September, 2013 - eazychinese.com

How many times do you say hello to someone on any given day? Unless you're a hermit, or just plain rude, chances are a few times at the very least, and most likely more often than that. No matter where you are in the world, or what language is being spoken, people are saying hello to each other. They just might have different ways to do it. In the first part of this lesson, I will teach you several common Chinese greetings. Later on in part two you will be reading and listening to a dialogue in Mandarin and learning how to put these greetings into practical use. But first, let me see how much you remember from our last lesson. What is the correct English translation of 你好? A. Goodbye, B. See you later, C. Hello, D. Good luck. Everyone answered A. Goodbye, right?!? I certainly hope not. If you answered anything besides C. Hello, then you should practice lesson one for a few more days before proceeding. Have no fear! Rome wasn't built in a day (or at least that's what I hear, anyway) and Taipei 101 wasn't either!

Now let's get started!

Five Essential Greetings:

1. 早安 zăo ān = good morning
Note: 早安 is more often than not shorted to just 早, Taiwanese people especially like to cut out a lot of characters that are considered as understood in a sentence, though it's not a bad idea to practice the full phrases in the beginning.
2. 午安 wŭ ān= good afternoon
3. 吃飽了嗎? chī băo le ma?= Have you eaten?
Note: You can either answer 有, which means "have", but in this case means "yes", followed by 吃飽了(to show that you "have" eaten) or 還沒, "not yet".
4. 好久不見 hăo jiŭ bù jiàn= long time no see
5. 您好 nín hăo(formal version of 你好)= hello (formal)

Listen to the attached audio file and practice repeating each phrase until you feel confident enough to move on to the next part.

Dialogue: Read and listen to the following dialogue, then answer the questions below.

A: Young Chen, hello!
小陳,你好！
xiăo chén nĭ hăo!

B: Hello Mrs. Wang. Have you eaten yet?
王太太，你好。你吃飽了嗎？
wáng tài tài, nĭ hăo. nĭ chī băo le ma?

A:Not yet! I am going to buy dinner now.
還沒啊！我現在去買晚餐。
hái méi a! wŏ xiàn zài qù măi wăn cān

B: Do you mind if I join you?
那麼我跟你一起去吃，好嗎？
nà me wŏ gēn nĭ yī qĭ qù chī, hăo ma?

A: Of course!
當然好啊!
dāng rán hăo a!

B: Awesome! In that case, what do you want to eat?
太棒了！那麼你想要吃什麼呢？
tài bàng le! nà me nĭ xiăng yào chī shén me ne?

A: I want to eat beef noodle soup.
我要吃牛肉麵。
wŏ yào chī niú ròu miàn.

B: Me too! Ahh!
我也是！哎喲！
wŏ yĕ shì! āi yō!

A: What's wrong?
怎麼了？
zĕn me le?

B: I didn't bring money!
我沒帶錢！
wŏ méi dài qián!

A: No problem, I'll treat you.
沒關係，我來請客。
méi guān xi, wŏ lái qĭng kè.

B: Thank you! Next time it's my turn to treat!
謝謝你的! 下一次換我來請！
xiè xiè nĭ de! xià yī cì huàn wŏ lái qĭng!

Culture Note: in Chinese, nick names for younger people are often formed by adding 小 in front of a surname, i.e. 小陳 for small(or young) Chen.

Comprehension Questions: I'm not going to give you an English translation for the following questions, I want to see how much you can intuitively figure out from what we have already learned. Take a minute to email me you answers and I will let you know how you did! Consider it "homework".

1. 誰要去買晚餐？
shéi yào qù măi wăn cān?

2. 王太太吃飽了嗎？
wáng tài tài chī băo le ma?

3. 他們很喜歡吃牛肉麵嗎？
tā men hĕn xĭ huān chī niú ròu miàn ma?

4. 誰沒帶錢？
shéi méi dài qián?

5. 小陳要請客嗎？
xiăo chén yào qĭng kè ma?

Essential Vocabulary: Here's a list of some of the most useful phrases that we learned in this lesson. Practice them and record yourself and compare your pronunciation to mine.

1. 還沒= not yet
2. 現在= now
3. 那麼= then/in that case
4. 跟你一起…= Do…with you
5. 好嗎?= Okay?
6. 當然= of course
7. 太棒了= Awesome!
8. 想要= want
9. 什麼?= what?
10. 我也是= me too
11. 怎麼了?= What's wrong?
12. 沒關係= no problem
13. 謝謝= thank you/thanks

28 September 2013

Ximen Ding and the Lin Family Mansion and Gardens

Last Wednesday, Ruby and I went to the Red House in Ximen Ding(at the next stop from Taipei on the blue line), home of the first and largest art market in Taipei, open every Saturday and Sunday as well as holidays. A website wanted to interview her about her handmade clothing brand, M+T Design (check out her Facebook page here) and we took the opportunity to have a snack and walk around the Ximen xī mén 西門(literally "West gate") area.

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(With my parents the last time they came to visit me in Taiwan)

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(This restaurant is really famous for their dà cháng miàn xiàn大腸麵線)

I really like this part of Taipei, and with all the bright lights and trendy fashion outlets, the street performers(I've seen tons of musicians, break dancers and even fire eaters here) and tons of nice restaurants, department stores and movie theaters, I always describe it to my friends and family as the Times Square of Taipei. Located in the Wenhua District, the area is filled with historic sites and lots of beautiful temples, notably Long Shan Temple lóng shān sì 龍山寺. It's well worth a visit, and I'll be blogging about lots of these places in the future.

After we finished up in Ximen, we headed back to the MRT and rode the next train to Fuzhong Station in Banqiao city. We took exit 3 and followed the signs to the Lin Family Mansion and Gardens lín jiā huā yuán 林家花園, which was only about a ten minute walk from the MRT station.

This place is huge and really beautiful. There is a plaque out front with some historical information about the Lin family and the building of their home, which cost more than the construction of early Taipei City! Make sure you have a few hours of free time on your hands when you go, as there is a lot to see and explore here.

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(Just follow the signs)

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(The gate to the family residence, the doors are painted red, as red is a lucky color that is associated with prosperity and wealth in Chinese culture, and the handles are made to depict the bā guà 八卦, an ancient Chinese divination tool)

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(The path to the garden and a shot of the Lin family's sān hé yuàn 三合院, traditional three-house courtyard)

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(Just a few of the pictures I took around the estates…this place is massive and I took hundreds of photos, so it was really hard to choose!)

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(This is a really old tree. If you look closely, you can see that it grew-up around another tree)

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(This is a jìng zì tíng 敬字亭, a kind of monument to words, and they often have special meanings written on them along with poetry)

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(They also have a pretty cool gift shop, it's free admittance so they have to bring in some money somehow, right? So what are you waiting for? See you there!)

On the way back, you can check out a local traditional market, and there is also a rather larger temple dedicated to mā zŭ 媽祖, the goddess of the ocean, right across from the MRT station which is worth a visit.

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(The local traditional market)

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(At the temple dedicated to 媽祖)

To end the day, we did something decidedly un-Chinese…we had McDonald's! But it was good!

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(Yum!)

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How To Get There:

Ximen Ding-Take the MRT to the next stop from Taipei on the blue line, called Ximen 西門.
Lin Family Mansion and Gardens- Take the MRT from Ximen to Fuzhong 府中, take exit three and follow the signs. The temple and traditional market are across from the MRT, nearby the McDonald's.

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Chinese phrases of the day:

西門= literally "west-gate" a trendy shopping area in Taipei

大腸麵線= pig-intestine noodles

龍山寺= Longshan Temple, the name literally translates as "Dragon Mountain Temple"

林家花園= Lin Family Garden

八卦= an ancient Chinese divination tool

三合院= traditional three-house courtyard

敬字亭= a monument to the respect of words

媽祖= Goddess of the ocean

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26 September 2013

Café-liscious

Now I'm not a big coffe drinker, but another great thing about 7-11 is the City Café. Don't get me wrong, I like Starbuck's and the fancy cafés you can find all over the place (especially if they have a view, like the ones by the ocean in Sanzhi near Dansui where I recently volunteered at the animal shelter), but for a guy who isn't a gourmet coffee enthusiast, the prices at these places are just a little too high(though if you save your promotional stickers you get when you spend your cash at 7-11, Starbuck's often has a buy-one-get-one-free deal măi yī sòng yī 買一送一 which is awesome if you love their frappuccinos like me!).

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They have a good menu, you can order a late ná tiĕ 拿鐵，American coffee mĕi shì kā fēi 美式咖啡，Japanese style green tea latte mŏ chá ná tiĕ 抹茶拿鐵，hot-chocolate rè qiăo kè lì 熱巧克力 and more, but I almost always get the English milk tea yīng shì năi chá 英式奶茶. It's awesome!

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Drinks come in two sizes. They don't have a small , but it is still useful vocabulary to know so I have included it, and some of their drinks only come in one size. Here are the sizes: small xiăo bēi 小杯, medium zhōng bēi 中杯, large dà bēi 大杯.

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You can order your beverage either hot rè de 熱的 or iced bīng de 冰的 drink, and if you don't like your coffee very sweet, you can tell the staff that you want half a serving of sugar bàn táng 半糖 a little sugar shăo táng 少糖，very little sugar wéi táng 微糖 or no sugar wú táng 無糖.

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That's it for now, go enjoy your fresh cup' o Jo…not the person, I mean a coffee, yuck!

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Chinese phrases of the day:

買一送一= buy one get one free
拿鐵= latte
美式咖啡= American coffee
抹茶拿鐵= Japanese style green tea latte
熱巧克力= hot-chocolate
英式奶茶= English milk tea
小杯= small(cup/drink size)
中杯= medium(cup/drink size)
大杯= large(cup/drink size)
熱的= hot
冰的= iced
半糖= half sugar
少糖= little sugar
微糖= very little sugar
無糖= no sugar

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25 September 2013

Lesson 1: Introductions

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Hello! Welcome to our first lesson: Introductions. Please read and listen to me introduce myself in English and then in Mandarin Chinese. Remember that each word will have a distinct tone, and I have included the Romanized pinyin below the traditional Chinese characters to make it easier for you to read. But I also want to remind you not to get obsessive about the tones! If you don\’t know about the five tones of Mandarin Chinese, or how to read the pinyin below, please checkout my Mandarin primer course.

Self Introduction:

Hello, I\’m Logan.
你好，我是羅根
nǐ hǎo, wǒ shì luó gēn.

I\’m from America.
我是從美國來的。
wŏ shì cóng mĕi guó lái de.

I\’m 29 years old.
我二十九歲。
wŏ èr shí jiŭ suì.

Now you try! Use the information below to make your own introduction. If you record it and post a link to the audio below(email it to me or send me a message on Skype if you are shy), I will listen to it and offer you some feedback.

Hello, I\’m _____________.
你好，我是____________。
nǐ hǎo, wǒ shì__________.

I\’m from __________
我是從__________來的。
wŏ shì cóng__________ lái de.

I\’m ________years old.
我_________歲。
wŏ _______ suì.

Numbers 1-10: These are the essential building blocks for numbers in Chinese, these ten characters in various combinations make up all of the numbers from 1-99. That should be good for now, unless you are over 100! In which case, what\’s your secret to health?

0 零 líng
1 一 yī
2 二 èr
3 三 sān
4 四 sì
5 五 wŭ
6 六 liù
7 七 qī
8 八 bā
9 九 jiŭ
10 十 shí

Numbers 11-99: These numbers are made simply by placing the above characters together. For example, my age, 29 is made by placing a 2 二 in front of a 10 十 to make 20 二十, followed by a 9 九 and the word 歲 which means age. Easy, right? Check below for a few more example ages, and if anything is unclear, please write in and I\’ll help you out as soon as I can.

23 二十三歲
35 三十五歲
50 五十歲

Countries: I\’m going to keep this list short and sweet, since one of the following lessons deals with the topic in more detail. If your country isn\’t listed below, please check the lesson on countries of the world.

1. America 美國 mĕi guó
2. Canada 加拿大 jiā ná dà
3. England 英國 yīng guó
4. Spain 西班牙 xī bān yá
5. France 法國 fă guó

Questions: Here is a list of questions you can ask, or you may be asked when introducing yourself.

1. What\’s your name?
你叫什麼名字？
nĭ jiào shén me míng zì?

2. Where are you from?
你是從哪裡來的？
nĭ shì cóng nă lĭ lái de?

3. How old are you?
你幾歲？
nĭ jǐ suì?

Essential Vocabulary: I\’m a big proponent of learning languages through natural use, and not needing a word-by-word translation for every single phrase. This is not the best approach, nor is it truly possible. I feel a language is best understood in the context of that language, so I encourage you to explore Mandarin Chinese in this spirit. However, it won\’t happen over night, so here are some essential vocabulary words we learned in this lesson. Practice them and reord yourself and compare your pronunciation to mine.

1. 我= I, me
2. 你= you
3. 你好= hello
4. 是= am/are
5. 從…來的= come from….
6. 歲 age
7. 叫= call/be called
8. 名字= name
9. 什麼? What?
10. 哪裡?= Where?
11. 幾…?= How many…?

23 September 2013

Getting Your Money\’s Worth

If you spend even just a few days or a week in Taiwan, there are a few things that you will probably do. If you are in Taipei, you will most likely visit Taipei 101, even of you don't make it to the top. And wherever you go in Taiwan, I'd be surprised if you don't visit a night market. But the one thing I can guarantee is that you WILL visit at least one 7-11 during your stay.
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7-11 practically runs the island, and there are so many services offered at each one of their bazillion locations that really set the chain aside from the other big players in the convenience store biàn lì shāng diàn 便利商店 biz, such as Family Mart quán jiā 全家, Hi-LIfe lái ĕr fù 萊爾富, and OK Mart. You can pay your bills, taxes, order items online or mail packages, print, scan and fax your documents, drop off your dry-cleaning, book an HSR(high-speed rail) ticket or even a domestic flight. Heck, they even have a phone and internet service! Just try doing any of that in your local 7-11 back in the states! Though you can't gas-up your car like you could in the states, but I won't hold it against them, will you?

There are often special promotions and discount prices on items in the store, and you can collect stickers when you make a purchase of a certain value and save them towards half-priced, or even free items! But I feel that a lot of foreigners will miss out on these deals, so today I wanted to bring one of them to your attention.

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(Beverages with a certain price sticker pair up with food items, like bread or sandwiches with the same sticker. It's cheaper to buy them together as a set.)

This is just one example of a possible deal you could take advantage of. Another common one are discounts when you buy two of the same type of drink. The staff may ask you to pull a number out of a box to get your discount price (the largest discount is 1NT!), or the discount could be automatically deducted.

Another useful thing to know is that discount percentages are written opposite from the way we write them in English. Where we say "20% off" they say "8 zhé 折", but they are the same thing. The difference is while we advertise the percentage that you get discounted, they advertise the percentage you pay after the discount. So if you ever see a sign that says "79折", for example, it means that the item is 21% off, not 79% off!

I hope you found this article useful, now go and get your money's worth!

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Chinese phrases of the day:

折= discount (by percentage)
便利商店= convenience store(s)

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23 September 2013

Getting Your Money\’s Worth

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(Beverages with a certain price sticker pair up with food items, like bread or sandwiches with the same sticker. It's cheaper to buy them together as a set.)

I hope you found this article useful, now go and get your money's worth!

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Chinese phrases of the day:

折= discount (by percentage)
便利商店= convenience store(s)

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22 September 2013

You Ain\’t Nothin\’ But a Hound Dog

On Friday Ruby and I met up with my friend Marcus bright and early in the morning at the Zhongli train station, got a quick breakfast from 7-11 and hopped on the first fast train zì qiáng 自強 to Taipei Main Station. The sky was dark and the clouds were ominous, but the rescue shelter wasn't going to rest, and the animals weren't going to save themselves. Once in Taipei we transferred to the MRT and took the red line all the way to dàn shuĭ 淡水 in the north of Taipei City.

淡水 is a beautiful scenic area with a great atmosphere and view of the ocean. It gets ridiculously crowded on the weekends, and the old street is packed with vendors selling everything from grilled squid kăo yóu yú 烤魷魚, the local specialty, iron eggs tiĕ dàn 鐵蛋, shrimp-flavored chips xiā bĭng 蝦餅 and the one thing I always get there, almond milk xìng rén năi 杏仁奶. There's also a really funny Turkish guy that sells Turkish ice cream. Watch-out, he's a prankster!

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(L: I won that inflatable mallet in a game of ring-toss. I rock! R: A view of the coast at night. Those are my folks and that's 八里 behind us.)

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(One of my friends ordering Turkish ice cream…this guy loves to string you along trying to get the ice cream. His stand is worth a visit just to watch, even if you don't eat any)

There's also a really cool old Dutch fort you can go take a look around, and another popular activity is to take the fairy over to the Fisherman's Wharf in bā lĭ 八里, where people often rent-out bicycles and enjoy the sunset.

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(This bridge over in the Fisherman's Wharf is a great place to watch the sun set, and catch a beautiful view of the ocean. It's also a great place to bring a date!)

But we weren't here as tourists. Like I said, we had a mission. We crossed the street and waited for our bus, number 862, in front of the McDonald's. After around a thirty-minute ride we arrived at the chē zi qí 車子崎 stop and walked the rest of the way. If you think it sounds a little complicated, then you're right. This place is really far out-there.

The shelter is on a secluded mountain road, which is great because the noise pollution caused by the one-hundred and thirty odd dogs would drive even the best of neighbors to the brink of insanity.

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(The sanctuary is just up this hill, let's check it out!)

Besides the dogs, the shelter houses cats, pigs, rabbits, squirrels and even a hedgehog!

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(As we entered the garden, we were soon surrounded by a lovable pack of pooches!)

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(These dogs are all great, don't you want to take one home?)

We spent most of the day checking the dogs for fleas, washing them and just playing with them. A lot of the animals at the shelter are pets that people had thrown away when they got too big or because of physical deformities. One dog was born with its legs twisted around each other, which was painful for me to see, but he was happy and well taken care of, and many of the animals were missing either their tail or one or more of their legs. These are animals that have had a tough life, but the man who runs the shelter, a British guy named Sean, along with his staff have really put their hearts into making a place where these animals can live and enjoy their lives. They have a interesting diet that they put all of the animals on and make sure they get medical care, plus they work hard to find good homes for the animals. if you are interested in volunteering at the shelter, or just want to know more about their operation, check out their Facebook page.

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(Check out their Facebook page, or give them a call!)

After taking care of our first few groups of dogs, we all piled into a car and went to eat lunch at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant. The food was great, and the restaurant had a really great atmosphere. Then it was back to work!

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(This place had a really cool look and feel to it. Besides serving food, they also had good variety of dried goods and snacks available for purchase.)

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(At this point we were pretty tired, but I always have another pose in me!)

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(The cooks hard at work in the kitchen)

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(Oh yea! Noodles! But hey…)

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(Don't forget the watermelon juice!)

When it was time to go, we made our way back to 淡水. I was soaked from continually being sprayed by the hose when we were doing the washing (thanks a lot, Ruby!) and we all smelled like a pack of dogs…the smell wasn't bad for us, as we had gotten used to it, but I felt bad for all of the people on the bus with us!

Back in 淡水, we got some Indian food and traditional cake chuán tŏng dàn gāo 傳統蛋糕 from just across the MRT station, near the Starbuck's and headed back to Taoyuan County. It was a fun day, and I honestly don't remember the last time I slept so well as I did that night.

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How To Get There:

Take the MRT red line to the last stop, 淡水. From there cross the street and take bus number 862 in front of McDonald's. The bus fare will run you 30NT. After you get off the bus, walk straight a few minutes and the animal shelter is up a hill on the right.

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Chinese phrases of the day:

自強= fast train

烤魷魚= barbecue squid

鐵蛋= iron eggs

蝦餅= shrimp chips

杏仁奶= almond milk

傳統蛋糕= traditional cake

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22 September 2013

You Ain\’t Nothin\’ But a Hound Dog

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(L: I won that inflatable mallet in a game of ring-toss. I rock! R: A view of the coast at night. Those are my folks and that's 八里 behind us.)

$\"IMG_0465\"$

(One of my friends ordering Turkish ice cream…this guy loves to string you along trying to get the ice cream. His stand is worth a visit just to watch, even if you don't eat any)

$\"DSC05763\"$ $\"DSC05764\"$

(This bridge over in the Fisherman's Wharf is a great place to watch the sun set, and catch a beautiful view of the ocean. It's also a great place to bring a date!)

The shelter is on a secluded mountain road, which is great because the noise pollution caused by the one-hundred and thirty odd dogs would drive even the best of neighbors to the brink of insanity.

$\"2012-09-19$ $\"2012-09-19$

(The sanctuary is just up this hill, let's check it out!)

Besides the dogs, the shelter houses cats, pigs, rabbits, squirrels and even a hedgehog!

$\"2012-09-19$ $\"2012-09-19$ $\"2012-09-19$ $\"2012-09-19$

(As we entered the garden, we were soon surrounded by a lovable pack of pooches!)

$\"2012-09-19$ $\"2012-09-19$ $\"2012-09-19$ $\"2012-09-19$

(These dogs are all great, don't you want to take one home?)

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(Check out their Facebook page, or give them a call!)

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(This place had a really cool look and feel to it. Besides serving food, they also had good variety of dried goods and snacks available for purchase.)

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(At this point we were pretty tired, but I always have another pose in me!)

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(The cooks hard at work in the kitchen)

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(Oh yea! Noodles! But hey…)

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(Don't forget the watermelon juice!)

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How To Get There:

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Chinese phrases of the day:

自強= fast train

烤魷魚= barbecue squid

鐵蛋= iron eggs

蝦餅= shrimp chips

杏仁奶= almond milk

傳統蛋糕= traditional cake

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21 September 2013

The Man in the Moon, BBQ and a Typhoon!

I apologize for posting this so late, but the past few days have been somewhat of an adventure. Yesterday, my fiancé and I tagged along with a friend to volunteer at an animal shelter in sān zhī 三芝, near dàn shuĭ 淡水 in Taipei county(or xīn bĕi shì 新北市 if you prefer). Expect a detailed write-up on that tomorrow. The day before yesterday, however, was one of the major holidays in Taiwan, Moon Festival.

Moon Festival, or more accurately Mid-Autumn Festival Zhōng qiū jié 中秋節 in Mandarin, is an important national holiday that, much as Halloween or Thanksgiving, finds its roots in ancient harvest-time traditions. 中秋節 is celebrated during the full moon of the fifteenth day of the eight month of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar nóng lì 農曆. As a harvest festival, there must be a food that is in abundance, and in Taiwan there is no lack of pomelos yòu zi 柚子 at this time, and chances are if you are in Taiwan during 中秋節, you will be given enough of these citrus fruits to feed a family, so eat up and enjoy!

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(A pair of pomelos)

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(We didn't have anyone do it this year, but one thing that kids often do is wear the cut-off pomelo skin as a hat! This picture is from a few years ago)

As with most traditional festivals, there are many interesting stories that accompany 中秋節, and the moon in general. For example, where Western people see a man in the moon, Taiwanese people see a rabbit!

As amusing as that is, there is a much cooler story associated with the moon. In the story of cháng é 嫦娥 and hòu yì 后羿, rather than the one sun we have, the sky was filled with ten suns! Don't forget your sunscreen! 后羿 was a renowned archer and shot down nine of the suns with his bow(beat that Robbin Hood!), and having seen this an immortal sent him an elixir of immortality(a fancy way to say "live-forever juice"). He chose not to drink it so that he could stay with his wife on Earth, but as the story unfolds 嫦娥 ends up drinking the elixir and flies into the sky to live on the moon. So 后羿 started to place the things she liked in their garden so she could see them and not feel lonely. His neighbors started doing it too, and that's how the Moon Festival began!

Every year during Moon Festival, Taiwanese families gather together and have a good old fashioned BBQ. We go to Keelung jī lóng 基隆 to return to my fiancé's great-grandmother's céng zŭ mŭ 曾祖母 home, where we meet every year. It is always nice to return to Keelung, as that was the first place I lived in Taiwan. It was a little bittersweet this time, however, as a recent heavy rain caused a building to collapse, and a near-catastrophic accident when a huge boulder fell out of the mountains and crashed into the street, nearly smashing a passing car. It really hit me close to home, as I used to live just a few minutes down the road from there, and Ruby still has a lot of relatives in the area. Luckily everyone was safe, but the families that lived in the collapsed building have lost their homes, and several businesses, including the local McDonalds have shut-down. But life goes on.

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(Ruby trying to calm the dogs down…they may look innocent, but they barked the whole train ride to Keelung!)

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(The patio in front of Ruby's great-grandmother's house is a great place to catch some fresh air…family gatherings are fun, but it's nice to take a breather for a minute and check your emails.)

With a typhoon forecast to arrive, we had expected our BBQ to be ruined, but we lucked out. The rain wasn't bad(rare for Keelung!) and it stopped by the time we started to barbecue and didn't return until we were on our way back to Taoyuan County. We spent the afternoon chatting, watching TV, playing cards and eating moon-cakes yuè bing 月餅 and other snacks. Then in the evening we had our BBQ!

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(月餅 were created in the moon's image by a general during the Tang Dynasty so that his soldiers would be able to carry them easily, and because they could last for a longer time. Now we eat them as a delicious snack, but they were originally created as military rations! Above are a few pictures of the ones we had this year. The first one has an egg-yolk and red bean paste filling, and the other has a green bean paste filling.)

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(Did I mention that I really like moon-cakes? And apparently my dog does too!)

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(First, we have to get the coals nice and hot. Using a paper plate it a nice way…)

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(But this hair-dryer works faster!)

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(Now let's get cooking!)

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(L: Ruby with her family, grilling the night away R: The best thing about being on grill-duty is you get easy access to all the food!)

中秋節 is one of my favorite traditional festivals, it's a great time to relax, forget your worries and enjoy good food and good company. Thank for reading and Happy Moon Festival!

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Chinese phrases of the day:

中秋節= Moon Festival/Mid-Autumn Festival

農曆= traditional Chinese lunar calendar

柚子= pomelo(s)

月餅= moon-cake(s)
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17 September 2013

Chill Out in Taipei

One of my favorite places to spend an evening in Taipei is the Xinyi District. Not only is it home to the famous Taipei 101, it's also filled with tons of interesting art exhibitions.

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(The ever-present Taipei 101)

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(Check out these awesome sculptures. I don't know what they're waiting in line for, but they sure look cool!)

Oh, and did I mention that it's a shopper's paradise? There are almost half a dozen giant shopping malls clustered together in this part of town, and they are all worth a visit.

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(Feel free to indulge yourself, just take it easy on that credit card!)

My personal favorite is the ESLITE chéng pĭn 誠品. Each floor has something to peruse, whether it be the latest in trendy clothing or handmade crafts, DIY stands, food or other delicacies, there is something for everyone. And then there is the bookstore which is open until 1am. That's what my fiancé and I usually go for. And then there's the food!

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(a shot of some of the surrounding department stores, and the entrance to ESLITE)

Most of the food courts in the different shopping centers will feature pretty similar selections, but as far as dessert goes, I highly recommend the shaved-ice bào bīng 刨冰 stand right by the escalator as you enter the food court in B1. It's awesome! Despite it being autumn, we have still been getting a lot of hot weather lately. When it is still this hot this late into fall, Chinese people call it qiū lăo hŭ 秋老虎, which translates to fall tiger.

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(L: waiting in line to get some shaved-ice R: choose your toppings)

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(It tastes like sweet snow, and it melts in your mouth!)

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(Do you want a bite?)

If you go on a Saturday, then you are in for a treat! Walk through the underpass in the B1 area and over to the băn jí 阪急 department store (it would also be convenient or you to start your evening here, as it connects to both the Taipei City Hall MRT Station as well as the respective bus station). There are tons more great restaurants in the food court here, and you have to stop by my favorite Japanese store, Muji wú yìn liáng pĭn 無印良品, before leaving. The bus station is upstairs, so take the escalator up and then walk outside and then up the stairs onto the rooftop square. There is a TGI Fridays here, as well as a Starbucks xīng bā kè 星巴克 and an NY Bagels(The home of the best American style breakfast I've had to date in Taiwan), but that's not why we're here. Just take a look around you, you should be in the midst of the jumble of stalls that makes up Taipei's newest Art Market!

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(L: This is where I take the bus back to Zhongli R: an outside shot of the bus station, now let's head upstairs)

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(L: NY Bagels, the best place for an American breakfast in town R: checking out the market)

The market features many unique and handmade products shŏu gōng pĭn 手工品, so take a look around and if anything catches your eye, then buy it! While some of the price tags may be a little higher than you'd expect, remember that the goods are handmade and try to support our artistic community. Plus there is usually a band playing live, so take a seat and let the rhythms soothe your feet!

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(Well, I couldn't decide what to buy…but I made a new friend!)

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(L: A stand selling Taiwan Beer. I don't drink, but don't let me stop you. R: Take a seat and let the music do the rest!

So there you have it! Enjoy your relaxing day in Taipei.

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How To Get There:

Take the MRT to Taipei City Hall MRT Station. Many buses go here as well, both in Taipei and from other cities. It's really easy and convenient.
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Chinese phrases of the day:

誠品= ESLITE

刨冰= shaved-ice

秋老虎= autumn tiger

阪急= the department store connected to Taipei City Hall MRT Station

無印良品= Muji

星巴克= Starbucks

手工品= handmade products

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Month: September 2013

Lesson 2: Greetings

Ximen Ding and the Lin Family Mansion and Gardens

Café-liscious

Lesson 1: Introductions

Getting Your Money\’s Worth

Getting Your Money\’s Worth

You Ain\’t Nothin\’ But a Hound Dog

You Ain\’t Nothin\’ But a Hound Dog

The Man in the Moon, BBQ and a Typhoon!

Chill Out in Taipei