Week Five

Late posting this week. I did not present this week because of the new class schedule, but I did have a very productive meeting with Shi Laoshi. She did a great job helping me organize my writing for next weeks presentation. I decided to write a proper script this time in order to avoid the problems I have had the last couple of weeks, although I hope that I will not have to rely on the script in class.

I think it might be possible to use the scripts I have been writing (for three out of five presentations) and perhaps adapt them for use in my final paper. Especially the more organized scripts.

Week Four

Being sick can sure put a damper on proper class preparation. I was ill the first half of the week and unfortunately had to miss half my classmates presentations. Which was truly a shame. I enjoyed the (section) of the article I was able to read this week, but I felt like I was not able to properly convey it in class. The PPT is again a helpful tool, but I think that if I had been more together I probably should have written a script, so that I could at least have it to fall back upon.

On a more upbeat note, I am really starting to enjoy my topic, I think I chose it well, and that at least makes me feel good.

Week three

This week for my presentation I tried something different. The past two weeks I have been depending on a a script for my presentations, and while I didn't always follow the script, I did have it there as a safety net.

This week I prepared a powerpoint presentation, which served as an outline for what I wanted to say. I think that it worked pretty well in terms of conveying my point to the class, but I was somewhat uncomfortable without the script, and I think I had quite a few "ums" punctuating my presentation.

Second Week

This week I began my research in earnest. I found that I had a rather easy time, once I had decided on key words, finding relevant articles on both Google and CNKI.net. I was pleased that I was able to quickly skim articles and abstracts and find one I thought would be relevant. I ultimately came upon an article from a law journal, and Dai Laoshi was good enough to track me down a copy. It looks like a great article, but I have to say I am a bit intimidated by it. It is certainly one of the more complex pieces of Chinese text I have approached.

I have been trying to figure out how to go about reading, and more importantly evaluating this document. I think ultimately instead of reading it strait through I need to skim through it and sort of diagram it for myself, so that I know the basic structure and argument before I get into a close reading. That way I can have some advantage when I am having trouble with a particular sentence or paragraphs meaning. If I know the general flow of the argument, hopefully that context will help me get through the tough parts.

Here's hoping it works, if not, well then back to the drawing board.

First Week back

I have been very nervous about this first week of Chinese class. For academic and other reasons I read little and spoke even less Chinese in 2009. Coming to class I was finally confronted with the realities of my Chinese level.

The pleasant surprise has been that neither my listening nor reading comprehension have degraded as much as I would have imagined. I was able to follow the majority of what was said in class and was able to read the syllabus and the article I chose to read this week.

The not so surprising bad news is that my comfort level speaking Chinese has seriously declined. I have always been nervous public speaking, and doubly so when it comes to speaking in Chinese. When I was giving my introduction on the first day I felt fumbling and awkward, but on Thursday when I was giving my presentation I felt more comfortable, perhaps because I had put in the time to prepare. In any event, I need to figure out some strategies to maintain my Chinese when I am not in school.

On a technical level it is clear what I need to work on. My vocabulary has remained strong, but I need to improve my sentence structures and proper word choice. I will focus on this going into next week.

介绍

每个国家有自己的商务文化不一样。如果不了解的话，很容易侮辱商务伙伴。 今天我会帮你了解中国介绍的行为。在美国一般来说，给人介绍的时候先把地位低的人给地位高的人。中国的介绍相反。你先把地位高的人介绍给地位低的人。

为了进一步解释我做了一个CLIP。

人物：

穿白色的人：给介绍的人
穿蓝色的人：林先生，业务员，地位低
摄影机：张总，张总经理，地位高

西医 ，中医 ，生意: 美国和中国商务文化在医学行业的宣传

最近我去San Jose调查华人移民道美国的情况， 分析华人怎么带来他们的商务文化。

因为我的父亲又是医生又是非盈利医术公司的 首席执行官，我了解一点儿美国人对于医生的商务文化。我决定比较一下美国人与华人对于医生的商务文化。我不敢说我的作法很有科学性，职能说我试图用平等的作法。我以两种资料为来源：免费报纸的医生广告，和医生办公室的外面。

我先道Ranch 88 中国市场去拿一些免费的汉语报纸，然后我在汽车加油站拿了一本 Silicon Valley Metro Silicon免费英文报纸。 为了比较，我选择一些关于医术服务的广告。

美国医生的广告，一般来说强调 服务的种类，服务的结果，和服务的价格。照片常常是很漂亮，身体很健康的女人。很少用医生的名字或者照片。 大部分的英文广告是公司做的，私人医生的广告比较少。

典型的美国医术广告：


华人医生的广告强调医生的个性和医生的经验。宣扬的服务的范围比美国的大。 大部分的广告是私人医生做的，而且有医生的照片。

典型的华人医术广告：


这些广告能告诉我们什么？从这个比较少的标本，我们只能说美国人觉得他们跟医生的关系是生意关系，华人则觉得是私人的关系。美国人找医生的时候更考虑主体的服务和价格，所以美国广告是为了吸引一种顾客的。华人选择医生的时候，可能找长期的关系，而且重视家庭观，所以华人广告重视家庭， 成人及儿童。

为了进一步分析这个情形，我也去看了两栋医生办公室。一栋楼，Wolf Medical Center，就是普通的，所有的牌子都是英文的。另一栋，88 Center，是专门为了华人的医生办公室。牌子有中文有英文。

Wolf Medical Center 里面 有牙医、医生、和整容手术。 站着在外面来看，好像一栋办公室楼，外面的牌子很小， 没有颜色。它的名字来自比较进的大街。

Wolf Medical Center：

88 Center 有西医、中医、整容手术、保险公司。这栋楼看起来好像市场，牌子比较大，花花绿绿。它的名字来自中国商务文化。“8”因为听起来“发”有很好的意思，所以“88”更好！

88 Center：


总结一下， 美国人找医生时注重服务，价格。去看医生时要很正式的一栋楼。华人找医生注重经验，关系。去看医生时要看起来好像市场的一栋楼。

意思是什么？在美国的华人受到中国文化的影响。华人选择医生的时候以长期的关系为主。但是华人去医生办公室的时候，外面不宣扬医生的经验或关系。可能这是因为花花绿绿，有汉字的牌子意味着他们是华人的社区的一部分。

上面都是我自己的推测。 最后文化的影响不容易预计！