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  • Posted
    How do you get rid of racial prejudices? Recently one of the books I finished was <em>Guns, Germs and Steel</em> (if you don't know about it, Wikipedia can help). The book further reinforces my belief that all races are equal in every way, there's no such thing as "inherent genetic supremacy".

    But to be honest, even though on the outside I do <em>try </em>to view and treat every human being regardless of their skin colour or facial features; on the inside I can't help but automatically associate races with stereotypes and prejudices.

    Real story: I work part-time as a waiter at a conventional restaurant. Just today a black couple complained to the manager that the smile I gave to them was faker than what a white couple sititng nearby received! These guys are racist and too sensitive, but admittedly I didn't look straight into their eyes, and the way I smiled was not as genuine.

    I serisouly hate myself for this. I <em>tried </em>to smile to the black couple, that's why they, being overly sensitive, noticed the unnaturalness and insincerity. Please give me some advices, how can I <em>completely</em> get rid of these ugly thoughts? How can I treat every one <em>naturally equal</em>?
    January 25, 2011
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  • Commented
    The language itself is not hard; I believe it's the broad cultures and ways of life English embraces that makes it incredibly difficult to master.

    If English is only spoken in England, it won't be too hard. You learn English, you learn English-British culture, end of conversation. In reality you have 50 states of the United States, you have Australia, Canada New Zealand, South Africa, Britain, each of which has its own ways and influences of using English. Wow!
    0 voted
    January 25, 2011
    0
  • Commented
    <em>You have the right to live your life exactly the way you want it to be. After all, it is your life. Why settle for anything less than everything you can be?</em>

    ----------------------------
     
    <em>You only live once, so live your life to the fullest.</em>

    ----------------------------

    These mottos might sound incredibly wise and inspirational, but I think they are too broad and unpractical. I never really think about them in everyday situations, and they don't help me much with my life :(
    0 voted
    January 25, 2011
    0
  • Commented
    Guys, with sites like Omegle, be persevere!

    My Omegle rules are: if the other person is rude (<em>hi, asl?</em>), or if he/she doesn't use English properly (<em>how r u? m or f? f?</em>) then DISCONNECT. Period.

    From my observation, and no offence, 95% of the time it's some Indian males asking "hi asl? m or f?", or some 15-year-old American kids looking for cyber sex/cam whores. You got the other 5% of real and nice/polite people... So be patient, out of 20 disconnect clicks you will hopefully land on one!

    I have actually made some friends around the world through Omegle; strangely enough all of them are girls. Are guys really all jerks there?
    0 voted
    January 25, 2011
    0
  • Corrected
    Xin chào. Tên tôi là Celeste. <strike>Em </strike>Tôi học tiếng Việt ở trường đại học Smith.


    - Your subject of choice is <em>"Tôi"</em>, so it's best to keep it consistent throughout the sentences, don't switch to <em>"Em".</em>

    - Also "Em" is more used to address yourself when talking to someone of higher rank/age/status/etc.
    <em>"Tôi"</em> is mostly used in formal situations, and thus sounds overly serious and distant. On places like this, most Vietnamese would use <em>"mình"</em> as it sounds much more friendly.

    <em>- "Tên tôi là Celeste"</em>: Well we don't really introduce ourselves by saying "My name is..."; such way of saying has more literary use than everyday or informal conversations'. Most people would say "I am...".

    So instead of <em>"Tên tôi là Celeste"</em>, I'd say <em>"Tôi là Celeste"</em>, or preferably <em>"Mình là Celeste"</em>.

    In conclusion:

    <em>Xin chào, mình là Celeste. Mình đang học tiếng Việt ở đại học Smith.</em>

    And the diacritics are all missing :(
    0 voted
    January 25, 2011
    2
  • Corrected
    0 voted
    January 23, 2011
    0
  • Corrected
    0 voted
    January 23, 2011
    0
  • Commented
    Seems like everyone is deliberately ignoring one obvious fact: the most interesting country in the world is, hands down, the United States of America.

    If you defind "interesting" as "special, exciting or unsual" (Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary), then is there any other country that is more interesting than the US? The immigrants bring to this country the best of their cultures. Some of the most cosmopolitian cities in the world, including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, are located in the US. You can practically find all major living languages spoken here. The US also possesses one of the most varied and dramatic natural landscapes and climatic conditions in the world.

    I've never been to the US, but I believe just this country alone is enough to forget about other countries. That's why Americans tend to know less about the world than Asians or Europeans...
    0 voted
    January 23, 2011
    0
  • Posted
    minhhale's notebook entry: Jan 23, 2011 I'm done with basic writing and reading skills; now there's the backlog of speaking and pronunciation to conquer. I don't know how much longer it takes to pronounce "ball", "bulb" and "responsibility" correctly... So if anyone feels like being in the same boat as me, we can talk! Please read my "about me" for more information.
    January 23, 2011
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