Posted by Andrew
Have you ever gone for Indian food.. in Beijing? For whatever reason, a lot of people that I know here have never eaten Indian food before. As someone who will never turn down Indian food, this is news to me. The way that someone’s eyes light up upon their first taste of 罗根羊肉 (Lamb Rogan Josh) immediately removes any previously held 偏见 (biases) that may have existed before. Although normally Lamb Rogan Josh is cooked in oil, the texture of the meat is like that of 烩肉 (braised meat). Moreover, the type of 辣 (spice/spiciness) is unfamiliar to the Chinese palate as it is hot rather than numbing. When a friend of mine had cottage cheese cubes in 菠菜 (spinach - as in palak paneer, anyone?) she remarked that the flavor was 怪怪 (weird) and happily continued eating. Although there are those who are uncertain about the 味道 (flavor), they hold that 吃起来 (after you start eating it) Indian food is pretty much one of the best things ever. My friend, convinced, asked to 打包 (doggy-bag it) and has even considered regularly ordering 外卖 (delivery).
罗根羊肉 luo2gen1yang2rou4 - Lamb Rogan Josh
偏见 pian1jian4 - biases
烩肉 hui4rou4- braised meat
辣 la4 - spicy
菠菜 bo1cai4 - spinach
怪怪 guai4guai4 - weird/strange
味道 wei4dao - flavor
吃起来 chi1qi3lai2 - after eating it/upon eating it
打包 da3bao1 - bag sth. up, wrap up a meal for takeout
外卖 wai4mai4 - delivery
Posted by Andrew
How do you feel about 团队精神 (team spirit)？ Are you a team player, or are you a lone wolf? Teamwork comes from several things, you need to have 互相信任 (mutual trust)， strong 应变力 (ability to adapt to changes)， and 灵活的思想 (flexible thought). When your 队友 (teammates) can 执行 (execute) based on a couple of simple 原则 (principles), then you know you’re in a good spot. Sometimes if your teamwork needs a little push, maybe try a 游戏 (game) to break the ice. You never know!
Words
团队tuan2dui4 - team
精神 jing1shen2 - spirit
互相 hu4xiang1 - mutual
信任 xin4ren4 - trust
应变力 ying4bian4li4 - ability to adapt to changes
灵活 ling3(2)huo3 - lively, flexible
思想 si1xiang3 - thought
队友 dui4you3 - teammate(s)
原则 yuan2ze2 - principles
游戏 you2xi4 - game(s)
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
The other weekend I got back from 武汉 (Wuhan), where I was giving a 演讲 (speech). Some pretty memorable things happened there. I went with my host to a 偏远的农村 (very rural village), which was where he grew up before leaving to attend high school. We dined on 农家菜 (countryside food) such as meatballs and noodles. One of the strangest things that happened though was this woman ran up to me gesturing excitedly and pointing towards the mountains in the distance. I’m normally in Beijing, so I don’t hear very much Wuhanese; after thinking to myself that I should really make a better effort to learn more Wuhanese while there, I looked to my host for an explanation of what she was saying. He looks at me blankly and says “she’s a 哑巴 （mute)， I don’t know what she’s saying either.” Another thing that happened was that we were at a restaurant and my host picked a spice out of the soup, examined it carefully, and called the manager in to the room where we were eating. He pointed out that this spice was a complete fake and that they should check their supplier. He indicated that this type of root grows at a height of 海拔2000米 (2000 meters above sea level) and can only be harvested in 3 places in China. Everyone took his word for it, as he was an accomplished 专家 (expert) in the field of 中药 (Chinese medicine).
武汉 wu2han4 - Wuhan, capital of Hubei province in southern China
演讲 yan2(3)jiang3 - speech
偏远 pian1yuan2 - rural
农村 nong2cun1 - village
农家菜 nong2jia1cai4 - rural village food
哑巴 ya3ba1 - mute/dumb
海拔 hai3ba2 - sea level
米 mi2 - meter(s)
专家 zhuan1jia1 - expert
中药 zhong1yao4 - Chinese medicine
Posted by Andrew
The other day, I went hiking on the great wall with my landlord and a friend. We took a 公交车 (public bus) to Huairou County, where we proceeded to 爬长城 (climb the Great Wall). There were a lot of places where it would be very easy to 摔 (slip), and the hills could be quite 斗 (steep). Having eaten a hearty 煎饼 (fried egg pancake) for breakfast, I had more than enough energy to take in and enjoy the 风景 (scenery) and fresh 空气 (air). When we were 下山 (coming down the mountain), I slipped and fell down backwards but immediately grabbed a tree root which was fortunately grounded. Hanging upside down, I reported to my 2 hiking partners that I was fine, and took about 20 seconds to right myself and get on stable ground. They say that cats have 九条命 (9 lives), I don’t know about humans but I’d say that I nearly lost one this past weekend. All said, a memorable excursion!
公交车 gong1jiao1che1 public bus
爬 pa2 climb
长城 chang2cheng2 Great Wall
摔 shuai1 slip
斗 dou3 steep
煎饼 jian1bing3 a type of fried pancake with egg and vegetables
风景 feng1jing3 scenery
空气 kong4qi4 air
下山 xia4shan1 to descend a mountain
九条命 jiu3tiao2ming4 9 lives
