Chinese Clothing: A Comprehensive Guide to Traditional and Modern Styles
When you think of Chinese clothing, different images probably come to mind. Perhaps you envision the elegant flow of a silk qipao...
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How many words do you need to speak a language fluently?
Sometimes on this blog, I like to ask really stupid questions (or make stupid statements) in the post title, and then explain how idiotic I think the question is in the first place within the actual post, and explain an alternative way of looking at it. This is one of those times! I’ve been getting […]
6 short videos to help you configure your very own reality distortion field
The late and great Steve Jobs was famous for many things, and was arguably one of the most influential contributors to how advanced personal use technology developed over the last few decades. But another thing that he was quite well known for, which definitely contributed a huge amount to how much he achieved, was his […]
The only way to get far quickly is to get out of your comfort zone (my typical day learning Mandarin)
One problem with seeing the end-result of any feat, is not understanding the processes that went on to get to that point. As my friend Khatzumoto said to me once; Olympic coverage really ticks me off… you can’t just go up to a person on game day and say how talented they are. So I […]
Benny’s first video attempt in Mandarin: 2 weeks after starting
[Captions in English, Traditional Chinese (native written) & Simplified Chinese (automatic conversion). If you live in China and Youtube is blocked, then check out this video on Youku] As I’ve explained in great detail before, uploading a video of yourself speaking just after you’ve started to learn a language can be very beneficial. So with […]
My First Week Speaking, Reading and Writing Chinese
It’s the end of week 1 of what has definitely been the mission that has stirred up the most interest and discussion since I started the blog! I can confirm that after this initial exposure to the language, I have not quite been “humbled” into saying what I’m attempting is impossible just yet, despite what […]
Language Mission: Mandarin in 3 months!
Note: This mission has ended – I reached a lower intermediate level of Mandarin after 3 months and used it to successfully travel China and interview people! This video shows the level I had just before leaving Asia. As explained in the video, I was in Taipei, Taiwan, and this was day one of my […]
Quechua: Quick overview and Benny speaking it with natives
So here it is! Ending the year on a positive note of another successful language mission completed! 😀 I had only aimed to learn the basics of Quechua in the few weeks I was here, and I think this video shows that I did indeed get something out of my experience with it! Like with […]
What does Quechua sound like? Traditional fabric/dyeing presentation in “runasimi”!
My mission to learn a little Quechua (a.k.a. “Runasimi”, the language of the Incas) has been so fascinating!! I’ve recorded lots of video footage about my experience here in the Andes, including my four day adventure hike towards Machu Picchu that I’ll edit to share some time in January, and even footage of me using […]
Benny’s 2011 music video
And… that’s a wrap for 2011! It’s been a fun and very hectic year! I’ve been in so many places and met so many people, so I wanted to give you an idea of how the whole year went over just 4 minutes! This video collects some fun video clips and photos from each country. […]
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