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6 October 2013

No Hitching, Just Hiking: Part 1

This past week was action-packed, with pirates and buried treasure around every corner…not really, but I got to go hike some awesome trails, some that I have been to before and others that were totally new to me. Now, first on the list in this three-part series is….

Wuliaojian wŭ liáo jiān 五寮尖

On Tuesday I went to Wuliaojian 五寮尖, which is in the mountains between Sanxia and Wulai in xīn bĕi shì 新北市 New Taipei City. The best way to get here is by car or scooter, but there is public transportation as well. You can take a bus to Sanxia and then transfer number 807 from Sanxia.

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The path starts at hé zuò qiáo 合作橋 along the side of Highway 7. Just as a lot of the best hikes in Taiwan, the trail starts at an unassuming and utterly random stone-stairway sticking out of the side of the mountain. If you didn't know it was there, you would drive by without even noticing it. Well, now you know, so what's your excuse?

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(That's a view of the ridge we were just on from the top)

There are lots of paths around the mountain that all end up eventually taking you to the same destination, though the level of difficulty varies. Either way, allow at least 3-4 hours to finish the hike and bring plenty of water (foolishly, I only brought one tiny bottle and was getting thirsty towards the end). And if you're a pale-skinned freak-of-nature like I am, do yourself a favor and bring sunscreen! I forgot to, and I am as red as a Maine lobster as I am typing this! Plus if you plan to go swimming, a swimsuit and a change of clothes wouldn't go amiss, though I didn't have either.

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(We had to scale down this huge cliff wall)
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(Now you see me…)
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(Now you don't!)
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(Just check out the view from the top! This is Taiwan!)
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(Who wouldn't want to take a dip after a long, sweaty hike? The water was cold and refreshing!)

All of that aside, you're in for a challenging hike which you'll be rewarded for with a ton of gorgeous scenery and an experience you won't soon forget, but I wouldn't advise beginners to try it until they get a little experience under their belts, and it's a good idea to go with a friend regardless of your skill level.

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(Have fun and stay safe out there!)

Check out the rest of my photos here!
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How To Get There:

Wuliaojian 五寮尖– It's difficult to get here if you don't have a scooter or a car, but it's doable. First take a bus to Sanxia and then transfer to bus number 807. Tell the driver where you are going and he should tell you when to get off. The bus stop is called Hezuo Bridge 合作橋.

The swimming spot- It's just a few minutes down the road from the trail head on the left. Go slow, it's easy to miss. You can get down into the river from the other side of the bridge by taking the stairs next to the temple.

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五寮尖= Wuliaojian hiking trail
新北市= New Taipei City
合作橋= Hezuo Bridge…"Cooperation Bridge" is a true translation, but that sounds better in Chinese, right?
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4 October 2013

Hiking Through History and Daxi Old Street

Now, I know not everyone is a huge history fan, but I for one enjoy seeing historical places and learning the story behind them. If you want to learn more about Ancient China, or just see some cool artifacts, then I'd say The National Palace Museum gù gōng 故宮 is the place for you. I've been there four times and have enjoyed the displays thoroughly each time. Personally, though, I like the outdoors and today I have an awesome place to tell you about, where you can not only glean some insight into Taiwan's past, but you can enjoy some beautiful scenery and an invigorating hike too if that's your thing.

The mausoleum of jiăng jīng guó 蔣經國 Chiang Ching-Kuo, the son of jiăng zhōng zhèng 蔣中正 Chiang Kai-Shek rests in the mountains between dà xī 大溪 Daxi and fù xìng 富興 Fuxing. The grounds housing the former leader's body was once used by the president to house information, and the one room you are able to look into shows the office where 蔣經國 used to sit at his table and make the big decisions that drove the country. At the far side of the structure lies the body of 蔣經國, and visitors are expected to pay their respects. 蔣經國 was a popular leader and many Taiwanese people visit his burial place to bài bài 拜拜(if you don't know what this is, check out my recent post 拜拜! Zhen Qing Temple).

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(The Entrance to the mausoleum and those aren't statues! If you are lucky, you can see the changing of the guard here)

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(Chiang Ching-Kuo's office)

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(Pay your respects, and follow the arrow, or else!)

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(Across from the mausoleum is a visitors' center with a lot of cool historical information on Chiangs, and parked beside it are the father and son's personal ambulances)

Not far from the mausoleum is another interesting attraction. cí hú 慈湖 Cihu park is beautiful and offers scenic views of the surrounding mountains and lake, but the most interesting attraction, and the reason many people go there are the plethora of towering, multi-colored statues of 蔣中正 scattered around the park grounds. Pick your favorite pose and take a picture with Mr. President!

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(No autographs, but a picture with the president is always good!)

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(The beautiful park and the many faces of Chiang Kai-Shek)

On the other side of the park is a trail that leads up into white-rock mountain bái shí shān 白石山 mountain, it's a great place to go for a hike and to escape from humanity for a while.

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(Not far up the path is this cozy cottage, so no need to bring a tent!)

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(Follow the path further into the mountains and you will be rewarded with some awesome views)

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(Cross the bridge and step into another world)

After you're finished up, head on over to Daxi Old Street 大溪老街 for dinner. Daxi is famous for its dried-tofu dòu gān 豆干 and stinky-tofu chòu dòu fŭ 臭豆腐, but like any of Taiwan's old streets, there are also a lot of cool traditional things to see, and the cobbled-streets and old architecture, along with the beautiful park and view of the surrounding mountains make it a wonderful place to spend an entire day, though be warned: it is absolutely jam-packed with tourists on the weekends.

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(Time to refuel)

There you have it, a day trip that offers something for everyone, so what are you waiting for? Get out there and have an adventure!

Take a look at more of my pictures here

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How To Get There:

The mausoleum of Chiang Ching-Kuo- Going by car or scooter is best, but you can also take the bus from Daxi to Fuxing and stop at the mausoleum

Cihu park- Just a little further down the road from the mausoleum, you can walk there if you took a bus

白石山 White-rock mountain(There are no English signs)- The trail head is just on the other side of Cihu park

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Chinese phrases of the day:

故宮– The National Palace Museum

蔣經國– Chiang Ching-Kuo

蔣中正– Chiang Kai-Shek

大溪– Daxi

富興– Fuxing

慈湖– Cihu

白石山– White-Rock Mountain

豆干– dried tofu

臭豆腐– stinky tofu

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2 October 2013

10 Foods You Must Try in Taiwan

I love Taiwanese food, that's why I've stayed in Taiwan so long! Oh, and my lovely fiancé, Ruby, played a part in that too! As much as I love Taiwanese food, it is often difficult to talk about in English, and many of the English names below are just made-up approximations or descriptions. The following list is not in any particular order, and is by no-means complete. Taiwanese cuisine is incredibly diverse, and there is so much more out there for you to try! So, to start off, we have…

1. Marinated food lŭ wèi 滷味– I love this stuff, the sauce is amazing and you have tons of choices to choose from and create your own dish, so each time you can eat a new combination of foods. You pick everything out your self(usually) with a pair of tongs and place it in a basket for the cook, and they boil it all in a wonderfully flavored soup.

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2. Sausage with rice sausage wrap dà cháng bāo xiăo cháng 大腸包小腸– The English name I gave it sounds kinda weird, but a true translation would be stranger. "A big sausage wrapping a small sausage" sounds great in Chinese, but just weird in English, therefore I have jokingly dubbed these "Chinese hotdogs". Many stands offer lots of favors, such as wasabi, black pepper, garlic, and others. They are awesome, so go get one!

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3. Green-onion pancakes cōng zhuā bĭng 蔥抓餅– This was one of my go-to snacks when I first moved to Taiwan. They are great by themselves, but I personally always add an egg and usually corn, but other great toppings are cheese and bacon, even tuna!

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4. Red-bean popsicles hóng dòu bīng bàng 紅豆冰棒– Have I mentioned that Taiwanese people love red beans, and they are a big feature in their desserts? Try one and see if it's for you!

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5. Dumplings and fried-dumplings shuĭ jiăo 水餃 and guō tiē 鍋貼– I've eaten these regularly since I've been here, and I still love them! They are much better than anything you can get back home. An interesting side-note, fried-dumplings, which are usually called pot stickers, probably got this English name because in Chinese, 鍋 means pot and 貼 means stick, go figure!

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6. Tofu pudding dòu huā 豆花– 豆花, which literally means "bean flower" is a great traditional dessert. Tofu is healthy, nutritious, and CHEAP, and that is why it is a big player in Chinese cuisine. I am constantly impressed with the ingenuity it took to make so many different dishes from one base ingredient! Bottom line, try it!

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7. Stinky tofu chòu dòu fŭ 臭豆腐– I hesitated to add this one, as I feel it's the most discussed Taiwanese food out there, but at the same time no list of Taiwanese culinary creations would be complete without it. 臭豆腐 is aged tofu and it stinks, literally! It comes in two forms, fried with a side of cabbage, or boiled with soup (my personal favorite), but they are both worth a try. So next time you are wandering through a night market and you venture into a pocket of stink, look around and find the stand responsible and steel your stomach!

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8. Hotpot huŏ guō 火鍋– This is my fiancé's personal favorite. The general idea is you take a ton of vegetables, and huŏ guō liào 火鍋料, ingredients especially made for hotpot, and you toss the, in boiling water and eat until you're about to explode! Served with fish, chicken, lamb, beef (meat is dipped into the boiling soup until it is cooked, then it is dipped into shā chá jiàng 沙茶醬 and eaten) and a variety of seafood fare, or even just vegetarian, served with your choice of rice, noodles, or dōng fĕn 冬粉 a type of thin noodle made from beans, hotpot makes for a great, and filling meal! Also, many restaurants include an nice selection of all you can eat ice cream!

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9. Seafood hăi xiān 海鮮– This should be a no-brainer. Taiwan is an island, and as such, you have access to higher quality, and cheaper priced seafood than you can get in the states, and it is awesome!

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10. Bubble milk tea zhēn zhū năi chá 珍珠奶茶– Also Translated more literally as "pearl milk tea", this is a Taiwanese invention that is so popular that it's hard to walk five feet down the street without passing half-a-dozen tea shops that sell the stuff. Some brands have even opened up stores in the USA, such as Come Buy. A word of warning though, it's really sweet and incredibly bad for you, so don't drink it every day!

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And, just because I'm nice, I've added an 11th food…..

*11. Mochi ma jí 嘛吉！ This is probably my favorite food that I have discovered since I have lived in Taiwan, and it is definitely my favorite form of rice! 嘛吉 pronounced moa ji in Taiwanese, is a snack traditionally made by painstakingly squishing sticky rice in a big bowl with a wooden stick…it's a great form of exercise, I should know, I've done it! But nowadays, it is most-often machine-mashed. After the rice is smashed into a thick, sticky paste, it is rolled into balls and rolled around in peanut powder. There are lots of other modern flavors and styles (filling, no filling, served in a bamboo shoot, ice cream) but I love anything peanut flavored, and 嘛吉 is at the top of my list!

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So the you have it, eleven more reasons to make Taiwan your next travel destination. Enjoy!

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Chinese phrases of the day:

滷味= a type of marinated food
大腸包小腸= sausage with rice sausage wrapping ("Chinese hotdogs")
蔥抓餅= green onion pancakes
紅豆冰棒= red bean popsicles
水餃= dumplings
鍋貼= fried dumplings(potstickers)
豆花= tofu pudding
臭豆腐= stinky tofu
火鍋= hotpot
火鍋料= hot pot ingredients
沙茶醬= hotpot dipping sauce
冬粉= thin noodles made from beans
海鮮= seafood
珍珠奶茶= bubble(pearl) milk tea
嘛吉= mochi

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30 September 2013

Lesson 2: Greetings

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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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