You gotta love sunny California! Blue skies, white clouds, decently clean air, that is what kind or image California gives off!

I was recently in Los Angeles and that is exactly what I experienced...blue skies and white clouds and really warm weather. All this goes to show that summet time is near!! Well, that is not the point here. The point I want to say is that we stayed in a hotel in the city of San Gabriel. San Gabriel and Alhambra and Monterey Park are cities for the fact that a lot of Chinese immigrants sort of all congregate in these cities. I guess you can call it an oversized Chinatown. There are so many Chinese there, that I can move there and basically live the life I lead in Asia, and I can pretend that I never left! Just about any well known restaurant or daily Chinese living products can be found there. Everything is so convenient that you don't even have to speak Chinese when you are there!

I don't mind convenience, but I truely believe that if you want to move to a foreign city or country, it is important to blend in and not to completely segregate yourself from the rest of the place. It always is a great experience when you go somewhere different and learn their culture and language, but somehow, I know of people who lived in these parts of California and couldn't speak a lick of English even after living there for ten years!

If you want to learn English, the only way is to speak it as much as possible until you are used to it, then it becomes naturally a part of you. It's hard to learn when everything you understand or used to is right there in front of you...so if you want to learn good English, either go take a trip to some nice far out city in the States, or of course, come to Talk English!!!

So all I want to say to all is that it's ok to hang out with your own kind, but don't completely cut yourself off from the rest of your environment

As you all may have seen, our "Talk da Talk" name has taken a new breath in life by being renamed "Talk English." The reason for this change is to give our club and our efforts ,in a sense, a feel of, "growing up." It always give some sentimental feeling to see something you've seen since day one grow into a mature individual...something like watching a kid growing up, and during the "switch over" the other day, we all saw the name "Talkdatalk" took on a new look.

I guess we all have to grow up soomeday. Even tho i refuse to grow up in a certain way, our baby,"Talkdatalk" had to! It's kinda sad to see the name my friends and I started working with sort of taking a back seat to the new name, we didn't forget how we started out as a humble 4 person team going around trying to realize our dream in doing something with english education.

During the event of the name switchover, our head operator Jim Leu, one of our original team members, brought our some serious memories of how we started with practically nothing except a camera, a microphone, and a few of us with a dream by recapping the history of "Talk da Talk." I was doing the translation while Jim was going through year by year since day one to where we are today. He had pictures after picures the stuff we did, and let me tell ya, It almost brought tears in my heart thinking what we went through and how people like Jim and our now General Manager Howard did the darndest best to get Talk da Talk on its feet.

I guess even I get sentimental sometimes looking back at the days of how we started. That is why since I'm not there for day to day operations of the club and websites, deep inside I appreciate deeply at them for really sticking with "Talkdatalk" and making it grow to what it is today!

Now that "Talk da Talk" is officially "Talk English," I hope it will grow to an even bigger scale while maintaining the original reason of why we created "Talk da Talk," and that is, "keep learning fun, interesting, and most of all, useful."

So go tell and tell your friends to join you and come
to "Talk English" and experience the fun together!   

Here's the “official” company announcement about the name change:

About Talk English Talk English (formerly Talk da Talk English) is a leading membership-based English training center located in Shanghai. The Talk English ASCEND[爱学] system is a comprehensive learner-directed classroom, online study and interactive activity-based language system.  The ASCEND[爱学] system also helps members build lifelong learning habits through positive Attitude & Mind-Set workshops while providing a strong support and motivation structure through its membership community.  For more information see the Talk English website at www.talkenglish.com.cn. Talk English is part of Talk Group, an educational media & services company focused on language solutions for the Greater China market.

About Talk da Talk Talk da Talk’s well-known, branded edutainment content featuring David Wu can be seen and heard all over China.  Edutainment, as the name implies integrates education and entertainment to provide meaningful learning content in a fun and entertaining way.  Talk da Talk media products include the Talk da Talk TV Show series, Talk da Talk Radio Show series, Talk da Talk Books & VCDs, Talk da Talk Website (www.talkdatalk.com) and more. Talk da Talk is a part of Talk Group, an educational media & services company focused on language solutions for the Greater China market.

It seems that ever since the movie "Top Gun,“ everybody felt the need to go fast! Well, not too long ago, I got to live out one of my little dreams, and that is to be ablt to drive a car fast without having to worry about cops pulling you over and giving you a ticket!

It was at an Audi car event for the launch of the brand new R8 and they invited a few vips and celebrities to test out how well the car handles on the road. I happen to be the host of the event, therefore I got to get into one of those thingys and put the pedal to the metal and rev the sucker up to see what it is capapble of doing!

Me not being a race car driver in any sense of the word, am a car lover tho! I have been waiting for a moment like this for the longest time and now it is finally here! I got to get behind the wheel of a brand new R8 and take it to the limit the best I can on the Shanghai Inernational Circuit! Let me tell ya, the feeling is just indescribable!! I wasn't the only one on the track that day, also a few celebrities like David Tao, Sean Yu from Hong Kong, Xu Jing Lei the actress, and a few others also experienced the thrill!

It was David Tao and I that was on the track the longest. Lap after lap, turn after turn, we both feel the endless energy to keep going around the track as much as possible knowing that a chance like this doesn't come by everyday! The sound of a V8 revving up to 8000 plus rpm and the g force when you take a corner at 120 kph is nothing like a ride in a daily cab! I truely think that if you are a car fan, a drive like this will definitely make your year!!
Driving fast is a thing that I think most men like to do, but remember, doing so safely and on a legal street or track is the most important thing. We had a professional in front of us leading us to keep us in check so we were in good hands. So remember, whene you feel the need for speed, don't do so at your own risk and place, go to a professional, they will cure you in the right way!!

Hoops there it is!! Yup, basketball is getting bigger and more popular than ever before here in China! Ever since the first Chinese player entered the NBA,the sport has really taken over as one of the most popular thing around! Seems all of a sudden, every kid on the block wants to be the next Kobe Bryant. They would wear jerseys of their favorite player, play and act like their favorite player, even talk like them too sometimes! I love the sport myself and am often involved in programs or events concerning the sport.

Just the other day, i was involved in an 3 on 3 basketball championship event. The whole thing took place four months ago, and just to give you an idea how popular basketball is, over TWENTY THOUSAND TEAMS signed up to compete in the tournament!! I don't think anywhere in the world would have such a massive turn out!

And I'm also doing this NBA program called , "NBA Zhi Zao," which brings you the latest news and highlights from the NBA games. It really is for fans of the sport and for those who would like to know more about it.

It's always fun to be able to do something you like and at the same time make a living out of it. I love basketball and doing a show about it really to me is not even work. So if you all have time and want to check the show out, check local listings for air time.

Or you can go online NBA.COM/CHINA and that can give you all more info.

Yup, as the saying goes, "I love this game!"

Hi folks! How is everyone? Long time no see! Yeah, I've been kinda lazy and busy all last few month, and now finally I get to take a break..well, sort of.

For the past week or so, I've been, and still am, on a little vacation tour with my family and family friends to the Three Gorges. Along the way, we of course have stopped by a few destinations. We were in Chengdu for a couple of days, but the most amazing thing, to me anyways, is that we actually stopped in a place called Zhang Jia Jie!!

Remember in one of my blogs awhile ago I wrote about, "where in the world is Zhang Jia Jie?" Well, I thought I'd never see this place again, and only God knows, I'm back!! And this time, I finally saw what I missed the last time I was here!! All I saw last time was the airport at night, and fog in the morning, but this time it was different, and the view here is absolutely stunning! So many wonderful sights of nature that you have to experience to understand. They even have the world's longest cable car ride!!

So the lesson to be learned here, is to never say never. Who'd thought I'd come back to Zhang Jia Jie?

And if you'd ask? I'd say it's well worth the trip! If you like to go sight seeing and stuff, come on out, and take a cable car ride!!

hey hey hey!!

Starry starry night! How many times have I taken the Star Ferry in Hong Kong and experienced the warm sweaty ride across Victoria Harbour to get to the other side of either Hong Kong Island or Kowloon.

I've been going to Hong Kong on and off since I was like 8 years old. Back then, The Peak Tower  and, "the building with a thousand xxxholes and the Star Ferry Harbour were landmarks or places the visitors will go.

But as the years go by, one by one, these places were either replaced, or renovated so the original "look"

is nowhere to be found....oh, the thousand xxxholes is still there by the way, for some reason.

The old Peak Tower with the old tram to the top was once one of the most known spots in all of Hong Kong.

That, a few years back, was torn down, and in place of it, a new techno version of the tower now stands. That hit close to home, since my uncle was the one that was part of the construction of the original tower. Just recently, the Star Ferry Harbour was relocate to another part of Central, and the old location in central is now gone. Call me old fashioned or what ever, but to me some of these places represent  a place that many people konw and love, and should be preserved! all of a sudden it dawned on me that hey, what if they  all of a sudden decided to get rid of the Star Ferry boats them selves or replacing them because of rising fuel costs or whatever? If they replace them old white ferries with some new high tech boats, then the subject of countless postcards will be gone forever!

Yeah i like classic 70s and 80s songs, and my mom even says that i reminise all the time, but with all the advancement in technology in this world, I just think we should keep something from yesteryear just to keep ourselves true to what life was all about as we were growing up.

I like the sweat. I like the the rocking of the boat in choppy waters,and I like the smell of diesel fuel gushing out from the engine compartment from the lower deck of the ferries. Everytime I experience that, it brings me back to the days when my parents and uncle would take me on a trip across the harbour on one of them green and white Star Ferries. 

Where in the heck is "Zhang Jia Jie?"

Well, that was the question that I was asking myself when I had a conference there a few weeks ago. I was told that I had to go to a place called "Zhang Jia Jie" and for the world of me, I had no clue where it was! Normally what I do is I try to at least understand where I am going to for an event or conference so I can have an idea what to expect. Well, this time I was clueless. I was asking around with my friends trying to get a better idea of where Zhang Jia Jie was, and not to my surprise, they had as much clue as I did...So I hopped on a plane and headed to Zhang Jia Jie not knowing what it was all about and much less what to expect.

I arrived late at nite and all I can see about this place was the sign at the airport..yeah, lotsa help that was! I eventually checked into the hotel and went to sleep still in a state of confusion.

I woke up in the morning and the first thing I did was ask people what this place was all about. What I found out was, and I'm sure alot of people know, is that Zhang Jia Jie is a place known for its beautiful mountains and its scenery. Ok, well hopefully during this short trip I can at least get a taste of this beautiful place right? WRONG!!

After the event, which was held at the hotel, I had to dash off to the airport for my next destination.

During the whole ride, I was hoping to see AT LEAST a bit of the place right? Well, that was not to be!! Me with my great luck I ran into fog!! The only time probably in my life time to goto Zhang Jia Jie  I run into fog!!! Great, my great luck!  But I REFUSED to walk away with no pictures in my camera!! So I'm sure you all can understand  my frustration, hearing all these great stuff about how beautiful the place was with all its shapely mountains, and all I got was FOG!!! Well, if you all are wondering what I'm talking about, here  are some pictures to show ya....the sign at the airport and the extent of the place I hear how beautiful it was.....I must find a time to go back ...maybe not this life time, it'll definitely be the next!!

Yes,I'm sort of know around as the, "English Teacher" on T.V. Ever since Channel V's "Go West" program came out, learning English has took on a whole different meaning.

It was then that people start to realize that there are so much more to a language than just what you read in text books. The "Go West" concept was never to teach slangs or steet talk to people, but more of a novel way to add on to what a person would learn in schools or classes.That's why after the show became a success, my friends Jim and Rich along with me decided to do our own version and called it, Talk da Talk.

The show is pretty much the same. Pick a topic and elaborate how you can use the words or phrases in different ways.

But after awhile, we understood that this just wasn't enough to really teach people English.  Sure, it was a fun TV show and people really enjoyed all the different things we were teaching them but what people really wanted was a way to really speak English face to face.  In China, people really need to be motivated and encouraged to speak English. I've always told people that the only way to speak a language well, is exactly that, you have to speak it! I don't care if you say it wrong, but as long as you speak it all the time, it will eventually become natural. And based on that, we then started our "Talk da Talk English Club."

On December 25th, 2005 we opened the first Talk da Talk English Club House located in Shanghai.  It's really beautiful and it's a place where you can go and meet our English speaking "crew" who help our members learn English by USING it at different events or activities in real life settings all throughout Shanghai.  It's a much better way of learning because it takes you out of the classroom.  You have to speak English at all our activities.

While our Talk da Talk English Club is a relative new idea in the Mainland market, it's been a proven and effective way to learn English in other places.  We know one of the biggest problems for Chinese learning English is that they really lack confidence in speaking and are afraid of making mistakes.  One of the most important things that the English Club teaches is to not be afraid of speaking English and that the only way to learn English is to make mistakes.  What's great about Talk da Talk is that besides learning English you meet all sorts of foreigners and new friends as well. 

So yes, Talk da Talk is here and here to make a difference in fact their slogan is “Always Making You Better!“

Hope you all will get a chance to visit our club house and maybe I might be there vaccuming the floors!!

Here's some pictures of my last visit where I met our hard working Educational Consutants and other members! 

Yup, I am back at the wall again! It's been quite awhile since I first went to the Great Wall of China, and everytime it's just as amazing as the first!

From the first time anyone steps on The Wall, they feel a sense of history. No matter where you're from, most eveyone in the world have heard about the Great Wall and some even know about its history. There are places you visit once and you may say, "that's good enough," but with thousands of miles of the Wall, one can never get enough.

Recently I have the pleasure again to visit the Wall, because we just so happen to be doing a small project there. The part of the Wall we visited is what is considered "the wild wall," which means parts of the Wall that is not being attended to but if you happen to visit, you can go on your own free will. It is a bit out of the way, but once you get there and step onto the Wall, that sense of history and pride surfaces all over again. It's great because when you go way outthere, you don't have anyone bothering you for photos or what not, and you really get to see some really different scenery that you don't get from other parts of the Great Wall.

There are all different parts to the Wall. Some in mountains, some on flat land, some in water and some in wherever. That is why now matter how many times you go to the Wall, you can never see it all. Just remember, the Wall is a part of our history, and no matter how "wild" the wall is, do not disturb it by digging or taking a part of history home with you, because the stones and bricks there , is not just another brick in the wall!!

Yes, it is that time of year where all basketball fans are focusing on the NBA playoffs!! As of now, we see Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks are pretty much the favorites to win it all this year, but wait! Our big man Yao Ming and his Houston Rockets are in the playoffs and seems to be doing well too! It's great to see the big man doing better and better each year in the NBA and making an even bigger impact in the league with his presence.

As a sports fan, it is always nice to see our fellow brother doing well in the big leagues whether it be basketball or baseball or tennis or what have you. For the longest time people seem to think that we cannot perform in the big leagues, but as we see Yao Ming with the Rockets, and Wang Jian Ming with the Newe York Yankees, finally our brother man is coming to the top! With the baseball season just starting, and the NBA into the playoffs, we all hope they can perform well really when it counts! And as a basketball and baseball fan, you can bet that I will be keeping my eyes open and root for them whenever they step on the court or field, so "Go,Go,Go" to the brothers from the Motherland!!!

Oh, by the way, I don't have a picture of Dirk Nowitzki, so I'll give you another sports star from Germany instead...Boris Becker....