Chinese Blog

Today I was at the London 机场 (airport) on my way back out to China.  When I went into downtown London, it was truly a scene of 人烟稀少 (barely having a trace of human activity).  I saw a 旅行团 (tour group) including people from 山东 (Shandong province in China).  While going to Big Ben in a cab, I asked the driver how long it takes to 考证 (pass the test for [a] certificate) to be a London cab driver.  Without missing a beat, he replied that it usually takes 4 years.  I also learned that many Englanders do not consider themselves grouped with the European 大陆 (mainland), despite being a part of the EU and European Economic Area.   With another cab driver, I spoke about the rights guaranteed by the 宪法 (constitution) of the US.  I went to a restaurant boasting authentic cuisine from 巴基斯坦 (Pakistan), but I was not as impressed as the review writers had been.  Later on at the airport, I wanted to communicate with my family on Skype, but I had to update the 驱动 (drivers) for my sound card before my microphone would work.  圣诞节快乐! (Merry Christmas!)

机场 ji1chang3 – airport
人烟稀少 ren2yan1xi1shao3 – lit. people smoke sparse few. meaning “barely any traces of people”
旅行团 lv3xing2tuan2 – tour group
山东 shan1dong1 – Shandong province in China
考证 kao3zheng4  – to get the certificate by testing
大陆 da4lu4 – mainland
驱动 qu1dong4 – drivers for software or hardware
宪法 xian4fa3 – constitution
巴基斯坦 ba1ji1si1tan3 – Pakistan
圣诞节快乐 sheng4dan4jie2kuai4le4 – Merry Christmas

In my previous post, I talked about my experience attending an NFL game.  A great way to understand the people of a country is to understand its sports.  For China, a large headache is the organization jokingly referred to as 国猪 (national pig), which is short for 国足(the national soccer team)- the 中国国家足球队 ([official name of] the China National Soccer Team).   One joke passed around the internet is that the team’s losses have many causes, such as the day’s weather being too hot, the day’s weather being too cold, and the day’s temperature being perfect, because then their 对手 (opponent) would not have any 障碍 (challenges).   To be sure, the performance of this team is a 悲剧 (tragedy) for Chinese sports fans.  Recently, the team made news when it tied 东帝汶 (East Timor).  I find it hard to believe that the team with the highest 金牌总数 (total Gold Medal count) during last year’s Olympic Games cannot even qualify for the first round of the 世界杯 (world cup).

国猪 guo2zhu1 – playful name for the Chinese national soccer team
国足 guo2zu2 – abbreviated name for the
中国国家足球队 zhong1guo2 guo2jia1 zu2qiu2dui4 – CHina National Soccer Team
对手 dui4shou3 – opponent
障碍 zhang4ai4 – challenges
悲剧 bei1ju4 – tragedy
东帝汶 dong1di4wen2 – East Timor
金牌 jin1pai2 – gold medal
总数 zong3shu4 – total count
世界杯 shi4jie4bei1 – FIFA World Cup