Learning Chinese in an academic environment is (and this is probably painfully obvious but I’ll say it anyway) absolutely nothing like learning it in “the real world.” First, you realize that, in the real world, when you ask a stranger (in a store, perhaps) how to say something you are imposing on their time. [...]

China | 2 Comments »

Brainysmurf is discussing the North Korean nuclear issue and his own patriotic reaction to criticism of the United States. It’s a good read… check it out and then come back here for my take on the whole shebang.
The six-nation summit in Beijing over the North Korean nuclear issue (which has now ended) has [...]

Politics | 4 Comments »