I have visited many places in Taipei. Here are some of them : National Palace Museum National 國立故宮博物院 / Maokong Gondola 貓空纜車
Jiufen (九份)
Ximending 西門町 / LongShen Temple (龍山寺)
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 國父紀念館 / Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂)
Danshui (淡水)
We do see signs almost everywhere. Here are some interesting signs Lederer has found during his travel, taken from his book “The Bridge of Anguished English”.
Finally, here is a is a response to inquiries for accommodations abroad- Dear Madam, I am honorable to accept your impossible request. Unhappy it is I have not bedroom with bath. A bathroom with bed I have. I can though give you a washing, with pleasure, in a most clean spring with on one to see. I insist that you will like this.
Source : “The Bridge of Anguished English” by Richard Lederer. Published by St. Mattin’s Press. N.Y. USA.
不到北京；不知道官小
不到上海；不知道錢少
不到重慶；不知道結婚早
不到海南島；不知道身體不好
海南島到底有多好?
人在天涯心在家, 落叶归根回老家
无论你旅游了多少天, 呆了多少月或漂了多少年
无论你看了多少事物, 结交了多少外国朋友
无论旅游如何能够让你多认识这个世界
无论旅游如何能够把你磨练出一个更好的自己
你还是要回家
旅游有旅游的可取之處
家有家的好
Golden Gate Bridge
Japan Center
S$1.99. CD on Class 95 Love Songs.
S$1.99. Christmas Songs in Finnish.
S$1.99. Triangle Snake Magic Cube (9cm x 6cm x 2cm).
Packing and Postage : For Singapore is S$2. Add S$2.40 for registered postage. For Overseas, I will need to check with the Post Office on the postage when I have your address.
Payment : For Singapore buyers, payment can be done through bank transfer or Cash on Delivery. For overseas buyers, payment is through Paypal.
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June 1815 in the South of Brussels, Belgium. I passed by this Napoleonic war zone, which is now a big empty grassland, when I was on the way to Amsterdam
While I was in Brussels I visited the Manneken Pis, Atomium, Central Square, the Palace and Mini Europe. The Atomium and Mini Europe are next to each other and you can spend a day there.
I happened to pass by a funfair where there are food, drinks, rides, sideshows, and other amusements.
I used 20,000 united mileage to exchange for a free return air ticket from United Airlines and travelled to Hong Kong (I only paid about $40 for the processing charge). From Hong Kong, I took the train to Shenzhen and stayed there for 3 days. From Shenzhen, I took a bus to Zhuhai and stayed for another 3 days. I crossed the Chinese border and stayed in Macau for 3 more days before I took the ferry back to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Avenue Of Comic Stars 香港漫畫星光大道
我在高山上
你在浅水湾
只要山水有相連
我们就会有來往
想约你去海边吹吹风
然后告诉你未来的梦
这样心里会快乐和轻松
但你说没必要去吹冷风
我们的未来根本没有梦
和我一起你不快乐也不轻松
天啊! 劉德華, 我失恋了……. 在星光大道
I have put up some items for sale in the Facebook Marketplace. Recently I received 2 strange emails wanting to buy those items.
The first email was received in September. This buyer wanted to purchase a T-shirt from me and he is willing to pay $25 plus shipping and handling charges (I am selling the T-shirt for $15.95). He said the T-shirt is a birthday gift for his relative in Africa. He wanted to have my Paypal e-mail ID so that he can proceed with the payment to my Paypal account.
I find that this is rather strange as normally people will bargain with me to reduce the price and I wonder why he is willing to pay more than what I have asked for. I feel that something is not right and went to view his facebook. There is no photo and no basic info about him.
I wrote back and asked for his name and address so that I can check with the Post Office for the postage. I also asked whether he is in Singapore or somewhere else. He did not reply.
The second email came in October. This buyer has a more decent profile in the facebook. He has friends and wrote some information about himself. But I still feel a bit strange for him willing to pay US$650.65 plus postage charge for a watch that I am selling for S$495.95.
He said he is getting the watch for his daughter who is currently studying at the British international college in West Africa. Same as the first person, he asked me to get back to him with the final asking price and the Paypal Invoice.
I wrote back and asked why he is willing to pay so much more than I have asked for. I also asked him why does he need to have my paypal account. He could send me cash, money order, postal order or transfer the money to my bank account. I further asked if he is in Singapore we could meet up for the transaction.
According to the facebook, this second buyer hometown is in Columbus, Ohio, USA but he is currency living in Manchester, UK. He is working with a German company. I was thinking why can’t he buy the watch in UK and send it over to Africa instead of going through me? Aren’t there any watches in Manchester, besides football?
There are some significant similarities between these two buyers. Both are willing to pay more than the price I have advertised. Both said that the items are for someone in Africa and both are asking for my paypal account. I gathered and think that this could be the popular Nigerian scams and do a search in the Internet. True enough I found some people were cheated by sending out the goods but never get paid. Through the Internet, I saw one of the addresses given by the scammers is the same as what the second buyer has given me. I confirm that this is a scam and will not send the watch until I have received the money.
I wrote back to the second buyer and asked for cash or postal order to be sent to my post box. Here is the link on the Nigerian scams http://www.whoisandrewwee.com/ebay-auctions/ebay-nigeria-scam-exposed/
Someone at the United Nation once fed a common English saying into a translating computer. The machine was asked to translate the statement into Chinese, then into French, and finally back into English. The adage chosen was “Out of sight, out of mind. ” What came back was “Invisible insane.”
A similar computer was given the task of translating into Russian and then back to English the bromide “The spirit is willing, but the fresh is weak.” The result was “The wine is good but the meat is spoiled.”
What’s wrong with the translation? “Out of sight” does mean invisible and “out of mind” does mean insane. “Spirit” does mean wine and “flesh” does mean meat? Well, some sort of correct.
English has been recognized as the international lingua franca and people have begun adopting English for the benefits of visitors. Here are some examples of other languages that have been translated into English and lost the original intended meanings.
Source : Anguished English (Anniversary Edition!) – An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language by Richard Lederer. Published by Wyrick & Company, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
