Is just such a shock from being in China. Just got harassed and essentially threatened for being a socialist. They searched my bags and commented on my China flag and my little red books and my copy of Blackshirts and Reds. Fucking police state. The security in China is strict, but they don’t give a fuck about your thoughts, whereas this guy was very aggressive about “consequences” for being a socialist.

      • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
        33·
        9 months ago

        I was just like, man, first I’ve heard someone else say that off the internet. Hell, that was the initial reason I started learning Chinese and incidentally how I met my wife was I expected war by 2025. I really fuckin hope not though, because I will die if I can’t see my wife anymore. I didn’t plan to meet her, but she completes me in a way I’ve never been completed before.

        • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
          20·
          9 months ago

          That’s adorable! I hope things work out well and it doesn’t cause any issues, I think you should be able to seek asylum if war does break out (though it might be tough getting there). It’s the reason I’ve been meaning to start learning Chinese, but I should get off my ass and actually learn properly. My country will get a total media blackout on everything from China once war breaks out, and I don’t want to be left in the dark (and listen to the Murdoch media’s constant empty accusations against China to manufacture consent).

          • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
            16·
            9 months ago

            That’s a thought I hadn’t considered. I have young family I help care for in the US, so it might be hard if things start soon to leave, but that just opened up a whole new option to me, thank you.

            I say if you’re interested in learning, at least give it a try! It’s such a fun and lovely language, I really enjoy everything about it. It’s tough, but being in China and reading signs was so satisfying, and the few times I could hold a short conversation were really confidence boosting. God do some people talk fast though. When my wife is on calls with her family it’s like a thousand words a minute. I honestly feel like they have to think faster than me because I don’t know how you can say so much in so short a time, I’m very much a slow and steady kinda guy. It also made me consider how language can affect cognition a lot.

            • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
              12·
              9 months ago

              I’m not quite sure what the laws are on that, but I do think if your wife is a Chinese national, your family should be able to apply for asylum, though you may need to fly over there from another nation first (Mexico most likely).

              Yeah, everything I learn about the language is just really interesting (I love how composite words work in the language, it feels like if I had a good enough grasp of it I could convey what I mean even if I don’t have the specific word that I want to say, just using a combination of existing words/letters.)

              I definitely get the “people talk to fast” thing though, I’m Australian, and we’re notoriously slow talkers in other languages, so that’ll be the biggest hurdle I think. I’m always annoyed with how slowly it can take to convey ideas though, so learning a “faster” language is something I’m looking forward too, I waste too much time trying to think through ideas, and being able to convey those ideas in a more efficient way is something I’ve looked for all my life, so hopefully another language is the answer. I mainly keep putting it off because “I don’t have the time” but I’ll never have the time really, so I should just put aside whatever time I can each day to learn a little. I really like the idea of being able to speak to a billion people I couldn’t previously.