tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post4074217154783296723..comments2024-02-10T08:13:07.736+00:00Comments on Round-The-World Barstool Blues: The Adventure BarFrooghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-91718177092433126022008-01-02T02:12:00.000+00:002008-01-02T02:12:00.000+00:00I remember - guiltily - one occasion when I was gi...I remember - <I>guiltily</I> - one occasion when I was giving Susie a little English lesson from a book she'd acquired from somewhere, and after a while she started riffling through the vocabulary lists at the back until she found one particular word she wanted to show me. It was 'Repose'. I was a little slow to twig at first; she was trying to tell me that she was anxious to get to sleep - the poor girl (like most restaurant staff in this city) was going to sleep on or under the tables, and couldn't bed down until we'd left. I had, as usual quite lost track of the time; I think it was about 3am.Frooghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-43711747089690441542007-04-16T02:58:00.000+00:002007-04-16T02:58:00.000+00:00LOL. yes, I think the invocation of the "night is ...LOL. yes, I think the invocation of the "night is still young" at 4am versus 10pm DOES change the significance a bit. <BR/><BR/>re-write. re-write. shall I get out my editor's toolbox?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-68341836909150250742007-04-16T02:34:00.000+00:002007-04-16T02:34:00.000+00:00I don't know if I should have added at the end (I ...I don't know if I should have added at the end (I hope the implication was sufficiently clear!) that we didn't usually invoke the "Night is still young" excuse until WELL AFTER midnight. We had a few sessions there that went on until 2am, 3am, even 4am.Frooghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-4501552524944198052007-04-16T02:28:00.000+00:002007-04-16T02:28:00.000+00:00A good point.I think this is another of the disinc...A good point.<BR/><BR/>I think this is another of the disincentives to learning Chinese, possibly the key one for me.<BR/><BR/>I've developed a level of communication that works well for me, and I enjoy it. I like being able to deduce the gist of what people are saying largely from context and body-language, rather than the words. I like being able to fake my way in the language, padding out my limited repertoire of key phrases with a range of grunts and shrugs.<BR/><BR/>Not being able to speak the language does make you more observant, I think - like watching a film with the sound turned down, as I said to you the other day. It's also oddly restful, insulating. One of the things I am most glad to have escaped in my former life back in England is the awful, foul-mouthed, curmudgeonly, chauvinistic, racist, sexist crap that spews constantly from the mouths of most Londoners. Probably, it's not much different here. Most people in most countries in the world talk objectionable shite most of the time. But if you can't understand it, you don't have to listen to it, you're not bothered by it. I find that I can 'tune out' background chatter here entirely, so that even crowded restaurants can seem strangely QUIET.Frooghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-38110745011788085702007-04-15T16:24:00.000+00:002007-04-15T16:24:00.000+00:00I'm sorry it's gone, too. Did some exploring in S...I'm sorry it's gone, too. <BR/><BR/>Did some exploring in SouthEast BJ today, where miles of hutong communities still exist. Well worth another visit.<BR/><BR/>My D.C. trio's (Me, Bat, and the Climber) preferred spot was a hole in the wall cheap falafel and shawarma place in Georgetown where the proprietors and staff primarily spoke Arabic. None of us spoke Arabic (at least not very well at that time) but over the years, we gathered some clues about the proprietors and made up the rest of the story.<BR/><BR/>It's amazing how much other stuff you focus on when you're not busy understanding the words coming out of a person's mouth. <BR/><BR/>I wonder if you could have told the story of the Adventure Bar half as well if you had understood Chinese or the Legits spoke English?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com