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notamiss
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 908
Location: El 5o pino del la CDMX
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 Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 12:43 am Post subject: |
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| jfurgers wrote: |
Why don't people peel those old stickers off of their car windows?? You know, the ones they get after they pass the inspections. How is a cop supposed to find the current one if one gets pulled over??  |
| Milenka wrote: |
| Not so hard to get them off... they sell some American stuff at Home Depot made to peel any kind of sticker off. You can also ask the mechanic at your local shop to do it for you while working on your car. I guess people don't do it out of laziness, that's all. On the other hand, they make them in different shapes and it's easy for cops to spot a car that has not been inspected or failed to pass the inspection. |
I don't peel the old stickers off. Hmm, it never ocurred to me that should. Have I....umm, you know... Been Here Too Long? At my last verification, when I had no more space, the girl at the verification place just pulled out a razor blade and zipped the oldest one off in about 2 seconds to make room for the new one.
Anyway, if pulled over, I believe you have to present the piece of paper that you got at the same time as the most recent sticker. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 1:06 am Post subject: |
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| Why do Mexicans still say Peking instead of Beijing? |
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Milenka
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 113
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 1:19 am Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| Why do Mexicans still say Peking instead of Beijing? |
Well... not only Mexicans (BTW, in my corner of DF most Mexicans say Beijing and feel "oh, so cool!", just like they love to pronounce Starbucks and American Express in what they believe is perfect English). Most native Spanish speakers still do, and this is why according to the Diccionario Panhisp�nico de Dudas:
Pek�n. El nombre tradicional en espa�ol para designar la capital de China es Pek�n (tambi�n, raro hoy, Pequ�n). El nombre Beijing es resultado de la transcripci�n de los caracteres chinos al alfabeto latino seg�n el sistema �pinyin�, desarrollado en China a partir de 1958 con el fin de unificar los diversos sistemas de transcripci�n del chino aplicados por distintos pa�ses. Este sistema se puso en pr�ctica oficialmente en 1979 y es hoy mayoritariamente utilizado por las agencias de prensa. No obstante, se recomienda usar en nuestro idioma el nombre tradicional espa�ol, cuyo gentilicio es pekin�s (o pequin�s, si se utiliza la graf�a minoritaria Pequ�n).
I also found a link to an interesting article from Clar�n (Argentina): http://www.clarin.com/diario/2004/09/01/elmundo/i-02201.htm And here's a link to the TVE (Spanish TV) sports section on Pek�n 08: http://www.rtve.es/deportes/pekin08/
Has the name of the Pekinese dog changed in English? I bet we will never call these four-legged friends perro beijin�s, even if more and more Spanish speakers adopt the Beijing pronunciation.  |
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NorthofAmerica
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
Posts: 187
Location: Recovering Expat
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:52 am Post subject: |
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They still say Peking in Japan haha
Although the kanji for it (essentially northern capital) sound nothing like Peking OR Beijing in Japanese. |
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El Gallo
Joined: 05 Feb 2007
Posts: 318
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:47 pm Post subject: |
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Why don't Mexicans completely finish construction or other projects?
My friends take on large projects but in the middle of the work abandon them for other projects they don't finish. When building, they always leave holes in the walls for future light switches and never cut off the metal support rods sticking out above the exterior walls.
The build nice rooms complete with tile and floor edging but leave raw light outlets dangling from wires with bare light bulbs. It seems they have an aversion to ever completely finishing things. |
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TheLongWayHome
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Posts: 1016
Location: San Luis Piojosi
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 1:12 pm Post subject: |
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| El Gallo wrote: |
| Why don't Mexicans completely finish construction or other projects? |
Good point. Why isn't there a single straight corner or doorway in my house? Do they really eye everything in? |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Why don't Mexicans completely finish construction or other projects? |
On large jobs, I've been told that this is often due to a lack of funding, putting the project on hold. Sometimes worker strikes hold up projects too.
Some developers in DF will start an apartment building and pre-sell the units to finish construction. I imagine that would delay completion if they don't completely sell all the units.
As for small projects, I have no idea. If anyone has been to Chilpancingo, you'd know what Gallo means. It's always seemed to me to be the City of The Half-Built. |
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MO39
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Why don't Mexicans completely finish construction or other projects? |
Some developers in DF will start an apartment building and pre-sell the units to finish construction. I imagine that would delay completion if they don't completely sell all the units.
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A Mexican friend who has bought a lot of investment property in Mexico City told me that it's a common practice to hold a pre-venta while a building is under construction, to raise the necessary capital to finish it. That says to me that there is a general lack of capital here to fund construction projects. |
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El Gallo
Joined: 05 Feb 2007
Posts: 318
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 5:28 pm Post subject: |
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I think running out of money is part of it. Mexicans are alway very optimistic about how far the money they have will go or that they will receive more from somewhere.
What still puzzles me is why they start one or two more projects at the same time before they finish the first. |
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jillford64
Joined: 15 Feb 2006
Posts: 397
Location: Sin City
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 4:43 am Post subject: |
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One reason Mexicans leave the rebar sticking out of roof all the time is that from an engineering perspective if later you want to add a second story you can easily tie into the existing rebar. So what looks unfinished from a foreign perspective is a practicality from their perspective.
I was also told that your taxes go up when you finish the construction, so this way you can claim you haven't yet finished.
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I think running out of money is part of it. Mexicans are alway very optimistic about how far the money they have will go or that they will receive more from somewhere.
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True. In addition, most of them don't have the money and cannot borrow the money to build everything all at once, so they just do what they can a little at a time when they have some money. |
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JimT
Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Posts: 3
Location: (ex) SLP
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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| And why do they leave empty beer bottles upturned on the metal rods? Protection? Convenient storage? Modern art? |
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MO39
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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| jillford64 wrote: |
| Quote: |
I think running out of money is part of it. Mexicans are alway very optimistic about how far the money they have will go or that they will receive more from somewhere.
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True. In addition, most of them don't have the money and cannot borrow the money to build everything all at once, so they just do what they can a little at a time when they have some money. |
This might be especially true in places where most of the money for new construction comes from those who've emigrated to the US in search of work. When work NOB becomes less plentiful (as it has been lately), the money sent back to the home village or town also decreases or disappears. |
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MikeySaid
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 509
Location: Torreon, Mexico
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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The rebar thing is about hope. You'll notice that in middle class and upper-middle class neighborhoods, you see a lot less rebar because homes are actually finished. I have always assumed the bottles are there to avoid being impaled if you slip and fall.
Side note: there is a census going on (I believe at the national level) where the government is checking how big people's houses are. The number of floors (and the total area?) affect the taxes paid on a home and many people live in homes listed as 1-story 2 bedrooms but they actually live in 2-story 5 bedrooms... naughty naughty. |
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jfurgers
Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 442
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 3:49 am Post subject: |
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Why aren't Mexicans allowed to wear any clothing that has their flag on it?? I was asking where I could find a shirt with the Mexican flag on it and was told that that is against the law.
I'm not sure if that's true but if so....why??  |
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Samantha
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 4:59 am Post subject: |
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The Law on the National Coat of Arms, Flag and Anthem (Spanish: Ley sobre el Escudo, la Bandera y el Himno Nacionales) is a set of rules and guidelines passed by the Mexican government on the display and use of the flag (bandera), coat of arms (escudo) and the anthem (himno). The original law was passed in 1984 and it contains 7 chapters, a preamble and a section that contains the lyrics of the national anthem. The law itself was changed several times, most recently in 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_on_the_National_Arms,_Flag,_and_Anthem |
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