他买花来骗我

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I've learnt something new today!
All thanks to Joethedude, who helped solve the why-doesn't-my-blog-shows-chinese-character mystery for me.

Yay!
Now I can be a chinese helicopter and input chinese characters!!!
Boy am I excited.

I eavesdropped a conversation in mandarin today whilst I was on the bus (on the way home).
Not that I deliberately lift my ears to listen, the guy was sitting just right behind me and speaking (almost) at the top of his voice. Such that I'm sure the entire bus knew the contents of his (quite) private conversation.

Apparently, he was consoling a female friend who's either having problems with her boyfriend, or they've split and she's well, seeking comfort.

It's quite an universal situation/scenario. Everyone's been in that same situation before. That is, having to console a friend who's in that position. What is strange however, were the things he said.
I kept translating them directly to English, but it still sounded a bit weird. Not like the usual stuff we'd say to a friend in similar situation.

I can only remember snippets. But let me try and replicate some of the things I overheard.

你现在是在跟他夺气吗?
(I am here assuming dou qi is 夺气)
Trixyy the translator says: So are you fighting air space with him now?
I reckon this means, they are spending too much time together, such that they do not have individual space for each other, and they decide to give each other space and stop fighting for that one common space.

他在报复
(I am sure this time I got the bao fu - 报复 correct)
Trixyy the translator says: He is in a place called bao fu.
At this point, I don't know if that girl ont he line's mandarin was as bad as mine, or that she's going deaf. Because the entire bus could hear him say this sentence, but she couldn't. So he repeated like 3 times.
Each time, I wondered if bao fu is a place, a term like 埋伏 (which I think is bury). Maybe baofu means bury stuff up into the shape of a bao?
The final time, I wondered if bao fu meant 包袱 (I don't know if this is right. But it comes up by default), nevertheless what I had in mind was the bao fu (as in bag bag). You know how chinese period dramas always see the characters carry a cloth and in it the belongings are wrapped very tightly and slung over the shoulders? Ah. that bao fu. But I don't know if this 包袱 is that bao fu I had in mind. Because never in my life have I seen this word 袱. But because, it has a 衣服 旁, I assume it's that bao fu... cos got cloth ma

I digressed.
He finally spelt out more clearly what he really wanted to say.

我觉得他是因为上一次的那件事而在报复
Ahh..
My chinese teacher in JC taught me the powers of assumption.
Because my command of the language is so poor, I have to rely on the neighbouring words to deduce the words that you do not know.
That is to say, when given a sentence like that, if you don't understand the meaning of 报复, it's alright. Don't have to panic. Just deduce from the rest of the sentence!

Trixyy the translator says: The things that happened previously affected him, so he is taking his revenge! -evil laugh-
I am sure I got this right.

.... 责任感
As the bus became more crowded, and I was distracted with other loudspeakers, I only caught certain words like ze ren gen, which I know means responsibility.
I don't know why. But the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear those 3 words, is accidental pregnancy.
You've got to admit. All those chinese programs on tv, they always link these 3 words to accidental pregnancy and how the male party has to 负责, or sometimes they say, 负起责任( this sounds abit strange, but I'm sure I've heard it on tv before)

So I strained my ears, and he said some very cliche stuff like...

如果他要跟你在一起就要有一点责任感,不可以不告诉你他去那里玩.
(This is my longest formed chinese sentence)
And he went on about.. 对比此负责 bla bla bla which grew a tad bit too boring for me.

Nonetheless, I was curious.
He sounded like some old frog (sorry) because he couldn't speak softly, and all those advice he gave sounded so cliche and ... old school?

When I alighted, I deliberately turned around to have a good look at this old frog.
Turns out, he's only 17 (or 18 max), because he's in a JC school uniform. (yes, it's that chinese helicopter school), and he was.. well rather cute (in the china man way).

So I reckon, it feels different when you convey a message in English and you convey a message in mandarin?
Maybe it's just me, and I'm no used to it. But when you use mandarin to convey a message, the feeling is just different. Like you feel more.. "old" more 老套.
I'm not dissing the chinese language, or people who speak mandarin. I am just pointing out that there is a different feeling to conversing in English and mandarin, even though the fundamental points are the same?

Put it this way, I wouldn't take the things he say seriously, but if the same advice is dished out in English, it feels different to me.

I get this feeling I am digging my own grave.
Hur.

他买花来骗我
He bought me flowers in a bid to appease me.

Same meaning, different feeling.
Ok, if you don't feel it, don't tell me.

He bought a stalk of 玫瑰花 wrapped in ugly brown paper to 赔罪 (I'm sure I got the pei wrong) So many 旁 how to choose the right one?

女人就是那么笨 (I nearly used this 苯, and lucky I didn't. Else I will be the epitome of stupid)
It's only one stalk of (ugly) pink rose.
But I cannot stop smiling.
From the moment he came home with it, all the way till he unwrapped it.

Tsk tsk.

And I've said so many times before.
我不喜欢玫瑰花.

I like 百荷 (is bai 百 or 白)

WHATEVER.
I like lilies.