A Visit to Germaine's Luau(参加杰曼的夏威夷宴会)

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By Freelance Chinese Translator Li – English to Chinese translation services - based in China.
No trip to Hawaii would be complete without a Mai Tai, a hula
lesson, a plate full of delicious Kalua pork（烤猪排） and a magnificent sunset on the beach.

Thanks to Germaine’s Luau（杰曼的夏威夷宴会）, an Oahu attraction that has delighted visitors for more than three
decades, you can enjoy all of these experiences in a single, unforgettable
evening.

This venerable（令人尊重的） luau takes place in Kapolei near Barber’s Point on the southwestern tip of Oahu, about
27 miles from Waikiki. If you’re driving, you’ll want to leave your hotel early to beat rush-hour traffic, or even
spend the day on the North Shore before heading for Kapolei. Germaine’s gates open at 5:15 p.m., so you can claim
the best seats in an outdoor theatre area filled with long picnic tables and
low luau tables surrounded by tatami mats（榻榻米席垫）—perfect for kids!

If you’d rather not drive—or if you’re looking for the full
Germaine’s experience—ask about the free shuttle（飞机） when you make your luau reservations（预订）. Germaine’s provides door-to-door service to and from Waikiki
hotels. Traffic and the buses’ meandering routes（蜿蜒曲折的路线） can expand the ride to Kapolei into a two-hour odyssey（探险） (the nighttime ride back is much shorter).
But it’s a comfy（舒适的） trip, and you’ll be surrounded by like-minded luau-goers and
amused by the patter of the tour guide（导游的顺口溜）.

Upon arrival, a Germaine’s shutterbug（摄影爱好者） will photograph your group against a lovely natural backdrop of
dusky sky（以昏暗的天空，海滩和大海为自然背景）, beach and sea. (Photos may be purchased for $20 at the end of the
evening.) Belly up to the outdoor bar and redeem（买） one of your three complimentary adult beverage tickets for a
Mai-Tai, rum punch, Blue Hawaii, or domestic beer; unlimited soft drinks,
coffee and tea are also available.

As the sun begins to set, an emcee（主持人） introduces the “Royal Court” while a five-piece band plays island standards. Dancers clad in
regal crimson(华丽的深红色) and yellow
take the stage in a ceremony（典礼） that provides a brief introduction to ancient Hawaiian protocol（礼仪）. Several good-humored volunteers from the
audience are invited to show off their best hula moves in a riotous “contest.”（欢腾的竞赛） Then, it’s time for the feast!

Germaine’s claims to be one of the few
commercial luaus in Hawaii that cooks a pig each day in its traditional imu pit（浅灶坑）, located just behind its outdoor bar. At
about 6:15 each evening, as the crowd watches hungrily, two men clad in bright
lava-lavas are charged with opening and unwrapping the imu and retrieving the
Kalua pork. Tender, smoky, and succulent（味美）, the shredded pork is simply delectable.

The buffet tables are laden with standard
luau fare like lomi-lomi salmon（鲑鱼）, chicken long rice, fried mahi, and poi（山芋）. Don’t be afraid of the poi! Try it as a
condiment with the salmon or Kalua pork. Fried chicken, teriyaki（红烧的） beef, steamed rice, dinner rolls, and a
quartet of salads (green, macaroni（意大利通心粉）, coleslaw（卷心菜沙拉）, and three-bean) are also available, and the dessert tables feature
treats like fresh pineapple（凤梨）, haupia (coconut pudding), and chocolate cake.

At about 7, the stage show recommences（重新开始）. Dancers representing（代表） Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa（萨摩亚群岛） and Tahiti（塔希提） provide spectacular and colorful
entertainment, often accompanied by ipu and uli uli (gourd drums and rattles).
Highlights include a dramatic Samoan fire-knife dance, a sensual Tahitian
couples’ hula, and a Maori dance with glowing “poi balls,” as well as several
opportunities for audience participation (and a door prize drawing, too!)provided by translatorli.blogspot.com

eCollegeFinder's ESL article

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eCollegeFinder has a new article on English as a Second Language, How to Educate ESL Students. It discusses two methods of education, "bilingual" (students only use their native language when they study subjects such as math and science) and "immersion" (English all the time; further divided into two methods depending on whether the students study English exclusively for a period at the beginning), then the pros and cons of each method are properly and clearly evaluated.

Here are my thoughts. Firstly, the bilingual method should be preferred if English is taught in a non-English-speaking country; it would be counter-productive if immersion were enforced, unless of course the students are outnumbered by English speaking natives in a small enclosed environment such as an American or British international school. My friend, president of a language school in China, reported that her students used to demand native English speakers who speak no Chinese as teachers many years ago, and slowly changed to bilingual teachers, as they found the latter to be more efficient for their learning. On the other hand, if the students are in an English-speaking country and surrounded by English all the time, the immersion method will definitely win. It's interesting that Texas, where I am now, is among the few that practice this "least popular" method. Some bilingual parents complain about the segregation in school and regret that they report in the school registration form before their kids go to elementary school that they speak xyz (a language other than English) at home. Unlike adults, young school children learn a foreign language better in immersion and should not be artificially isolated.

Secondly, the education science or pedagogy should learn from medical science. Strict control study should be a standard. Whether bilingual or immersion is better, and better under what condition, can be argued verbally based on personal experience and common sense, as I'm doing here. But nothing beats a well controlled study, perhaps followed for four to ten years, with statistical analysis. It may be impractical to implement a single- or double-blind study. Nevertheless, statistical numbers are more scientific than experiential observation.

"第几" has no English equivalent

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It's a frequently asked question in English study forums in China (recently here). How do you say "第几" in English? When A asks B, "这是你第几次�纽约?" (literally, "This is which time you come to New York?"), B may answer "第二次" ("The second time"). A more natural English question may be, "How many times have you come to New York?", "Twice", or "How many times did you come to New York before?", "Only once (before)".

The awkward "which time" is a literal equivalent of "第几次" as in "Which time is it you come to New York?" The English "time" is one word for both the time you use a clock to keep track of and the ordinal count of repetition of you doing something, which is a measure word. Other languages may use two words for these meanings (时间, Zeit vs. 次, Mal). The reason "which time" sounds unnatural may be related to this particular polysemi (one word having multiple meanings) of English "time".

Here are more challenging ones, "第几个", "第几件", and "第几本", as in "è€�师è¦�我们读John XYZçš„ABC系列的所有三本书，你在读第几本?" ("The teacher wants us to read John XYZ's all three books in the ABC series. Which book are you on|reading now?") But "Which book are you on?" is not a good translation because the answer may well be "I'm reading his Book Title". The question actually demands the answer "I'm reading his first|second|third one". English "which" properly matches "哪一(本)". It does not specifically ask the ordinal number as the Chinese "第几(本)". The fact that these Chinese question words are more challenging is probably because "个" and "本" have no measure word equivalents in English, and although "件" may be "piece", "Which piece ...?" does not specifically demand an answer of the ordinal number in the series.

A little follow-up. A Chinese reader says "So English is deficient?" My answer is that every language may have stronger expressive power than another in one case, but less in another. In this case, Chinese wins. In the case of subjunctive mood, Chinese loses (you have to guess whether "如果我有1000�钱" is counter-factual "if I had 1000 dollors", although "如果我是你" is definitely "if I were you"). In the textbook case of ambiguous English sentence "He hit the man with a stick", Chinese wins because you can't make up an ambiguous sentence in Chinese. And the list goes on.