Posted by Andrew
Around the office, we have all kinds of restaurants。 I regularly get delivery from a 越南河粉 (Pho) place near the office, but on occasion I’ve sampled cuisine from a place selling 墨西哥菜 (Mexican food) which isn’t half-bad. Yesterday, I tried some noodles at a place which sold 陕西菜 (Shaanxi food)- it was said to be spicy and hot, but I found it wasn’t nearly as hot as advertised. Another favorite is this place nearby which sells 水饺 (dumplings) - I particularly enjoy the duck blood soup (more about this in the future). 川菜 (Sichuan food) includes a lot of my favorite dishes, while 寿司 (sushi) is enjoyable if the fish is fresh. I know of one place which flies its fish in daily from the Tsukiji market in Tokyo- our world is flat indeed! Nearby you can get pretty stunning 印度菜 (Indian food) with all the right spices- makes me think of home, oddly enough. For those looking to try something new, you can always grab some 驴肉 (donkey meat) with noodles. A Japanese 拉面 (ramen noodle) place was where I saw one of the biggest opportunities for service improvement. The service chain was not consistent, to put it one way (this is for a coming entry). Lastly, a place where I enjoyed one of my first meals at this job was at a 韩国拌饭 (Korean restaurant. Cheap, quick, and nearly authentic. Stay tuned, readers! What are your favorite kinds of restaurants? I’ll see if I can find one in Beijing and post up the translations of their food!
越南河粉 yue4nan2he2fen3 - Vietnamese noodles, Pho
墨西哥菜 mo4xi1ge1cai4 - Mexican food
陕西菜 shan3xi1cai4 - Shaanxi food (from Xi’an area)
水饺 shui3(2)jiao3 - dumplings
川菜 chuan1cai4 - Sichuanese food
寿司 shou4si1 - sushi
印度菜 yin4du4cai4 - Indian food
驴肉 lv2rou4 - donkey meat
拉面 la1mian4 - ramen noodles
韩国拌饭 han2guo2ban4fan4 - bibimbap, different types of meat and vegetables all mixed together in a pot with rice and an egg on top to be mixed by the person eating it
Posted by Andrew
So you want to start your own 企业 (enterprise), eh? Well you better get to your 办公桌 (desk) and get cracking on your 计划 (plan). No 天使投资者 (angel investor) is going to give you a second look unless you’ve got your 预算 (budget) in order, your 人力资源 (human resources) set out down to the employee (don’t forget your 会计 (accountant)), and your 推销战略 (marketing strategy) planned down to the 传单 (flier). Best of luck to you!
企业 qi3ye4 - enterprise
办工桌 ban4gong1zhuo1 - work desk
计划 ji4hua4 - plan
天使投资者 tian1shi3 tou2zi1zhe3 - angel investor
预算 yu4suan4 - budget
人力资源 ren2li4zi1yuan2 - human resources
会计 kuai4ji4 - accountant
推销 tui1xiao1 - marketing
战略 zhan4lve4 - strategy
传单 chuan2dan1 - flier
Posted by Andrew
Some people are really feeling the brunt of the financial crisis, so they’ve decided to 踏实地(diligently) find 兼职工作(part-time jobs), or 打工(work part-time). One option is to work as a 翻译(translator). I’m reading several books at the moment, and one that I had been meaning to catch up on is “The World Is Flat.” One of the main points of the book is how technology has reduced the distance between people, such that a call center in India can handle customer service inquiries for a business headquartered in New York. In essence, 外包(outsourcing) has become much easier than ever before, thanks to the 互联网(internet) and its 发展(development). In fact, work can be turned around even faster owing to 时差(time differences), meaning that data entry and call center jobs are no longer limited to 夜猫子(night owls). The world we live in is truly 神奇(amazing).
words
踏实 ta4shi2 - diligently
兼职 jian1zhi2 - part-time
打工 da3gong1 - work part-time
翻译 fan1yi4 - translator
外包 wai4bao1 - outsourcing
互联网 hu4lian2wang3 - internet
发展 fa1zhan3 - development
时差 shi2cha1 - time difference
夜猫子 ye4mao1zi3 - night owls (here it’s “night cat”)
神奇 shen2qi2 - amazing
Posted by Andrew
Yesterday I went with a former co-worker on a search for 比萨 (pizza). According to several 评论 (reviews), this place had the best food in Beijing. We were told that the location was near an area that’s currently 施工 (under construction). We walked around the 周围 (perimeter) and couldn’t find a 踪影 (trace) of this place. Every time we went to 问路 (ask directions), we would only end up walking in a way that could be described as 盲目 (blind/blindly). We’d get directions and 仍然迷路 (still get lost). Fortunately, once we found the pizza place, the imported cheese was enough to 入口即化 (melt in [one's] mouth).
Words
比萨 bi3sa4 - pizza
评论 ping2lun4 - reviews
施工 shi1gong1- under construction
周围 zhou1wei2 - perimeter
踪影 zong1ying3 - trace
问路 wen4lu4 - ask for directions
盲目 mang2mu4 - blindly
仍然 reng1ran2 - still
迷路 mi2lu4 - get lost
入口即化 ru4kou3ji2hua4 - melt in your mouth
Posted by Andrew
So the trip to the shooting range is postponed! My friend whose birthday it was is unable to go today because his visa is being extended. I would not say that he 放我的鸽子 (stood me up), because we have merely changed our plans to go to 雍和宫 (the Lama Temple in Beijing). In other words, our 约的时间 (arranged time) has not changed, merely our 地点 (place). I may also be meeting up with somebody who works in the field of 投资 (investment). Recently when my parents were here, I got an external 光驱 (cd drive) so now I can save a little money on entertainment while I 看碟 (watch movies). One thing I’d like to catch up on is some shows from the 80年代 (80s) such as MacGyver.
放 fang4 - release
鸽子 ge1zi3 - pigeons
雍和宫 yong1he2gong1 - Lama temple in Beijing
约 yue1 - arranged
地点 di4dian3 - location, place
投资 tou2zi1- investment
光驱 guang1qu1 - cd drive
看碟 kan4die2- watch DVDs
年代 nian2dai4 - decade
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