Youthful Days

December 7th, 2008

青春顾问 ★ youth counselors

The other day my friend 明亮 (Míng Liàng) came to me needing help wrapping a birthday gift for a girl he likes. It was funny when we came to my room with like 10 different kinds of wrapping paper. Aki and I helped him pick a design, wrap his gift and make a card too. He didn’t now what to write though. We gave him some advice and I told him when he thought of what he wanted to say to finish it later. His gift was very thoughtful. 20 of her favorite pens on her 20th birthday. Youth counselor. Again, the possibilities…

As long as we put our heart into what we do for others I think things should work out.

ECO-FRIENDLY

December 7th, 2008

回收 ★ リサイクル ★ Recycle

Today, Aki and I went for a bike ride. The weather seemed pleasant while the sun was still out but cold as can be when it went down. We bought some fruit at the market. We took my recyclables that I had been saving for the past few months and gave them away. Since there is no recycling system where we live and in many places in China for that matter, (Recycle bins on the streets are pretty much regarded as trash bins. During the Olympics I was fighting to get my co-workers to sort their trash and recyclables. But that’s another story.) I keep all things that I think should/could be recycled. There are some people that make a living buying recyclables from those that make a living collecting recyclables. 收破烂儿 are the people on those three wheeled bicycles that go around collecting all the recyclables they can. It’s interesting to see them ride their bikes down the street with mountains of cardboard and styrofoam that’s somehow securely tied down. I gave my recyclables to a family that buys recyclables. They were set up on the sidewalk right across the street from the market. They had their young kids with them. The family looked like they had it pretty hard. When I gave her the bag she was going to calculate how much money to give me but I said she didn’t have to. When I got back to the dorm I made a recyclable box and put it outside my door. Everyone should recycle take the time to recycle.

可能性

December 6th, 2008

These are the days… we went to a job fair last weekend. Aki got a opportunity with a Japanese firm that does business accounting consulting. She’s not even an accounting major. That goes to show you if you are a foreigner in China and can speak the language that you can get into professions you never thought of. Yeah, that’s right. I had a lunch with the chairman and principal of a foreign language school (a big private school near 香山 with elementary to high school students) who brought up the idea of us going into business opening a multilingual kindergarten (双语幼儿园) with me as the department head and part shareholder. The possibilities are out there. Still looking.

Trying To Understand Our Differences

December 5th, 2008

昨晚想到這個。。我也希望妳能覺得好玩。i was thinking. don’t be so uptight. i was just trying to have fun with you.

uptight いらいらした
(adj) tense, nervous, anxious, on edge, hypersensitive, defensive, worked up, impatient, angry; rigid, prim
(形) 不安な、イライラした、神経のピリピリした、苛立つ

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

some of it’s true… like when i go out and say i got some things to do. when she’s tense i don’t think she likes to talk about her issues though. i do like to have a drink to relax the tensions sometimes but this is not always the best choice. she certainly has the verbal skills. she likes to read aloud when studying. sometimes it’s hard for me to study. all in all though.. おめでと!我們還在一起,還在進步。

Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps
日本語タイトル : 話を聞かない男、地図が読めない女
著者 : Barbara and Allan Pease

訳は日本語版より

Chapter 4 Talking and Listening
“Men Talk Silently to Themselves”

  Men evolved as warriors, protectors, and problem solvers. Their brain bias and social conditioning prevent them from showing fear or uncertainty. This is why, when a man is asked to solve a problem, he often says, “Can you leave it with me?” or “I’ll think it over.” And that is exactly what he does - he thinks it over silently, with an expressionless face. Only when he has the answer does he speak or look animated to show he is ready to communicate the solution.

  Men talk mainly inside their heads because they don’t have the verbal capability that women have to use words externally for communication. When a man is sitting starting out a widow, a brain scan shows that he is having a conversation with himself inside his head. When a woman sees a man doing this, she assumes that he’s bored or idle and tries to talk to him or give him something to do. A man often becomes angry when interrupted. As we know, he can’t do more than one thing at once.

第4章 話すこと、聞くこと
“男は自問自答する”

  敵と戦い、家族を守り、問題を解決すべく進化してきた男たち。彼らは恐怖や不安を表に出すことなど許されない。やっかいごとを相談されると、男は、「僕にまかせてもらえるかい?」とか「あとで考えてみる」と答える。うそではない。ひとりになってから、無表情な顔でじっと考えをめぐらせるのだ。そして答えが見つかってはじめて、男の顔は生気を取り戻し、解決策を人に伝えようと口を開く。

  女は外部とコミュニケーションをとるのに言葉を使うが、男の言語能力はそこまで発達していない。そのため男はもっぱら頭の中で話をする。窓辺に座って外を眺めている男の脳をスキャンしてみると、自分と会話しているのがわかるだろう。だが、女には、男は退屈しているか、さぼっているようにしか見えない。そこで話しかけたり、用事を与えようとして、ときには男を怒らせる結果になる。ご存知のとおり、男は一度にひとつのことしかできないのだ。

“Women Think Aloud”

  ”My wife drives me crazy when she’s got a problem or is talking about what she intends to do that day,” said a man. “She talks out loud about the options, possibilities, people involved, what she needs to do, and where she’ll be going. It’s so distracting, I can’t concentrate on anything!”

  A women’s will verbalize a series of items out loud in random order, listing all the options and possibilities.

  A woman’s brain is prewired to use speech as a main form of expression, and this is one of her strengths. If a man has to carry out a list of five or six tasks, he says, “I’ve got some things to do. I’ll see you later.” A woman verbalizes all the items out loud in random order, mentioning all options and possibilities. She says, “Let’s see, I’ve got to pick up the dry cleaning and get the car washed - by the way, Ray called and wants you to call him back - then I’ll pick up the mail at the post office, I suppose I could also…” This is one of the reasons men accuse women of talking too much.

”女は声に出して考える”

  セミナーのとき、ある男性が言った。「何か問題が起こったり、今日の予定を考えているときの妻には、ほんとうにいらいらします。なにしろあらゆる選択肢や可能性、関係する人々、やるべきとこ、行くところを全部口にするんですから。気が散って何も手につきません!」

  女は、話をすることがすなわち表現なのだ。もともとそのように能が出来ているし、それが女の強みでもある。男だったら五つか六つ用件を書いたリストを握って、「今日はやることがたくさんあるんだ - それじゃーあとで」といいのこして行ってしまうところを、女は全項目を適当な順番で並べ、それぞれにともなう選択した可能性についても全部しゃべる。「えーと ドライクリーニングを取りにいって、洗車してもらわなくっちゃ、そうそう、レイから電話があったわよ。そっちからかけ直してくれって - それから郵便局で小包をうけとって - ついでに。。。。。」。だから女はおしゃべりだと男に非難される。

Chapter 6 Thoughts, Attitudes, Emotions, and Other Disaster Areas
“When Men and Women Are Both Stressed”

  Uptight men drink alcohol and invade another country. Uptight women eat chocolate and invade shopping centers. Under pressure, women talk without thinking and men act without thinking. That’s why 90 percent of people in jail are men and 90 percent of people who see therapists are women.

  When men and women are both under pressure, it can be an emotional minefield as each tries to cope. Men stop talking and women become worried about it. Women start talking and men can’t handle it. To help him feel better she tries to encourage him to talk about the problem, which is the worst thing she can do. He tells her to leave him alone and retreats to another location.

  Men need to understand that when a woman is stressed, she want to talk and all he needs to do is listen, not offer solution. Because she’s also under pressure, she wants to talk about her problem, which frustrates him even more. When he retreats to his rock, she feels rejected and unloved and calls her mother, sister, or friends.

第6章 思考、態度、感情
”ストレスがたまると”

  男は緊張が極限に達すると、酒をあおり、遠くに逃げだす。女は煮詰まってくると、チョコレートをドカ食いし、ショッピングセンターに逃げ込む。重圧を受けている女は何も考えずにしゃべり、男は何も考えずに行動を起こす。だから刑務所に入るのは九割が男で、セラピストにかかるのは九割が女だ。

 男と女がどちらもプレッシャーに苦しんでいるときは、何とかしようとすればするほど、感情の地雷原に足を踏み入れることになる。女はいらいらするとしゃべりたくなるが、とめどなく話を続ける女に、男はなすすべもなく、自分のいらいらが募るばかりだ。男の気持ちを楽にしてやろうと、女がしゃべるよう促すのは最悪の試みだ。男はほっといてくれと言い残し、別の場所に行ってしまうだろう。

  女はストレスがたまるとしゃべりたくなる。そんなとき男は、よけいな提案などしないでただ話をきいてやろう。男が石の上に座り込んで考えにふけりはじめると、女は見捨てられた、愛されていないと感じて、母親、姉妹、女の友達に電話をかける。

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