd found an end run around the requisite focus, emotionally charged communication, and discovery that they couldn't always have their own way...their new brides would be more "culturally compatible" with them, as they said.

There are other cultural assumptions, of course, behind the idea that this might not be a good idea, but the main issue here was that there was an American-Asian couple in the group who did have a good, if at times tumultuous, marriage, who remain a lot of fun to be with, and truly do work well together. This fellow apparently thought his assumptions about the racial profiles were why that worked, and no-one could get him to see beyond them.

So, anyway, with this particular friend--He learned passable Chinese, began corresponding with a few women on websites he found, and married one a few years ago.

She moved to the US, found a group of friends in a city about 300 miles away, and is mostly there, leaving him with the bills, the rent on two places, the job in a field very far physically, and also conceptually distant, from his own--and the green card application.

They barely see each other, barely talk, and while I feel badly for him in some ways, he couldn't hear what people were trying to say to him beforehand, and no-one now wants to say "I told you to think more about the dynamics of this." He's really lonely and I'm still not sure he's seen how his own assumptions contributed to the issues he's facing now. 

It's hard to see how it's going to work out. But that's what the title made me think of, anyway. Something about cultural assumptions, language, and why we learn stuff, I guess.

Your story made me think of several of my Asian friends who are far from being submissive; in fact, they are quite demanding!

As for commenting on learning Chinese, I'm not sure if the original post is legit or spam.

You're not sure?

Are you SURE you're not sure?

[malcha]

It's nice to see the SpamPot calling the SpamKettle black.