More Words, More Fun!

Hello All My Fellow Americans!
(For the most part, anyway...)

My time in Beijing is quickly coming to an end, and I'm getting very reflective. Images that I've been taking for granted have lately started to stick with me. This morning, as I got off the train, I watched the undulating wave of black-haired heads move briskly up the stairs. At a glance they all look the same, but I've been here long enough now where I notice the different hair styles and colors, all the little things that make these folks as different as you and me. Before I got on the train, I went to recharge my transit card, but, unbeknownst to me, the woman with the machine wasn't there. I'm not at the point where I can communicate this rather abstract request yet, so instead I just showed my card to the woman that was there, in the hopes she would just *understand* my request. Well, she didn't, but instead, she looked at me with excitement. Here was this foreigner, who had gone out and bought a transit card (most tourists just pay with cash). She smiled so brightly and motioned to the turnstyle. "You can just use that card, you don't need to buy a ticket," she said. She assumed I wouldn't understand that though, and said it all in her smile and her eyes. Now I've found Chinese culture is often described by how few social graces they employ, but the individual people themselves, they can be so, beautiful.

At school, I have become somewhat notorious for how I like to play with language. How I look for those words and phrases that don't translate, or that catch people off guard. So for our last newsletter, I was asked to put together a list of my favorites and their translations. Since I got such great responses for my "badass" email, that I thought I'd include my top five here.
The format goes Chinese - Actual Translation (Literal Translation)

Duo He Shui - Drink Lots of Water (Many Drink Water)
My homestay family got a Chinese book written by an American doctor claiming that water can cure all ills, so this has become a constant mantra in the house.
zhe ge hen mafan zhe ge - This is Trouble (This is Trouble This Is)
When my homestay Dad gets worked about about things, this is one of his most common phrases. I assume that extra zhe ge at the end is just for emphasis
ni chi cuo yao le ma? - Are You Crazy? (Did You Eat the Wrong Medicine?)
A teacher once said this to me, and now its one of my favorite phrases to use when people ask me wacky questions.
bie feng zi wo! - Don't be Saracstis with Me! (Don't Sarcasm Me!)
This phrase doesn't translate well, but it catches shop keepers off guard when they give me high prices. They don't expect this vocabulary.
wo chi duo le! - I am Trouble! (I Eat a Lot!)
I'm not exactly sure how this translates, but it is usually said in reference to yourself in a deprecating fashion. I like to use it at dinner when it makes no sense. Usually people laugh, assuming that I don't know what I'm saying. But when it becomes clear that I do, it gets even funnier.
Today was my last day at my internship. We all went out for lunch together, and I was prompted to sing a song. There was a time when this would have caught be off guard, but I've learned that this type of request, to the Chinese, is just part of the deal. So I gave them a verse from an old Irish farewell song, and recieved a verse from a Christina Aguilera song, once in English, and then on Chinese! After the singing we ate, and I thought I was off the hook. But after lunch, I was told to use one word to describe each of my employees personally. As you can imagine, this request, for someone with a poor grasp of the language, is horrifying. After a lot of bargaining, I convinced everyone else they had to play first, and after figuring out what was expected of me, I'd say I fared pretty well.

Like I said folks, my semester here in Beijing is quickly coming to a close. I've got a little over one more week here, and then its off to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. We've got a pretty rustic route planned, so I hope I can keep these letters up. We've got one more letter for sure, but after that, its into the Chinese wilds!


Until We Meet Again,
Love,
Carl

---

---