Posted by Andrew
Today I went to HK in search of 壶铃 (kettlebells) at one store and imported 辣椒酱 (hot sauce) of a particular brand at another. While I ended up searching for the kettlebells on 淘宝 (Taobao, an online Chinese retailer), I’m still happy to have made the effort to look. I was able to find some 风干肉 (air-cured meat) for sale at the imported foods market, although it was being sold at a 昂贵 (very expensive) price. As I took the boat across the harbor with a high school classmate, I realized that the ferry operators must be 亏本 (losing money) as they do not put advertisements on the interior of the boats. Not long afterward, I realized that they must have rights to the 码头 (piers), potentially guaranteeing their revenues. After returning to Shenzhen, I played arcade games with my classmate and found that the 金币 (gold coins [used to play the games]) cost only 0.5RMB (that’s roughly 7 cents in US Dollar terms). What an inexpensive way to have fun! We probably could have gotten to the arcade earlier if my friend’s passport hadn’t 烂掉 (fallen/rotten apart) in the washing machine several weeks ago, requiring that he get a replacement and produce 2 passports at border control (the rotten one with the current visa and the new, undefaced one). We grabbed some 牛腩 (beef tenderloin) curry and were on our way to the next adventure.
壶铃 hu2ling2 - kettlebell (a type of weight shaped like a cannonball with a U-shaped handle)
辣椒酱 la4jiao1jiang4 - hot sauce
淘宝 tao2(3)bao3 - Taobao, a Chinese e-commerce site
风干肉 feng1gan1rou4 - air-cured meat
昂贵 ang2gui4 - (highly) expensive
亏本 kui1ben3 - losing money (losing operating expenses)
码头 ma3tou2 - pier/dock
金币 jin1bi4 - gold coin
烂掉 lan4diao4 - to rot/fall/come apart (specifically referring to objects)
牛腩 niu2nan2 - beef tenderloin
Posted by Andrew
For those who remember the entry where I spent an hour looking for a pizza place in Beijing, the hunt is on again in Shenzhen. There is a great pizza place here run by a 华裔 (overseas Chinese - in this case ABC) from New York- rather than a 海归 (Chinese returned from abroad) or a franchise owner. The specialty of the place is that it has 进口烤箱 (imported ovens) and the pizza dough is 全麦 (whole wheat). I found myself most amazed at the quality of the 芝士 (cheese). When you have all but 吃腻了 (gotten sick of [from eating too much]) takeout restaurant food and you 吃不下 (cannot physically eat) anything but familiar foods, this pizza place sounded like a good idea. As soon as my pizza arrived, I took one look and knew I’d happily 吃得完 (finish the whole thing), just another 宵夜 (late night snack) in hustle-bustle Shenzhen.
华裔 hua2yi4 - overseas person of Chinese descent
海归 hai3gui1 - Chinese returning from overseas
进口 jin4kou3 - imported
烤箱 kao3xiang1 - oven
芝士 zhi1shi4 - cheese
吃腻了 chi1ni4le - to have had one’s fill of a particular food, to no longer be able to eat a certain food
吃不下 chi1bu2xia4 can’t physically eat
吃得完 chi1de1wan2 - able to finish a food
宵夜 xiao1ye4 - midnight snacks - note: it’s called 夜宵 up north, but 宵夜 comes from Cantonese (as far as I can tell)
全麦 quan2mai4 - whole wheat
Posted by Andrew
I got back to Shenzhen from Beijing, and found myself coming down with some 水土不服 (stomach problems)- I surmise that I was somewhat 不习惯 (unaccustomed) to the dietary changes from the wedding and being up north, but I drank plenty of 热水 (hot water) and 粥 (rice porridge) to aid my recovery. I’m still waiting for my things to come down by railroad from Beijing. The bags are normally sent back if they contain any 液体 (liquid) or 气体 (gas) items. When the bags arrive in Shenzhen, they won’t be able to 送货 (deliver), so I will have to go to the train station in order to 领取 (pick them up). When I called the other day to 查询 (inquire) about the progress of the move, I couldn’t get through to anybody. All I know is that when the bags do arrive, I’d better use a vehicle suited to 搬运 (moving), or maybe 2 cabs.
水土不服 shui3(2)tu3bu4fu2 - unaccustomed to a place (lit. water dirt uncomfortable). used to refer to when a person has stomach problems or other ills as a result of travel
不习惯 bu4xi2guan4 - unaccustomed to
热水 re4shui3 - hot water
粥 zhou1 - rice porridge
液体 ye4ti3- liquid
气体 qi4ti3 - gas
送货 song4huo4 - deliver items
领取 ling3(2)qu3 - to pick up (from a place)
查询 cha2xun2 - inquire
搬运 ban1yun4 - moving (as in a moving company)
Posted by Andrew
When I was moving out of my apartment in Beijing, I felt a strong sense of 留恋 (reluctance to leave) as I reflected over 喜怒哀乐 (all [the] types of emotions) that had taken place in that room. When my landlord talked about 补偿 (compensation) from ending the contract early, I had feared that he was going to hold on to more of my rent; it turned out he only wanted one month’s rent as compensation. Also on my itinerary in Beijing was a wedding. It was there after hearing glass breaking that I heard that the noise of breaking glass at a banquet is unlucky, so people say 岁岁平安 (peace throughout your years, see exp. below) to counter the effects. As the groom was a 回民 (Hui Muslim), there was a great selection of foods I had never tried before- including cow spine and some spicy pancakes. After setting aside the lunacy of shipping my winter coat down to Shenzhen where the temperature rarely goes below 50F, I finally settled on 中铁 (China railway) to handle my 托运 (shipping). It would be much cheaper than shipping it by air, and I was instructed to hold on to my 条子 (slip) which would prove that I was the sender of the bags (besides having my name scrawled all over the bags). With my remaining time in Beijing before going to the airport, I went to Tiananmen Square to see the 花车 (floats) which were driven during the parade to 纪念 (commemorate) China’s founding.
留恋 liu2lian4 - to feel a sense of longing
喜怒哀乐 xi3nu4ai1le4 - all the types of emotion (happiness, anger, sadness, merriment)
补偿 bu3chang2 - compensation
岁岁平安 sui4sui4ping2an1 - may you have peace throughout your years. the reason why this is said relates to the word 碎 (sui4) meaning “shatter” or “break.”
回民 hui2min2 - the Hui people, a Muslim group in China
中铁 zhong1tie3 - China Railway
托运 tuo1yun4 - ship
条子 tiao2zi3 - note, slip
花车 hua1che1 - lit. “flower car” (floats)
纪念 ji4nian4 - commemorate
Posted by Andrew
Hello readers!
Apologies for the brief posting gap- I’ve been running around the Pearl River Delta and closing out my apartment up north (more to follow on that). As a result of the national holiday, there were large celebrations throughout the 大陆 (mainland) including a large-scale 游行 (parade) in Beijing, a 假期 (vacation period) of 8 days, and when everybody 放假 (went on vacation) they went to 团圆 (reunite) with family to celebrate 中秋 (Mid-Autumn Festival) and eat 月饼 (moon cakes). As for me, I decided to go see how the National Day would be observed in China’s 特别行政区 (special administrative regions). The first part of the day, I was in Hong Kong, where I saw numerous 国旗 (national flags) and a banner saying 祝贺中华人民共和国 (congratulations/well wishing to the People’s Republic of China). When I got to Macau, I saw the world’s tallest 蹦极 (bungee) platform, and came to the conclusion that you wouldn’t be aware of the National Holiday in Macau unless somebody told you beforehand. However, there were a couple of those banners at the MGM Grand.
Words
大陆 da4lu4 - Mainland
游行 you2xing2 - parade
假期 jia4qi1 - vacation period
放假 fang4jia4- go on vacation
团圆 tuan2yuan2 - reunite (used with families)
中秋 zhong1qiu1 - mid-autumn festival (full name is 中秋节 zhong1qiu1jie2 with jie2 meaning holiday)
月饼 yue4bing3 - mooncakes
特别行政区 te4bie2xing2zheng4qu1 - Special Administrative Region(s)
国旗 guo2qi2 - national flag
蹦极 beng4ji2 - Bungee jumping
祝贺 zhu4he4 - wish
中华人民共和国 - zhong1hua2ren2min2gong4he2guo2 - People’s Republic of China
