Author: eazychinese.com

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Lesson 8: Foods and How to Order Them

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My future father-in-law loves to tell me ＂坦克，飛機之外，中國人都有吃＂that translates to "aside from tanks and airplanes, Chinese people eat everything" and that's not far from the truth! One of my favorite aspects of Chinese culture is the diversity in foods, and I have discovered so many great dishes in Taiwan, that I could never go back to eating Americanized Chinese food! To hear more about some of my favorite Taiwanese foods, click here! But how do you order for, or even know what to order for that matter? It can be difficult, and I myself had to resort to pointing, following along with other customers, and generally being at the mercy of the 老闆 I tried to order from when I first got here. But you don't have to be as clueless as I was (unless you would like to, of course! That can be fun too!). In tis lesson, I will be teaching you how to say common Chinese foods in Mandarin, as well as order them! So let's get started!
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Common Chinese Dishes:

1. 炒麵 chǎo miàn= fried noodles
2. 炒飯 chǎo fàn= fried rice
3. 牛肉麵 niú ròu miàn= beef noodle soup
4. 泡菜 pào cài= kimchi
5. 臭豆腐 chòu dòu fu= stinky tofu
6. 米粉 mǐ fěn= rice noodles
7. 火鍋 huǒ guō= hotpot
8. 粥 zhōu= congee
9. 水餃 shuǐ jiǎo= dumplings
10. 滷味 lǔ wèi= marinated dishes
 
Ordering Food: In this section, I am going to teach you how to order food in Chinese. It's easy and straightforward, and I have confidence that you will get it down with ease. Here's how we're going to learn. 1. I am providing you with a basic formula you can use to order/buy pretty much anything (not only food!), 2. You are going follow me as I take a trip to the market here in Taiwan(I'm getting hungry just typing this!). So, first up on our agenda…
 
The Formula: There is no set way on how to order something, but for our "standard" we are going to go with the following:
 我(想)要 +  ?
 
I want + the item that you want to order. For example, if I was at a restaurant and I wanted some fried rice, I  would say "我(想)要炒飯". You can use this formula in pretty much any situation in which you are ordering/buying something.
 
Real-Life Application: So now let's put it all together and go to the market to order some food! This stand is called 黃媽媽傳統豆花 and it's located by the traditional market just down the street from the Puxin train station 埔心火車站。
 

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Hitchhiking to Dog Temple

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(Bark at the moon!)

I have had so many amazing experiences living and traveling in Taiwan, and I'd love to tell them all! So today I'm going to share a hitchhiking dā biàn chē 搭便車 experience I had in my early years here in Taiwan.

 
It was mid-October, 2009 and the weather in Keelung was cold and wet…it's always wet there though. The port town of Keelung jī lóng 基隆 in the North of the island has an infamous reputation for raining on people's parades(literally). It rains practically all 365 days of the year, and locals nick name it the "Rainy Port". The humidity there is ridiculous, and if you forget to turn on your dehumidifier, mildew will cover your walls in a heart beat(I myself had a horrible experience with this). Despite the weather, Keelung is a great place to get a feel for Taiwan. The local people are extremely friendly, and the beautiful coast and mountains surrounding the area are filled with beautiful locales waiting to be explored.
 
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(Some pics of the beautiful harbor-town Keelung)
 
 
My Taiwanese fiancé Ruby and I had been dating for around a month, and we weren't going to let the weather win, so we decided to do what many Taiwanese locals love to do in the cold seasons and take a trip to the nearest hot-springs to soak. Hot-springs, or wēn quán 溫泉 as they are called in Chinese, are prized for their restorative properties, and they have been since the Japanese occupation of Taiwan and before. In fact, many of the islands' hot-springs are historically tied to the Japanese colonization of Taiwan.
 
 
The closest place to Keelung is Jinshan, a town that exists only around the hotspring industry. Jinshan jīn shān 金山 in Chinese means "gold mountain" and the amount of capital that the place generates with its hot-springs ensures that it is aptly named, though, unfortunately there is no mountain made of gold. Like many hot spring-towns in Taiwan, there are resorts of varying prices and quality lining the streets of Jin Shan.
 
 
Ready to pamper ourselves, Ruby and I got an early start. We headed downstairs and took a bus from my apartment complex to the train station.    There are buses to practically anywhere you could want to go (within reason, none to Kending, or Penghu, sorry!) around the train station. We stocked up on some snacks, ordered a couple of teas, then found a bus headed for the resort town. It's fairly easy to get there from Keelung by bus, though you lose a lot of time waiting, and the ride itself is probably going to be around half-an-hour or longer, so it's best to drive if that's an option.
 
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(A few photos of the community I lived in at the time)
 
When we got there, it was a simple matter of checking in at the various hot-springs and asking around about the best prices in town, as some of the fancier places can be quite pricey. If you have the money, it's worth it for the experience, but we were on a budget so we went the cheap-route. After looking around we found a decent place for around 250NT for fifty minutes. That was incredibly cheap, and I doubt it's possible to find a deal like that now. Though it wasn't the most beautiful place in town, it worked for us!
 
\"800px-Jinshan,_Taipei\" \"11058_1\"
 
(Left: a picture of Jinshan. Just walk around until you find a place that suits your fancy. Right: a beautiful hot-spring resort in Jinshan…not where we went though!)
 
Quick Tip: For anyone planning to go to a hot-spring in Taiwan, remember to bring your own towel as you will have to buy one from the resort if you need one, and they generally overcharge much more than is reasonable. Also bring water or sports drinks, you'll need them!
 
Two things happen every time I visit a hot-spring. 1. I pay for around an hour of soaking time, but usually only use 20-30 minutes of that time. 2. I am completely dead-tired despite doing nothing but sit in water, and I usually sleep like a baby on the bus ride home. This time was no exception, but it took a considerable amount of effort to get there, so we decided to check out a famous temple in the area
 
The Eighteen Kings Temple shí bā wáng gōng 十八王公 is not far from Jinshan, so we decided to take a bus over and check it out. The temple is situated along the coast, and the waves can be big and scary on a windy day. The temple is famous due to the story of a fisherman and his dog. The fisherman drowned at sea, but his dog survived. Being the loyal animal it is, the dog jumped down into the grave the local people dug for the fisherman, not wanting to be separated from its master. Now people come there and make offerings to the dog and pray. It's a really cool place to visit, and just goes to show how awesome dogs are!
 
 
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(People come here from all over to pray and make offerings)
 
 
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(The dog that made this place famous!)
 
After leaving the temple, we once again got on a bus and headed back to Keelung…only after a while we realized that I had left my camera and we got off and tried to walk back to get it. We were a long way off at this point, but no buses were coming, so we just started walking, and the creepiest ting happened. After a while we looked back and we noticed that as we walked under the street lamps they were turning off, one-by-one, but all of the ones ahead of us were still lit. It was super creepy, just like something out of a scary movie!
 
About half-way back to the temple we came across a middle aged man parked on the side of the road. He had been fishing and was putting his catch in his trunk. We asked him how much further up the road the temple was, and he told us it was still pretty far, and offered to drop us off there. We took him up on his offer and got in the car. While driving, I remember him constantly muttering to himself, and given the setting and the lights from before, it was quite a strange encounter.
 
He dropped us off at the temple and we asked around if anyone had found a camera..,but no one had. After taking one last look around we headed back to the bus stop to wait for the next bus back to Keelung. I  might have lost my camera, but I gained an interesting story to tell along the way. Too bad about all of the pictures I took though!
 
So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this story, and I'd love to hear you share your own interesting stories or experiences in the comments below. See you next time!
 

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Chinese phrases of the day:

搭便車= hitch-hiking

基隆= Keelung

溫泉= hot-spring

金山= Jinshan

十八王公= The Eighteen Kings Temple

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Lesson 7: Hobbies

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Before continuing with this week's lesson, check out Lesson 6: Discussing Likes and Dislikes.
 
Everyone has something special that they love to do, even if it is something that they are embarrassed to share with the world. It could be anything from dressing-up as Yoda and heading to a Star Wars convention, sitting on the couch with a game on, painting toy models or fishing. The possibilities are endless. Personally, I love martial arts, pretty much anything outdoors and of course, video games! What's your secret passion that eats-up all of your free time? But first, a quick question. How do you say "I like reading novels" in Chinese? What's 我不喜歡塞車 mean?
 
 
Common Hobbies:

 
1. hiking 爬山 pá shān
2. rafting 泛舟 fàn zhōu
3. blogging 寫部落格 xiĕ bù luò gé
4. making DIY crafts 做DIY/做手工東西 zuò DIY/zuò shŏu gōng dōng xī
5. learning martial arts 學無術 xué wú shù
6. doing yoga 做瑜伽 zuò yú jiā
7. playing music 玩音樂 wán yīny uè
8. collecting comic books 收集漫畫書 shōu jí màn huà shū
9. cooking 做飯 zuò fàn
10. drawing 畫畫 huà huà
 
 
Listen to the attached video file and practice repeating each phrase until you feel confident enough to move on to the next part.
 
Grammar Note: In Mandarin, verbs are often paired with nouns like seen above. In English we say "eat", in Chinese we say 吃飯 chī fàn or "eat rice" unless a specific food is being talked about (which, shows how important rice was and is to the Chinese). You don't always have to use a noun alongside a verb when speaking, as it can often be an understood, but when we are learning our vocabulary, verbs will generally be paired with nouns. As we progress, I will explain in more detail if necessary, but for now, let's keep it simple, okay?
 
 
Useful Adjectives: The following list of words are useful when talking about the hobbies listed above.
 
1. fun 好玩(的) hăo wán de
2. useful 有用(的) yŏu yòng de
3. interesting 有興趣(的) yŏu xìng qù de
4. relaxing 輕鬆(的) qīng sōng de
5. healthy 健康(的) jiàn kāng de
 
[youtube=http://youtu.be/6vJrTA1GmVM]
 
Listen to the attached video file and practice repeating each phrase until you feel confident enough to move on to the next part.
 
Grammar Note: The character 的 is often used after an adjective to indicate a particular characteristic of something, for example, in the sentence: 蔬菜是健康的 shū cài shì jiàn kāng de "vegetables are healthy", we are saying that a trait of vegetables is that they are healthy. This is indicated by the 的. We could also express this by saying 蔬菜很健康 shū cài hĕn jiàn kāng. More on that in the future as well as other uses of 的.
 
 
Story: Read and listen to the following story, then answer the questions below.
 
I have a lot of hobbies. Every morning I do yoga and I take my dog for a walk every night. I like to go hiking and rafting on the weekend. I love to see beautiful scenery and be alone in nature. But if we have rainy weather, that's okay. I can stay indoors and read my comic book collection, play video games or watch a movie with my family. Wherever I am, I dont have to worry about getting bored!
 
我的興趣很多。每天早上我做瑜伽，和每晚上我帶我的狗狗去散步。周末我喜歡去爬山和泛舟。我愛看大自然亮的風景。要是有下雨天，沒關係。我可以留在家裡看我漫畫書的收藏品，玩電動遊戲或是跟我的家人看電影。不管我在哪裡，我不會擔心我會無聊！
 
wŏ de xìng qù hĕn duō. mĕi tiān zăo shàng wŏ zuò yú jiā hé mĕi wăn shàng wŏ dài wŏ de gŏu gŏu qù săn bù. zhōu mò wŏ xĭ huān qù pá shān hé fàn zhōu. wŏ ài kàn dà zì rán de piāo liàng fēng jĭng. yào shì yŏu xià yŭ tiān, méi guān xì wŏ kĕ yĭ liú zài jiā lĭ kàn wŏ màn huà shū de shōu cáng pĭn, wán diàn dòng yóu xì huò shì gēn wŏ de jiā rén kàn diàn yĭng. bù guăn wŏ zài nă lĭ, wŏ bù huì dān xīn wŏ huì wú liáo！
 
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. 我的興趣很多嗎？
wŏ de xìng qù hĕn duō ma？
 
2. 我每天晚上做瑜伽嗎？
wŏ mĕi tiān wăn shàng zuò yú jiā ma？
 
3. 我什麼時候喜歡去爬山？
wŏ shén me shí hòu xĭ huān qù pá shān ？
 
4. 我下雨天喜歡做什麼？
wŏ xià yŭ tiān xĭ huān zuò shén me ？
 
5. 我怕無聊嗎？
wŏ pà wú liáo 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. 興趣= interests/hobbies
2. 很多= very many
3. 每天早上= every morning
4. 晚上= night
5. 或是= or
6. 帶狗狗去散步= take the dog for a walk
7. 漂亮的風景= beautiful scenery
8. 大自然= nature
9. 留在家裡= stay at home
10. 漫畫書的收藏品= comic book collection
11. 玩電動遊戲= play video games
12. 看電影= watch movies
13. 不管= it doesn't matter
14. 擔心= worry
15. 無聊= bored

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Wedding Crashers!

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(Ruby and I preparing for the wedding…not ours, at least not yet!)

Not too long ago, Ruby and I were invited to her friend's wedding hūn lĭ 婚禮. This was the third wedding I'd been invited to since I've been in Taiwan, so I knew more or less what to expect. There are lots of interesting traditions that accompany wedding ceremonies in Taiwan, though in recent years do to Western influences, many of these have changed. For example, long ago, one of the things that was expected of the bride was for her to hand-sew her own wedding gown, wear a traditional head-dress fèng guàn 鳳冠. Nowadays people just don't do that, who has the time? But some traditional observances have survived.

For example, rather than giving presents to the bride and groom as we do in the west, friends and family give the couple red envelopes hóng bāo 紅包 when they sign in the guest book, and don't be offended or shocked when the family records how much you gave, it's part of the traditional culture so the bride and groom will know how to appropriately show their gratitude. Of course, close friends and family are expected to give more, and the minimum acceptable amount is typically 1200NT or about 36USD.

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(This is a picture of one of the red envelopes you give/receive at a Chinese wedding. The picture was taken from here.)

Before we even get as far as the wedding, it is still commonly expected of the groom to ask the bride's family for permission to marry her, and often pay a dowry. The bride's parents use this money to buy furniture and other necessities for the newly-wed couple, so the dowry is mostly a symbol that the groom will be financially able to provide for their daughter.

Once the parents have agreed to the marriage, the family then consults the traditional lunar calendar to choose an auspicious date for the wedding. Then they have an engagement party , which is paid for by the bride's family, but when it comes time for the big day, the groom has to foot the whole bill! This is a little different from the way we do things back home!

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(A few shots of the venue, it was pretty darn fancy!)

At the wedding, which is usually held at a hotel or a restaurant rather than a church, there are lots of activities and games. One of the activities at this past wedding we attended was a guessing game. When we first entered we selected one of several colors of paper to write our name on then stuff them into their respective jar, and hopefully guess the bride's second gown color correctly(the bride typically changes twice during the ceremony). The bride and the groom pull out slips of paper and lucky winners get to go to the front of the banquet room and offer words of congratulations, pose for a picture and claim a prize! We didn't win, but I won't hold it against those who did.

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(Ruby, at the entrance to the hotel. She makes those flowers look bad!)

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(the table where we guessed the bride's dress color, and the guest book)

Another one of the activities was played later on. Everyone had a box of candy at their spot at their table, and those who had a sticker on the bottom we the lucky winners of a memorial pin of the couple's wedding…Ruby was a winner this time, and I'm still jealous! These are just a few examples, but there are tons of possible activities. There is also usually a slide-show showing the couple's story and their pictures over the years.

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(Ruby's prize-winning bear)

If you have been to a lot of Western weddings, one thing you may notice missing is a wedding cake, but don't worry, you will have your choice of traditional dishes, and at the end of the ceremony the newlywed couple will present you with a box of gourmet cookies xĭ bĭng 囍餅! The character 囍 is made by joining two of the character xĭ 喜, which means happiness, which makes sense, because your wedding should be the happiest day of your life, right? It's not uncommon for newlywed couples to be given lots of gifts with 囍 on them, like napkins or coffee mugs for example.

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(The happy newlywed couple)

If you ever have the opportunity to attend a Taiwanese wedding, take it, it will be an interesting memory that you will cherish for the rest of your life.

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(That was fun. Not long before It's our turn too!)

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Chinese phrases of the day:

婚禮= wedding

鳳冠= a traditional wedding headdress

紅包=red envelope(s)

訂婚=engagement

囍餅=the cookies that are given to friends and family of the bride at a wedding

囍=a combination of two of the character 喜, which means happiness (used for weddings)

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Lesson 6: Discussing Likes and Dislikes

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Before continuing, make sure to review and practice the previous week's lesson here.

We all have something that we just love to do. Personally, I love nothing more than relaxing on the couch with a good book, going to the movies, or if the weather is nice, spending a day outdoors and going for a hike in the mountains. But I don't love everything. I'm not particularly fond of waiting in lines(kinda ironic, as I live in Taiwan) and I'm not the biggest fan of traffic jams, but then, who is? In today's lesson, you are going to be learning how to talk about your likes and dislikes in Mandarin Chinese.

Expressing likes: In Mandarin, we say "我喜歡…", which means "I like…", we can use this as a general phrase to talk about things we like, or we can use it to form more specific sentences. For example, I can say 我喜歡蘋果 I like apples, or I could be more specific and tell you that 我喜歡吃蘋果 I like to eat apples. So let's take a look at the following sentences, and repeat along with me to check your pronunciation.

1. I like to play basketball.
我喜歡打籃球。
wŏ xĭ huān dă lán qiú.

2. I like to watch movies.
我喜歡看電影。
wŏ xĭ huān kàn diàn yĭng .

3. I like to go hiking.
我喜歡爬山。
wŏ xĭ huān pá shān.

4. I like reading novels.
我喜歡看小說。
wŏ xĭ huān kàn xiăo shuō.

5. I like listening to music.
我喜歡聽音樂。
wŏ xĭ huān tīng yīn yuè.

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

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Expressing dislikes: Okay, so now you have the basics down, let's talk about dislikes. To make a negative statement in Mandarin Chinese, we usually add a 不 in front of the firs verb in a statement. This is not always the case, the negative form of the word "to have" 有, is 沒有. Note that a 沒 has been added in front of 有, not a 不, so saying 不有 would be incorrect. Just as when we were talking about likes, we can express dislikes in a general or more specific manner. So let's take our earlier example with the apples, 我喜歡吃蘋果, we can make this into a negative statement by adding a 不 before 喜歡, to indicate that we "don't like…" and it would look like his 我不喜歡吃蘋果, I don't like to eat apples. So let's take a closer look at how this is applied.

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1. I don't like waking up early.
我不喜歡早起床。
wŏ bù xĭ huān zăo qĭ chuáng .

2. I don't like rainy weather.
我不喜歡下雨天。
wŏ bù xĭ huān xià yŭ tiān.

3. I don't like scary movies.
我不喜歡恐怖片。
wŏ bù xĭ huān kŏng bù piàn.

4. I don't like traffic jams.
我不喜歡塞車。
wŏ bù xĭ huān sāi chē .

5. I don't like to wait in lines.
我不喜歡派對。
wŏ bù xĭ huān pài duì.

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

Note, when answering a question, answers are are often cut short, as the topic of the sentence is understood. So, going back to our apple analogy, if someone asks you 你喜歡吃蘋果嗎？It's acceptable to answer 我喜歡吃 or 我不喜歡吃, or just simply say 喜歡(吃) or 不喜歡(吃), rather than a full statement 我喜歡吃蘋果 or 我不喜歡吃蘋果. Don't worry about remembering all of that now, the important point is that you realize Mandarin is a flexible language.

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

A: Sara! Where are going?
莎拉！ 你去哪裡？
shā lā ！nĭ qù nă lĭ ？

B: Oh, hi Thom! You scared me!
喔，你好湯拇 ！你嚇我一跳！
ō, nĭ hăo tāng mŭ ！nĭ xià wŏ yī tiào ！

A: Sorry! I just saw you walking and wanted to see what you were doing.
對不起！ 我剛看到你走路，想要知道你在幹嘛。
duì bù qĭ ！wŏ gāng kàn dào nĭ zŏu lù, xiăng yào zhī dào nĭ zài gàn ma.

B: It's okay, I'm fine! I'm going hiking with some friends.
沒關係，我沒事！ 我要跟一些朋友一起去爬山。
méi guān xì, wŏ méi shì ！wŏ yào gēn yī xiē péng yŏu yī qĭ qù pá shān.

A: I can't stand hiking, it's exhausting!
我受不了爬山，太累了！
wŏ shòu bù liǎo pá shān, tài lèi le！

B: I like it a lot! I think it's really fun!
我很喜歡！ 我覺得很好玩！
wŏ hĕn xĭ huān ！wŏ jué de hĕn hăo wán ！

A: I like swimming! It feels great on a hot day like this!
我喜歡游泳！ 天氣像今天怎麼熱，就很舒服！
wŏ xĭ huān yóu yŏng ！tiān qì xiàng jīn tiān zĕn me rè, jiù hĕn shū fú ！

B: I like swimming a lot too!
我也很喜歡游泳！
wŏ yĕ hĕn xĭ huān yóu yŏng ！

A: Then let's go swimming together next weekend.
那麼，我們下個周末一起去游泳吧。
nà me, wŏ men xià gè zhōu mò yī qĭ qù yóu yŏng ba.

B: Only if you come hiking with us today!
今天跟我們一起來，我才跟你去啊！
jīn tiān gēn wŏ men yī qĭ lái, wŏ cái gēn nĭ qù a ！

A: Okay okay, it's a deal!
好了好了，我同意了！
hăo le hăo le, wŏ tóng yì le ！

Notes: In Chinese, nouns have a special measure word. The most common one is 個, when in doubt just say 個 and you'll probably be right! I'll be introducing more of these to you in later lessons. Also, the character 了 is used to show a change of state or that something has taken place, such as past action. There are other ways to speak about the past in Chinese, and other ways to use 了, so more on this in the future. 吧 is usually used to indicate a suggestion.

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. 誰被嚇到了？
shéi bèi xià dào le？

2. 湯拇喜歡爬山嗎？

tāng mŭ xĭ huān pá shān ma？

3. 誰喜歡游泳？
shéi xĭ huān yóu yŏng？

4. 他們要一起去幹嘛？
tā men yào yī qĭ qù gàn ma？

5. 湯拇同意了嗎？
tāng mŭ  tóng yì le 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. 你嚇我一跳= you scared me
2. 剛= just
3. 看到= see
4. 走路= walk
5. 知道= know
6. 在幹嘛= doing(what?)
7. 我沒事= I'm fine
8. 一些= a few
9. 朋友= friend(s)
10. 我受不了= I can't stand…
11. 太累了= tiring
12. 覺得= think
13. 游泳= swimming
14. 天氣= weather
15. 像= to be like (something)
16. 今天= today
17. 熱= hot
18. 就= in that case/then
19. 很= very
20. 舒服= comfortable
21. 我們= we/us
22. 下個周末= next weekend
23. 同意= agree

 

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I Get Cranky if I Miss My Afternoon Tea…

[youtube=http://youtu.be/qZivq1IgyQU]

…So I had to go get my fix, and it was FANTASTIC! In fact, I decided to film the experience and let you all take a glimpse at every-day life in Taiwan. Now I do love me a nice, hot cup of traditional, loose-leaf tea, but the stuff is expensive and much better to enjoy with family and friends. I decided to go the cheap and anti-social route today, so I headed over to the neighborhood Coco (dōu kĕ 都可 in Chinese, but everyone just calls it Coco).

 
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(I need my tea!)
 
 
They are located near the Welcome dĭng hăo 頂好 down the street from the Puxin train station pŭ xīn huŏ chē zhàn 埔心火車站. Coco is my favorite of the millions of teashops chá diàn 茶店 you can find crowding the streets in Taipei, Kaoshiung, and pretty much everywhere else in Taiwan. The reasons are as follows:
 

1. The staff diàn yuán 店員 at the stores that I frequent have excellent attitudes and are friendly and very helpful.

2. Their prices are affordable, and they don't short you on tea by overfilling your cup with ice like they do at qīng xīn 清心, another popular chain of tea-stores from the south of Taiwan.

3. I prefer the way their sugar-free tea tastes over what they server at other stores. It has a bitter sè 澀 flavor to it and I love bitter tea, though I guess this may be an acquired taste. Don't worry though, because they have plenty of sweetened drinks for you to try!

4. Did I mention that it's cheap? This is seriously a driving factor for me, as I am currently a jobless bum living on savings!

So there you have it, try them out if you have a chance. And if you already have, what's your favorite drink to get there? Personally, I am a big fan of the yoghurt green tea yăng lè duō lù chá 養樂多錄茶!

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(Thanks again to the awesome staff for being so helpful and putting up with my insanity!)

Please watch my video and comment on it if you have the time! The guy in the video was really nice to let me take this video. At one point he was surprised that I spoke a little Taiwanese, and I was too! Here I am, supposed to be teaching you guys Mandarin! I hope you enjoyed this article, and see you here next time!

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Chinese phrases of the day:
 
都可= Coco (a chain of tea-stores in Taiwan)
頂好= Welcome (a Taiwanese grocery store)
埔心火車站= Puxin train station
茶店= Tea-store(shop)
店員= staff
清心= Qing Xin (another Taiwanese chain of tea-stores)
澀= bitter tasting
養樂多錄茶= yoghurt green tea (one of my favorites!)
 
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Lesson 5: Languages

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Languages: I saved this section for after we had gotten to be familiar with different countries of the world and their nationalities in Chinese, as it is a little more complex to form languages. Now don't go getting discouraged on me, you can do it, it just may take you a little more practice. The reason being, there are multiple ways to form the name of a language in Chinese. Just as we added 人 to 英國 to get 英國人, there are also several building blocks for "converting" a country to a language. The basic pieces are the country(minus the character 國 if present in the country's name), 文, 語 and 話. But they aren't one size fits all, unlike 人. For example, I could translate English as 英文 (note that the 國 gets cut off) or 英語, but I couldn't say 英國話.

To sum it up, the formula is:

country(-國) + 文/語 = language

Or, sometimes…

country + 話 = language

So lets take a look at the languages spoken in each of the countries we've learned, and the different ways we can say them. Lets also take this opportunity to practice making sentences with 講 jiǎng, which means to speak.

1. 美國人講英文。
2. 加拿大人講英語。
3. 墨西哥人講西班牙話。
4. 巴西人講葡萄牙文。
5. 英國人講英文。
6. 西班牙人講西班牙話。
7. 法國人講法文。
8. 義大利人講義大利文。
9. 德國人講德國話。
10. 希臘人講希臘話。
11. 俄羅斯人講俄語。
12. 土耳其人講土耳文。
13. 菲律賓人講講菲語。
14. 印度人講印度話。
15. 馬來西亞人講馬來西亞文。
16. 日本人講日語。
17. 泰國人講泰語。
18. 新加坡人講中文。
19. 中國人講中國話。
20. 台(臺)灣人講華語。

Story: Now read along with and listen to the following story. Use the vocabulary along with the grammar you just learned to answer the "homework" questions below.

Last year, William went traveling in China. He met a lot of friendly Chinese people and ate a lot of Chinese food…he even learned how
to use chopsticks! He also met people from many different countries. He made a Japanese friend named Takashi. Takashi couldn't speak English, so they used Chinese to communicate! William had fun in China, but he's glad to be back in America with his family.

去年，威廉去中國旅行. 他有認識很多好的中國人和吃了很多中國菜。。。甚至他學會用筷子！他有認識過一位日本的朋友叫Takashi。Takashi不會講英文，所以他們用中文溝通了！威廉在中國的時候過的很快樂，但是他現在很開心回來美國跟他家人在一起。

qù nián wēi lián qù zhōng guó lǚ xíng. tā yŏu rèn shí hĕn duō hăo de zhōng guó rén hé chī le hĕn duō zhōng guó cài…shèn zhì tā xué huì yòng kuài zi！tā yŏu rèn shí guò yī wèi rì bĕn de péng yŏu jiào Takashi. Takashi bù huì jiăng yīng wén suŏ yĭ tā men yòng zhōng wén gōu tōng le！wēi lián zài zhōng guó de shí hòu guò de hĕn kuài lè dàn shì tā xiàn zài hĕn kāi xīn huí lái mĕi guó gēn tā jiā rén zài yī qĭ.

Comprehension Questions:

1. 威廉現在在中國嗎？
wēi lián xiàn zài zài zhōng guó ma？

2. 威廉有吃了很多日本的菜嗎？
wēi lián yŏu chī le hĕn duō rì bĕn de cài ma？

3. Takashi 是德國人嗎？
Takashi shì dé guó rén ma？

4. Takashi 會講英文嗎？
Takashi huì jiăng yīng wén ma？

5. 威廉現在為什麼快樂？
wēi lián xiàn zài wéi shén me kuài lè？

 

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. 去年= last year

2. 旅行= travel

3. 很多= many

4. 認識= meet/know someone

5. 中國菜= Chinese food

6. 甚至= even

7. 學會= learn to do something

8. 朋友= friend

9. 所以= so

10. 用= use

11. 但是= but

12. 也= also

13. 時候= a point in time

14. 回來= return

15. 跟…在一起= be with (someone)

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No Hitching, Just Hiking: Part 3 獅頭山

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If you missed it, check out the first two posts in this three-part series here and here! And now, for the grand finale…
 
On Sunday I went with a group of friends to go exploring in shī tóu shān 獅頭山, Lion-Head Mountain. The mountain park is huge and borders both Xinzhu and Miaoli Counties. Just as any good adventure, we went in with only a vague idea of what we were doing and where we would end up, and as usual, Taiwan did not disappoint.
 
The most challenging part of the day was getting to 獅頭山, which isn't easy if you don't have a car, but it is manageable. We took a shuttle-bus from Zhongli to the Taoyuan HSR station and bought our tickets. Honestly, this was part of the fun of the trip in itself, as I had never been on the HSR (High-speed rail) in all of my time in Taiwan. We didn't get seats, and surprisingly had to stand, which I would have thought was not allowed, but I'm not going to complain as it was just a ten minute train ride to the Xinzhu HSR station(the normal train is around an hour). From the HSR station, we went and hopped on a shuttle-bus to the 獅頭山 visitors' center. The tickets ran us 100NT a person and included round-trip fare(though be careful, the last bus back is at 6pm).
 
Once in the park, we visited the visitors' and got maps of the local attractions, then we hit the trails!
 
\"IMG_7046\"
 
 
\"IMG_7047\"
 
(Check in at the visitors' center to get a map)
 
 
It was a surprisingly hot day, but luckily I had sunscreen this time. The hike up the main trail was not very difficult, though it was pretty steep. It took us well under an hour to climb. Along the way were tons of smaller side-trails and temples, but we didn't check them out this time, as we had thought we would see them on the way back, but plans have a way of changing. More to explore next time!
 
\"IMG_7049\" \"IMG_7052\" \"IMG_7072\" \"IMG_7058\"
 
(on the way up)
 
At one point at the top of the trail, you have an awesome view of the mountains and a giant Buddha in the distance. And then you head down a trail, into the jungle and towards the mountain's main attraction.
 
\"IMG_7067\" \"IMG_7087\"
 
(You can just make out the giant Buddha in the distance…grab a hiking stick if you need one, you're not there yet!)
 
\"IMG_7092\" \"IMG_7094\"
 
(Descend through the jungle, and you will be well rewarded!)
 
After hiking through the peaceful forest trail, you come out into a clearing where you find yourself dwarfed by the area's huge temple, which is carved out of the face of a cliff. This place has such an incredible view of the surrounding mountains, and it's unreal to think about the manpower and dedication that went into building it.
 
 \"IMG_7107\" \"IMG_7105\"\"IMG_7104\"\"IMG_7111\"
 
(Go ahead, soak-up the view!)
 
We rested at the top and enjoyed the view for a bit, then we went into the temple and burned incense and I explained some of the traditional religious practices to my friends before we left.
 
We headed down to the lower levels and were pleasantly surprised to see a group of musicians playing traditional music in a pagoda by the cliff-edge, as well as a store selling many traditional items, such as paper money for burnt-offerings and intricately detailed folded-paper dragons and boats for the same purpose.
 
\"IMG_7135\" \"IMG_7155\"
\"IMG_7157\" \"IMG_7156\"
 
(A good chance to take a look at the traditional side of Chinese culture)
 
By this time we were hungry, so we followed the signs to the temple's restaurant. The meal was delicious and inexpensive, only costing us 600NT for five people. And the food was vegetarian, naturally, as we were in a temple! There are also rooms available for travelers who want to stay the night and watch the sunset in the majestic mountains.
 
\"IMG_7176\" \"IMG_7179\"
 
(You'll be hungry when you make it up here!)
 
Wile we were up-top, we spotted a giant Buddha statue in the distance and decided that we wanted to get a closer look.
 
We hiked down to the road level and found a bus to the 獅頭山 visitors' center, then took two other buses to get to Emei Lake é méi hú 峨眉湖, the home of the giant Maitreya Buddha.
 
\"IMG_7186\"
 
(A view of the temple from down below, the bus stop is down here)
 
It was difficult getting there without a car, and in hindsight I think that a cab ride would have been far more practical, but that's what made it an adventure!
 
\"IMG_7196\" \"IMG_7193\"
 
(Nice country roads the bus will take you down as you go to Emei Lake)
 
Unfortunately you are not allowed to go into the enclosure where the Buddha stands unless in a tour group, and there weren't any when we were there. The Buddha easily dwarfs the nearby building, which is massive in its own right, and there are lots of other impressive sculptures in the surrounding area, but they pale in comparison.
 
\"IMG_7205\"  \"IMG_7218\"
 
 
(That's one big Buddha!)
 
\"IMG_7223\" \"IMG_7235\"
 
(The sign above the entrance says "the world is one family"…that includes pigs too!)
 
The area surrounding the Buddha was originally built as a reservoir, though it is no longer used as such, and there is a nice trail which you can follow around the lake and across a suspension bridge, though it was under renovation when we were there so we couldn't take a closer look. Still, it was worth the trip to see a Buddha statue that is taller than the Statue of Liberty!
 
\"IMG_7229\"
 
 
(The world is in the palm of his hand)
 
 
Check out the rest of the pictures here!
 
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How To Get There:
 
Lion-Head Mountain- The easiest way to get here is by car, but you can also take a bus from the Xinzhu HSR station directly.
 
Emei Lake- It's tricky getting here without transportation, I suggest taking a bus from the Lion-Head Mountain visitors' center and then switching buses, or take a taxi
 
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Chinese phrases of the day:
 
獅頭山= Lion-Head Mountain
峨眉湖= Emei Lake
 

 

 

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Lesson 4: Countries and Nationalities

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Where are you from? Where are going? Where would you like to visit? These are all questions you need to be able to answer! So today's lesson is going to focus on introducing you to a base of countries you can speak about in Chinese. Of course this list is not exhaustive(I don't even know EVERY country in the world's English name for crying out loud!), but this is a good place to start. If you are interested in learning the names of any specific countries that aren't in the list (not because I don't like them, just because my fingers hurt from all the typing, lol!), then please feel free to send me an email and I'll add it to the list right away, boss! It is also helpful to know what people from different countries are called and what languages they speak, so I will teach you each respective country on the list below's nationality in this lesson. Check out the next lesson in this series to learn about talking about languages in Mandarin. Remember to review last week's lesson if you haven't already.

 
It's easy, and I know you will get it down fast. So without further delay…
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Countries:
1. America 美國 mĕi guó
2. Canada 加拿大 jiā ná dà
3. Mexico 墨西哥 mòxīgē
4. Brazil 巴西 bāxī
5. England 英國 yīng guó
6. Spain 西班牙 xī bān yá
7. France 法國 fă guó
8. Italy 義大利 yì dà lì
9. Germany 德國 dé guó
10. Greece 希臘 xī là
11. Russia 俄羅斯 é luó sī
12. Turkey 土耳其 tǔ' ěr qí
13. The Philippines 菲律賓 fēi lǜ bīn
14. India 印度 yìn dù
15. Malaysia 馬來西亞 mǎ lái xī yà
16. Japan 日本 rìběn
17. Thailand 泰國 tài guó
18. Singapore 新加坡 xīn jiā pō
19. China 中國 zhōng guó
20. Taiwan 台(臺)灣 tái wān
 
 
Practice the above list until you are fairly familiar with it, then proceed to the next part.
 
Nationalities: if you know the above list of countries, then you practically already know the nationalities too! Good job! See? It's easy to learn a new language! And doesn't it feel good? Now all you need is one additional word to fit into the "equation"…and the missing piece to the puzzle is the word 人 rén, which means person or people(Mandarin Chinese doesn't differentiate between singular and plural noun forms, instead the number is determined by context…but we're getting ahead of ourselves, so back up a step!). So all you do intake one of the countries from the list above and add 人 behind it. So, I am American would be: 我是美國人
 
To sum it up, the formula is:

country + 人 = nationality

 
So let's practice saying the nationalities together (this will really help to reinforce your previous learning).
 
1. American 美國人
2. Canadian 加拿大人
3. Mexican  墨西哥人
4. BrazilIan 巴西人
5. English 英國人
6. Spanish 西班牙人
7. French 法國人
8. Italian 義大利人
9. German 德國人
10. Greek 希臘人
11. Russian 俄羅斯人
12. Turkish 土耳其人
13. Filipino 菲律賓人
14. Indian 印度人
15. Malaysian 馬來西亞人
16. Japanese 日本人
17. Thai 泰國人
18. Singaporean 新加坡人
19. Chinese 中國人
20. Taiwanese 台(臺)灣人
 
 
Review: This is a cumulative review of lessons 1-4.  For questions 1-5, please listen to the audio file and answer the questions correctly in Chinese. For questions 6-10 please translate the English phrases into the correct Chinese phrases. As usual, please feel free to make a recording and submit it for "grading". This should be easy for you guys!
 
1. 你叫什麼名字？
2. 你是從哪裡來的？
3. 你幾歲？
4. 你吃飽了嗎？
5. 你是哪國人？
 
6. Good morning
7. Long time no see
8. Not yet
9. Immediately
10. Goodbye
 
 
Make sure you are familiar with the above vocabulary before proceeding to the next lesson, because, while the next portion builds on the last few sections, it is also more complicated. You want to Learn Chinese, right? So get to it!
 
 
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Double Down! 雙十節

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Last Thursday  was guó qìng jié 國慶節 Taiwan's Independence Day, also known as shuāng shí jié 雙十節 Double Ten Day because it is celebrated on October tenth, 10/10. Besides the holiday though, there is another reason that this was a special day for Ruby and I. It was our four-year anniversary nián jì niàn 年紀念! She's the love of my life; she's beautiful and she can put-up with my terrible jokes and childish antics. What more could a guy ask for?

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(She's my pride and joy!)

So, to celebrate we did something we haven't done in a while and we decided to take a day trip to one of the island's many scenic mountain areas…Nanzhuang.

To get there we took a train to Zhunan and then took a shuttle bus over to the Nanzhuang old street in the mountains of Miaoli county. The bus station is directly across the street from the train station and opposite from the 7-11. The tickets ran us 100NT per person and gave us day passes to take the bus to three destinations: nán zhuāng lăo jiē 南庄老街 Nanzhuang old street, xiàng tiān hú 向天湖 Xiangtian lake, and xiān shān 仙山 Xian Mountain. What a bargain!
 
\"IMG_7036\"
 
(Here I am, at the Zhunan train station)
 
The bus ride to Nanzhuang took about 40 minutes, and when we got there we checked out the visitors' center which had a lot of information on the surrounding tourist spots, as well as a little about the local aboriginal tribes yuán zhù míng de bù luò 原著名的部落 and their history. We chatted with the staff to find our next bus, which was just out front, and we headed out to the aboriginal village and culture center at Xiantian lake.
 
\"IMG_7044\"
 
(This is where the bus drops you off, it's also where you can catch a bus to the local attractions, or back to Zhunan station)
 
 
\"IMG_7043\"
 
(Here's a map of the bus route and the local sights, but also make sure to grab a copy from the information center)
 
The bus ride to the village was worth the trip alone to catch a glimpse of the scenery as we slowly snaked our way up the mountain road. It was like we were in another country, or world.
 
\"IMG_7167\"
 
(It is just amazing up there in the mountains!)
 
When you enter the village there are several stands where you can get some aboriginal snacks, such as wild-boar sausage and mă gào dàn 馬告蛋, eggs marinated in mă gào 馬告, a really fragrant type of seeds that the local sài xià zú 賽夏族 Saisiyat tribe uses for seasoning many of their dishes.
 
\"IMG_7141\"  \"IMG_7140\"
 
(This stuff tastes so good, I had to learn the secret recipe!)
 
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(And here it is! 馬告!)
 
I have a feeling that they don't get many foreign visitors, as one young aboriginal girl kept marveling over my hair, asking me why it wasn't black and if I had dyed it. I am used to this kind of stuff, especially as I live in a county area, though not to this extreme.  This just multiplied the feeling that, even though people were speaking Mandarin and there were plenty of Taiwanese tourists around us, we were no longer in Taiwan!
 
Another thing that the aboriginal people in this area are famous for is honey, and you could see lots of beehives with swarms of bees, placated by the strongly scented smoke that was burning by their homes.
 
\"IMG_7052\" \"IMG_7051\" \"IMG_7049\"
 
 
(There were lots of bee-keepers and people selling honey in the village)
 
As we went through the village and looked through the different stalls, we eventually came to the lake which this place was named after. It was a beautiful lake, and there was a tree-shrouded path that led around it. It was a relaxing hike, and any direction that you looked you had beautiful scenery popping out at you, be it the lake itself, the flowers and trees, or the gorgeous mountain backdrop that overshadowed it all. It was fantastic!
\"IMG_7122\" \"IMG_7075\"
 
(The walk around the lake is a great escape)
 
\"IMG_7084\"  \"IMG_7100\" 
 
(Just taking in the natural beauty)
 
When we had made our way around the lake, we came to an aboriginal culture center which displayed a lot of beautiful handmade artifacts that the Saisiyat people had used to do anything from carrying children to farming. Practically everything was woven from grass or made from bamboo, and the craftsmanship was impressive. There was even a traditional bamboo house with many artifacts on display for viewing, though, unfortunately, taking photographs was not allowed in the museum.
 
\"IMG_7111\"
 
 
\"IMG_7131\" \"IMG_7132\"
 
(The aboriginal culture center is definitely worth a visit)
 
One interesting display described the tribes origins, and the myth surrounding how their people came to be in that area.
 
After finishing up I'm the village, we waited for the bus and headed to the nearby Donghe suspension bridge dōng hé diào qiáo 東河吊橋. The bridge is massive and it is quite thrilling(and a little scary) when it wobbles and springs up and down as you cross. The view of the river below was just awesome from the middle, and on the other side was the head of a promising hiking trail.
 
\"2013-10-10 \"IMG_7144\" 
 
\"IMG_7146\"\"IMG_7147\"
 
(You're not supposed to run on these things, but I was too excited to see the view!)
 
After hiking a ways up, however, we realized it just led to some lucky people's homes. Though I bet there is a trail if you continue on back there,  we chose to turn back and catch the bus back into Nanzhuang.
 
While we waited for the bus, we walked around the area and took a look at a few interesting pieces of aboriginal art, and perused a gift shop where the local people sold their handmade bamboo crafts. The homes in the area were beautiful and the people were very friendly, and I really envy them their beautiful mountain home, but it was time for us to head back into the hubbub of modern civilization.
 
 
\"2013-10-10 \"2013-10-10 \"2013-10-10
 
 
(We didn't get to take photos in the museum, but there was plenty to photo here!)
 
By the time we got back to the old street, we were starving and immediately got in line at the first stand we saw.
 
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(They sell the best huā shēng bīng qí lín juăn bĭng 花生冰淇淋捲餅 I have ever had!)
 
The entrance to the old street is really narrow, but it opens up a bit as you get further inside. Besides the usual snacks, there was one particularly famous stand selling the local specialty, guì huā fĕn yuán bīng 桂花粉圓冰.
 
\"2013-10-10 \"2013-10-10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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(The local specialty. Make sure to bring home a jar of 桂花 jam to spread on your toast!)
 
After refueling we found ourselves at the back of the old street, where there was a gigantic temple and a 100 year old post office from the Japanese occupation period. There was also an old school (the sign said 100 years old, though it looks like its been rebuilt) and a 100 year old stone pathway leading down to the street below. This place is old!
 
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(Taking a break on the temple's steps)
 
\"2013-10-10 \"2013-10-10
 
(Here we are at the 100 year old post office!)
 
 
\"2013-10-10 \"2013-10-10
 
(Here's the old school…)
 
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(And an even older tree!)
 
\"2013-10-10
 
(This path is over a hundred years old too!)
 
Unfortunately it was getting dark, so we didn't have time to go out to Xian Mountain, but I don't mind. It just gives us a reason to go back! Before heading back, we checked out one last suspension bridge in the surrounding area, and then used our day passes to head back to the train station. It was a great day, and I slept like a baby on the way home. Who knew having fun took so much energy?
 
\"2013-10-10 \"2013-10-10
 
(Taking one last photo in front of the visitors' center before leaving)
 
Check out the rest of the photos here!
 
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How To Get There:
 
Nanzhuang old street: To get there take a train to Zhunan and then take a shuttle bus over to the Nanzhuang old street. From there you can use your day pass to take busses to the various local attractions. Also, If you stay in a hostel in Nanzhuang, your day pass can be validated for a second day.
 
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Chinese phrases of the day:
 
國慶節= National Day
雙十節= Double Ten Day
年紀念= anniversary
南庄老街= Nanzhuang old street
向天湖= Xiangtian lake
仙山= Xian Mountain
原著名的部落= Aboriginal tribe(s)
馬告= a seed that the Saisiyat people use for seasoning their food
賽夏族= the Saisiyat tribe
東河吊橋= Donghe suspension bridge
桂花粉圓冰= an iced desert consisting of chevy balls of cooked flour and covered with osmanthus jelly
花生冰淇淋捲餅= a ice cream wrap with peanut powder
 
 
 
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