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Popup Chinese Newsletter: April 2

If you've listened to Film Friday recently, you'll know that writer and director Frank Fradella has been in town. In addition to appearing on two of our regular shows. Frank helped organize a photo shoot for us in early March. We headed out to the park system that snakes north of the Forbidden City not far from our hutong offices, and spent the afternoon taking photos. So if you haven't seen the people behind our operations here in Beijing, drop by Frank's blog and check them out. Those of you who are part of the Apple fan club will be pleased to hear that Frank has given our starlet a photo gallery of her very own. [http://frankfradella.com/?p=231]

* Video, Video, Video *

Daily podcasts and photos not enough to keep the Popup Chinese cravings at bay? We've just added a corporate promo video to our home page for those of you who can't get enough of Apple and Echo. Just visit http://popupchinese.com and look for the photo of Apple in her hat at the top of the right-hand column. Click and enjoy. There we are looking sunlit, young and beautiful right in the center of Beijing. We had a blast filming this and hope you like it. [http://popupchinese.com]

* Corporate Promotion *

Again and again we've seen companies expect their staff to study mandarin, and end up mystified when employees end up paying far too much for language training that is not relevant to their jobs and ends up not being effective at all. That is why our promotion this month is a special 20% discount on our standard corporate packages. These range from company-wide premium access to Popup Chinese to custom lessons and in-person training sessions that will get your staff talking about your company, your industry and your products in mandarin. And all of this at a price point lower than that of more inconvenient local schools. We want you to save money and learn better. Contact us at orders@popupchinese.com with details on your company and what you need and we'll send a couple of quotes outlining how we can help you at various price points. Forward them to the decision maker in your company and start making progress with mandarin again.

And now, here are our favorite lessons from the past month or so:

* Absolute Beginners: Looking for Apple

Trapped on the roof and under fire from the encroaching Triads, our intrepid hero whips out his Hello Moto and speed dials Apple. Too bad she's not home. Or maybe she's home and not taking calls. Or maybe she's out on a photo shoot at Houhai getting mobbed by a pack of frenzied photographers (yes, it has happened). In any event, in this lesson we cover the basics of how NOT to conduct yourself on the phone. We cover basic Chinese telephone etiquette and learn how to make a good impression on flatmates. [http://popupchinese.com/lessons/archive/absolute-beginners/looking-for-apple]

* Elementary: The Break-Up

If you've been listening to Popup Chinese for a while, you know Echo is a big fan of Korean soap operas. Which is why we sent our crew into the recording studios with orders for one. "Just give us a bit of family conflict," we said. Which is how we ended up with this dialogue: it's sharp, creative and pretty funny. And yeah - if you listen carefully you'll hear us laughing in the background towards the end. Great audio and a great lesson: just another day at Popup Chinese. [http://popupchinese.com/lessons/archive/elementary/the-break-up]

* Intermediate: Porn for Panda

We've had so much good stuff this month it's hard to pick a favorite. But as much as we like our mafia series it's hard to beat Porn for Panda for its sheer amount of drama, intrigue, and animal husbandry. In this podcast we teach a number of ways to refer to adult materials as well as critical vocabulary for expressing surprise, disappointment and exasperation. Edgy but tasteful, this podcast is the sort of cutting edge learning material you'll only find on Popup Chinese. [http://popupchinese.com/lessons/archive/intermediate/porn-for-panda]

* Advanced: Dream of the Red Chamber: Part Five

Dream of the Red Chamber is the best Chinese novel ever written. It's also one of the hardest Chinese novels there is. Which is why we're annotating it word-by-word with our awesome mouseover popups. In the lastest passage we run into Zhen Shiyin and Jia Yucun, along with a crazy monk who issues a prophetic poem predicting fire, brimstone and disaster. Whether you're a Sinologist in training or just a casual language learner, knowing Dream of the Red Chamber will help you impress coworkers and colleagues and open new doors in China. It is also enjoyable as literature on its own. So check it out. [http://popupchinese.com/lessons/archive/short-stories/dream-chapter-one-part-five]

As always, we'd like to close with a thank you to all of our paying subscribers who help us pay the bills. If you aren't one of them, why not? Providing daily podcasts, HSK tests, annotated readings and other tools, a Popup Chinese subscription is just the thing to keep your Chinese skills moving forward. Our best from Beijing, and be sure to look us up the next time you're in town.

祝好,

The Popup Chinese Team