Overseas Chinese Web Guide

Category: Education

  • Yamaha Pianos at Costco

    The Yamaha U1 PE at the Costco Special Event / Roadshow is listed for $6,999.99. This model is part of the silent series, which means that the piano can be played at any time of the day or night without disturbing your fellow roommates or family members. Just slip on a pair of headphones and plug them into the box located just under the right end of the keyboard. Oh, you also need to plug in your piano into an electric outlet for this feature to work. I would be mildly interested if I could hook up the piano to work with GarageBand.

    If you only want a standard piano without the gadgetry, the regular Yamaha U1 PE goes for $5,399.99. I think the salesperson will sell you any Yamaha piano, even if it is not being displayed at the roadshow. So, if you want a Yamaha U3 or a Yamaha U5, stop by and ask them about the pricing. For the price, the piano includes a bench, two in-home tunings and a 10 year factory warranty. Delivery is separate and was priced at $125.00.

  • Costco Roadshow: Yamaha Pianos

    Big fan of Costco. Occasionally, the local Costco will stage a roadshow featuring some interesting product. If I don’t buy that very day, I sometimes have to find another local Costco (but further away) that will be hosting the same roadshow. It always takes me a few minutes to track down the roadshow calendar through Google. On the Costco website, roadshows are called Special Events. Pick a region to see what is coming to your local store.

    I’m passively looking for a piano and spotted a Yamaha roadshow recently. Here’s the model numbers and pricing. The model numbers are indecipherable. Can someone really explain the difference between all the models in a 30 second pitch? Not sure. Had to jot everything down and look them up on the Yamaha website.

    Yamaha CLP 220 1,199.99
    Yamaha CLP 240M 2,150.99
    Yamaha GB1 PE 7,790.99
    Yamaha 48 U1 PE 6,999.99
    Yamaha 48 T121 PE 5,899.99
    Yamaha 46 T118 PE 3,499.99

  • All About Appearances

    Stanford Memorial ChurchOnce upon a time, high school seniors who were not admitted to Stanford University just resigned themselves to spending their next four years of life at UC Berkeley. But now, the fallback to actually attending Stanford University is pretending to attend Stanford University? Seriously, if Stanford doesn’t admit you, then attend your fallback school, get great grades, and try again as a transfer student. If that doesn’t work, you have another shot when it’s time to attend graduate school. However, pretending to be a Stanford student isn’t going to get it done unless it’s all about style, not substance.

  • It’s Never Too Early…

    Expectant fathers and mothers are often told that it’s never too early to start saving for college. Unless they have an unusually precocious child, most parents have 18 years to accumulate enough savings to pay for college expenses. Then again, if their child is unusually precocious, maybe a free ride on an academic scholarship is in the future.

    However, no one really warns newlyweds that it’s never too early to start saving for day care or preschool. Depending on the choices availabe in your area, day care or preschool can be quite expensive, as in more expensive than tuition at a public university.

    For the 2006-2007 academic year, UC Berkeley assesses $3,899.75 per semester for undergraduates who are California residents. Double that for the entire academic year and a college-bound parent is paying $7,799.50.

    Challenger School, in comparison, charges annual prepaid tuition for five all-day preschool of $14,905 and all-day kindergarten of $10,087. And, parents don’t have 18 years to save up for this sum.

  • Learning Chinese Language Online

    chinesepod-com.jpgA friend introduced me to ChinesePod, a website that offers free Mandarin Chinese lessons online. You have the option of listening to each daily lesson online or downloading the podcast to your iPod for later listening. Each lesson offers a conversation between a Chinese and English speaker. The lessons seem suited for an intermediate or advanced beginner who is looking for an easy way to pick up some vocabulary or phrases. I don’t think a true novice will be able to follow the lessons at all. Also, some features, such as viewing a PDF transcript of the podcast, requires a paid subscription.

  • Top 8 Reasons to Learn English

    The United States requires applicants for naturalization to be able to read, write, speak, and understand English. However, the U.S. exempts older applicants who have resided in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for a long duration or those with a medical impairment that affects their ability to learn English. While green card holders that qualify for one of the above exceptions do not have to learn English to become a U.S. citizen, they should not view the exception as an excuse not to learn English. Being a U.S. citizen and being able to fully partake in the benefits of American society are two separate issues. The advantages of being able to communicate in English are numerous:

    1. America the Beautiful. You need to learn English if you want to travel outside of Chinatown. Though, many Chinese old timers may sniff at America the Beautiful. China has more history. The Grand Canyon can’t even compare to Guilin. They’ll even tell you all the great things about living in China while their two feet are firmly planted in U.S. soil. Learn English. Be adventurous. Visit the national parks and soak in the grandeur of America.
    2. Cold Hard Cash. Sure, there are jobs available to those who can only speak Chinese. So, technically, you don’t even have to speak English to find a job in America. But, why limit yourself to only seeking Chinese-speaking jobs? A little investment in education, pays dividends.
    3. Good Health, Long Life. Even when you visit your Chinese-speaking doctor, the prescription will be written in English. Learning English lets you understand what medicine was prescribed. You need to understand the proper dosage and side effects of all medicines you take.
    4. Law and Order. If you ever get into an accident or are a victim of a crime, you need to be able to communicate clearly with the police or fire department. Sure, some departments may have Chinese-speaking interpreters available. But, the unavailability of an interpreter during a critical situation could jeopardize of you or a loved one.
    5. Education. Education is a bedrock of the Chinese culture. To properly communicate with your children’s teachers, you need to understand English.
    6. Descendents. Your children were dutiful enough to continue your family line. But, these young rascals speak English! If your grandchildren grow up in the United States, they will face a challenging time holding onto their Chinese language. If you wish to communicate with them, teach them Chinese but also learn English on your own so you can meet them half way.
    7. Chinatown Has Moved. The Chinese American population has dispersed all across America. Life in the suburbs means all the stores and services usually are not within walking distance anymore. The further you have to travel, the more likely you will need English to read road signs or interact with others. Oh. Make that another reasons to complain about the United States. Back in China, I can just go downstairs and…
    8. Learning for Learning’s Sake. Sometimes, you shouldn’t need a reason to learn something. As a human being, you are blessed with a brain that is designed to learn new skills. If you start refusing to learn new skills just because there’s no reason to, well, then America probably isn’t the place for you.

  • Chinese School

    Not too long ago, selecting a Chinese school that was appropriate for your child was much simpler. You sent them to the school closest to your home. Now, with the growing influx of Chinese immigrants, some parents may find several different schools in their neighborhood to choose from. Here are some important factors to consider when selecting a school:

    • Dialect. Most schools offer instruction in either Mandarin or Cantonese, with some schools offering instruction in both. If you speak Mandarin at home, you will be more readily able to assist and reinforce your child’s language lessons if they were also learning Mandarin. The same is true if you speak Cantonese and your child is attending Cantonese classes. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and Guangdong (Canton), while Mandarin is spoken in the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan.
    • Phonetics. Mandarin is usually taught in either Pinyin (拼音) or Zhuyin (注音符號), which is also known as BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ). These two systems of Chinese phonetics associate a particular sound with a symbol. For example, the b sound in Mandarin is represented by a “b” in Pinyin and a “ㄅ” in Zhuyin. Pinyin is the current system of romanization used in the People’s Republic of China, and is also the standard used by the United States as well as the United Nations.
    • Characters. Chinese characters may either be written in the simplified style (简体) or the traditional style (繁体). The simplified style is used in the People’s Republic of China, while the traditional style is used in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
    • SAT II – Chinese. Some Chinese schools offer specific preparation for the SAT II – Chinese with Listening examination. This high school-level examination tests reading and listening comprehension, as well as sentence completion. The listening portions are spoken in Mandarin Chinese, while the reading passages are in both traditional and simplifed Chinese. The sentence completion portion is administered in traditional and simplified Chinese, as well as Pinyin and BoPoMoFo.

    More Resources

    California

    Colorado

    Connecticut

    Maryland

    • Hope Chinese School Provides Chinese language classes in Bethesda, College Park, Fairfax, Germantown and Rockville, MD as well as Herndon, VA.
    • Potomac Chinese School Provides Chinese language classes in Potomac, MD.

    Michigan

    New Jersey

    New York

    Oregon

    Pennsylvania

    Texas

    Virginia

    • Hope Chinese School Provides Chinese language classes in Bethesda, College Park, Fairfax, Germantown and Rockville, MD as well as Herndon, VA.
    • Tidewater Chinese School Provides Chinese language classes in Norfolk, VA.

    Washington

    Washington DC

    • Hope Chinese School Provides Chinese language classes in Bethesda, College Park, Fairfax, Germantown and Rockville, MD as well as Herndon, VA.

    Canada

    Associations

    Note: All updates will be made to this Chinese School page.