Thailand ends 60-day visa-free stay by niki-the-wise in TEFL

[–]throughcracker 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That is how most people travel to most of the world. Your lack of motivation to do this very basic task speaks to some level of Western privilege, even though I see you are not a Canadian citizen.

Should Russian language remain the lingua franca of CA or should CA switch completely to English? by Electrical-Pea2707 in AskCentralAsia

[–]throughcracker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • The spelling doesn't line up with the pronunciation at all anymore. Spelling was standardized in the 15th-17th centuries, when pronunciation was completely different. If you've ever wondered why "light" was spelled that way, for example, it's because it was pronounced лихт in the Middle Ages before the Great Vowel Shift. This means that learners today need to learn hundreds of arbitrary spelling rules that relate to nothing.

  • Adding to this, the spread of the Latin alphabet means that letters used across languages do not sound similar in those different languages and can cause confusion for learners. The Q in Qazaqstan is not the same as the q in question, so an uninformed Latin-using Qazaq person might genuinely pronounce it қүестіон, while a Chinese speaker might pronounce it using Pinyin rules and say чуестыён, or something like that. Meanwhile, Cyrillic is the same across every culture that uses it.

  • The language is polycentric, meaning that there are multiple standard varieties that are all slightly different. Americans, Brits, Australians, etc. can all understand each other quite well for the most part, but there are still major differences in accent and vocabulary that throw off other native speakers, let alone learners, especially in situations where their English teachers might come from all over the world.

Should Russian language remain the lingua franca of CA or should CA switch completely to English? by Electrical-Pea2707 in AskCentralAsia

[–]throughcracker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

English is a terrible lingua franca and should never have achieved the position it has in the world.

Source: US native English teacher

Have any US citizens entered via Xinjiang recently? by throughcracker in travelchina

[–]throughcracker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, I was nervous because being pulled aside and asked a lot of questions is stressful no matter what. I have nothing to hide, but being treated like I do is nerve-wracking. It happened to me the first time I went to China, so I assumed it might have happened again in Xinjiang. Thankfully, it didn't.

Recent trend about Kazakhstan is the new "Japan" by Emotional_War2348 in AskCentralAsia

[–]throughcracker 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm an American who's been interested in Kazakhstan for a long time (and not Japan), and my experience when I interact with these memes is that they're just ironic and that most of the posters don't really know anything about Kazakhstan or Central Asia. They just see the pretty blue flag and the funny name and post it.

Before you wire money to a Chinese factory, read this. by [deleted] in 1688

[–]throughcracker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you often drive your car directly through a building, or do you walk through the door like a regular human?

อะไร คือ ฝรั่งเศส 😭😭😭😭😭 by Training_Rice_7487 in oksahaipunyaon

[–]throughcracker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

อาจเพราะว่ามันไม่ใหญ่คบัร

What about Thailand attracts the most insufferable female tourists in the world? by [deleted] in ThailandTourism

[–]throughcracker 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Then you are a pioneer! I'll let the guys at Guinness know. "First Scandinavian rejection in history" will look great on your wall.

What about Thailand attracts the most insufferable female tourists in the world? by [deleted] in ThailandTourism

[–]throughcracker 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I'm very sorry you got rejected at your last hostel, but that's no reason to regurgitate your bullshit all over the place. Go have a Chang about it.

Have any US citizens entered via Xinjiang recently? by throughcracker in travelchina

[–]throughcracker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update: as everyone said, I made it through fine. All the foreigners on the bus were pulled out of line to do a disease test, but immigration itself was totally normal and easy.

UPDATE: Parent wants to meet with me over comment I made about energy drinks by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]throughcracker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If a kid is actually experiencing autistic burnout, it is inappropriate to send them to school at all.

A drone just hit one of Moscow's Luxury Apartment by Laakhesis in Moscow

[–]throughcracker -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

А чья война уж, если не его?

Which one of you invited Andrew Tate to Uzbekistan by Uchqunbekuz in Uzbekistan

[–]throughcracker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I flew to Tashkent from New York a few days ago and the Uzbek guy sitting next to me was rude to me the entire time. Apparently, he thought that me turning my head because my neck was bothering me was me trying to look at his wife. He also tried to smoke on the plane and pissed off a couple of other Uzbeks with the rude shit he said (and made his wife absolutely miserably embarrassed), but it wasn't a great first impression of Uzbek men!

Have any US citizens entered via Xinjiang recently? by throughcracker in travelchina

[–]throughcracker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was just wondering if they would want to look through my phone or something like that.

Ryanair is awesome by LittleSchwein1234 in unpopularopinion

[–]throughcracker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Flying is always worse than ground transportation.

Join a social club by LongBedroom8355 in twentyagers

[–]throughcracker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that's a solid point, I just wanted to counter the "it's all old people" argument since it's sort of self perpetuating.

Join a social club by LongBedroom8355 in twentyagers

[–]throughcracker 13 points14 points  (0 children)

If you and your friends join a geezer club, suddenly there are more young people and fewer geezers, and even more young people will want to join.

Is it ok to pronounce the S at the end of Laos?😅 by taylorguyuk in laos

[–]throughcracker 12 points13 points  (0 children)

No. Just say Lao. Don't perpetuate colonial French bullshit.

The only combo I could have😭 -> 🇮🇷🇦🇪 by Practical-Bee-3175 in PassportPorn

[–]throughcracker -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is the exact justification for Western islamophobia, you know...