I don't really have anything to showcase yet. But I figure I better try and get into the habit of writing on this blog more frequently now because last semester didn't go so well with my blog. I got into the habit of forgetting it more than writing on it. So for this post I'm just going to talk about one of the geekier reasons that I decided to try and learn Chinese. Firefly. It's an amazing TV show by Joss Whedon whose time on TV was far to short. (Just in case you don't know who he is, Joss Whedon also wrote Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Dollhouse) Firefly is a show in the sci-fi genre and has the look and feel of an American Western movie... in space. And to top it all off everyone speaks a mix of English and... Chinese! What makes it even better is that Joss Whedon chose not to use subtitles when the characters speak in Chinese. Given, most of the time it is because they are swearing in Chinese, and thus translation isn't really needed because, well, you can tell when someone is swearing at you, even if it isn't in your native tongue. But Joss Whedon also chooses to have his characters use Chinese for more intimate connections and more private conversations, whether its to convince a loved one to not go on some deadly mission or to console a worried friend or family member. One instance of this, that I now understand more after taking Chinese for a semester, is when the character Simon calls his sister River 妹妹 (meimei). A word which I now know in Chinese means little sister and is considered a term of endearment and also is a term more often used when addressing a sibling rather than their actual name. Another more colorful word that is used frequently in Firefly is 狗屎 (goushi), which I have now learned in really polite English means "dog poo". These are the two words that I remember hearing most frequently on the show. For more phrases that they used in the show here is a link to site that has them in alphabetical order: Firefly Chinese Phrases
