Mandarin - eazychinese.com

(Recently I saw a procession of decorated, God pig trucks drive by. Too bad I was on a bus at the time so I couldn't take better pictures)

Okay, so yesterday I wrote about the pet industry in Taiwan and how much people care for their animals. I want you to keep that in mind while you read today's article.

The God Pig Festival is a cultural tradition that's roots stem from Hakka origins. A "God pig" called a shén zhū 神豬 in Mandarin, is a pig that has been raised to be a sacrificial offering. In the past the pigs were slaughtered in public and the meat was used to 拜拜, and then later shared with friends and family. The pigs are shaved but for a thin strip of fur, much like a mohawk, that runs the length of their back.

$\"1174950_10201290401276337_1446639552_n\"$ $\"1098045_10201290402236361_1106795944_n\"$

(My new hair style. My fiance shaved it for me!)

After they are slaughtered, their skin is cut opened and stretched out to make them look larger and rounder and a pineapple is put in their mouth. The reason for this is that it is thought to bring wealth, as the word "pineapple", fèng lí 鳳梨 which is pronounced o'ng lai in Taiwanese sounds similar to wàng lái 旺來 "bring wealth and prosperity". The character wàng 旺 means prosperous and many stores will have a sticker with this word written on it placed somewhere in them.

$\"images\"$

(look at the pineapple stuffed in his mouth…that's right, a pineapple, not an apple)

But nowadays this practice is seen to be cruel to animals, the days of public-pork executions are over.

$\"images\"$

(The picture says it all…)

神豬 are force-fed to the point where they cannot stand, much less walk on their own feet. Families compete against each other in a contest with the goal of raising the fattest pig. It is not uncommon for a 神豬 to weigh over 1000 kg! And the title-holder (or former title-holder, seeing as he's no longer among us) weighed in at a grand total of 1054 kg! That's a big pig!

$\"pigs-of-god-festival3-550x344\"$

(a contest where only the fattest prevail)

There has been a lot of controversy about the inhumane treatment of the 神豬, but it is an old religious tradition that is important to the Kè jiā rén 客家人, Hakka people. I am an animal lover, but I also respect other cultures and their practices, so I will stay neutral on the subject. The point of this article is to let you hear about a unique cultural practice that you might not have heard of otherwise.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Chinese phrases of the day:

shén zhū 神豬= God pig (sacrificial offering)

fèng lí 鳳梨= pineapple

wàng lái 旺來= bring wealth and prosperity

Kè jiā rén 客家人= Hakka people

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The second two images of the God pigs were found at http://vivoverde.com.br/em-taywan-ocorre-um-sdico-festival-de-louvor-a-deus-utilizando-porcos/ and the picture of Porky Pig was taken from http://free-extras.com/images/porky_pig_thats_all_folks-5172.htm

13 September 2013

Unconditional Love

$\"1239054_10201282642122363_1868468808_n\"$

That's what our animals give us, right? But how do we repay them? Recently, with rabies, or kuángquǎnbìng 狂犬病 as it is called in Mandarin, resurfacing in Taiwan, the media and government have blown things way out of proportion. When it was originally found in the ferret-badger, an animal that is eaten by the aboriginal people in the mountains, people went nuts.

Now, I can understand that people were worried. I mean, we are talking about a disease that hasn't been seen on the island in around 50 years, but the poor treatment of domestic animals like dogs and cats that followed was quite unnecessary. But I don't want to dwell on the negative side of the coin, because it's ugly and depressing, and if that's what you wanted to read about, you'd have just picked up a local newspaper or turned on the TV.

In the West, we have the idea that our pets are our family members, and while people in some places in the world may have, and are entitled to their own views on the role animals play in their culture, and some even view cats and dogs as food(something that i don't agree with, but this is not the issue here) I want to assure you that that's is ILLEGAL in Taiwan.

I feel that a growing percentage of Taiwanese people(my future wife and her family included) take the status of pets in the family to a whole new level! My girl cooks more meals for my dog and cat than she does for me!

$\"7885_10201313363130369_300805563_n\"$

(Here are the dogs eating their gourmet meal)

My fiancé's sister has saved multiple dogs and found them homes, most recently a cute poodle mix named Lulu, and we practically feed a family of cats and stray dogs in the neighborhood on a daily basis. Heck, our cat Pumpkin(what can I say, he's big round and orange!) was a poor whelp of a street cat when we found him while riding our bikes around near the Taipei City Hall, not far from the famed Taipei 101.

$\"2012-08-07$ $\"998234_10201318780345796_425220961_n\"$

(Left: Pumpkin shortly after we found him, Right: Pumpkin now, over a year later…That boy can eat!)

The pet industry is a booming business here as many pet-owners spend tons of money pampering their pooch with food, clothing, accessories, toys…and the list goes on and there are always new devices coming out. Pet salons are all over the place, and a self-wash pet grooming facility recently opened up over by the RT Mart in the Zhongyuan area in Zhongli City. Now, I know we've all heard of DIY car washes, but I thought this was a really awesome and unique idea!

$\"IMG_0297\"$ $\"DSC02227\"$

(Left: Our "children" traveling in style Right: Check out this giant standard poodle, now take a look at Popcorn!)

Heck, there are dog restaurants and hotels where they can go on vacation and get pampered! And if you have a sweet tooth, there is even a dog bakery along the side of all the pet stores at the Tonghua Night Market on Keelung Rd., not far from the Liuzhangli MRT station in Taipei.

$\"d1\"$

(Popcorn's first birthday cake. They were out of 1s, but do you think she complained?)

Most large pet stores have vets, shòuyī 獸醫 in them and health care for your pets is readily available, and affordable. Check out a coming article on how to take your dog or cat to for a check-up with the vet in Taiwan, including what vocabulary you may need to be able to communicate with the staff and what to expect.

Every year there are also numerous pet shows and exhibitions, the most famous of which takes place in the Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei. We took our dog there a few times, and it was really fun.

$\"181180_3905694155097_710089785_n\"$ $\"599681_3905694635109_554318380_n\"$

(They had a swimming pool at the pet exhibition…Popcorn went skinny-dipping!)

Some people may be uneducated, or uncompassionate towards animals, there are people like that everywhere and Taiwan is not an exception. But when you think about Taiwan (or any other place really) try to remember the good things first and foremost.

$\"1012011_10201318778745756_179542147_n\"$ $\"2012-07-24$

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Chinese phrases of the day:

kuángquǎnbìng 狂犬病= rabies

shòuyī 獸醫= Veterinarian

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

27 August 2013

How To Use Chopsticks

One of the many interesting cultural aspects of dining in Taiwan, or many other Asian countries for that matter, is that people use chopsticks to eat. Everyone has seen chopsticks and knows what they are, but not everyone can use them. I remember many years ago when I first saw chopsticks(years before even moving to Taiwan) my initial thought was "How the heck do I eat with these!" So today, I will show you in 5 easy steps.

Step 1: Pick up a pair of chopsticks. In Mandarin, chopsticks are called kuàizi(筷子).

$\"2012-08-24$

Step 2: Place the end of one of the chopsticks on the webbing between your thumb and pointer finger, and support the other end with your pinky and ring finger. While you are eating, this chopstick will not be moving.

$\"2012-08-24$ $\"2012-08-24$

Step 3: Now take the other chopstick and grip it with your thumb on one side and your pointer and middle finger on the other. This is the chopstick you will be actively controlling to eat with.

$\"2012-08-24$ $\"2012-08-24$

Step 4: Now that you know how to hold them, it's time to make those chopsticks work for you! It's very simple and you should get the hang of it pretty quickly. Keep the first chopstick stable resting against your pinky and ring finger and across the webbing between your thumb and pointer finger, and use the other chopstick to pick up food by moving your middle and index finger. Think of it as a tiny lever and fulcrum.

$\"2012-08-24$ $\"2012-08-24$

(The way I usually eat with chopsticks is to hold the two sticks parallel to each other)

Step 5: Now that you've got it down, all you need to do is keep practicing. Now go eat some Chinese food. Forks are forbidden!

$\"2012-08-24$

(Another way to use chopsticks, and the one favored by my fiance, is to hold them with the sticks crossing. The grip and controlling chopstick are the same, you are just picking up the food in a different way. Think scissors.)

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Chinese phrases of the day:

kuàizi(筷子)= chopsticks

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

25 August 2013

Bada-danbing!

Okay, so I have to take a minute to rave about my latest addiction…no, it\’s not anything bad, except maybe a little for my waistline. And the culprit is shūcàidànbǐng(蔬菜蛋餅)!

$\"2012-08-21$ $\"2012-08-21$

(The stand I always go to in the Zhongyuan Night Market in Zhongli City. Let\’s take a look behind the scenes.)

Like the classic Taiwanese breakfast food, dànbǐng(蛋餅) which is like an omelet, only injected with steroids(not literally I hope, but they are seriously like 5 times the size of your regular dànbǐng(蛋餅)!), these babies will keep you coming back for more! This growing chain of stands is popping up all over the place, and with good reason. With flavors such as tuna wěiyú(鮪魚), barbecue kǎoròu(烤肉), beef niúròu(牛肉), corn yùmǐ(玉米),cheese with bacon qǐsīpéigēn(起司培根), ham huǒtuǐ(火腿) and more, you won\’t get sick of eating them, just try a new flavor each time!

$\"2012-08-21$ $\"2012-08-21$

(Let\’s see how it tastes….)

One of the reasons I love shūcàidànbǐng(蔬菜蛋餅) is that each one comes stuffed with cabbage, so you\’re getting a balanced meal all in one package(or at least I like to think so!). Actually, the only thing I really don\’t like about this stand is that the food is really popular and I always have to wait in line (waiting in line is just part of life in Taiwan, but I\’m an impatient American and I want my dànbǐng(蛋餅) immediately!).

$\"2012-08-21$

(You can tell by the look on my face that it tastes awesome!)

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Chinese phrases of the day:

shūcàidànbǐng(蔬菜蛋餅)= vegetable Chinese omelet
dànbǐng(蛋餅)= Chinese omelet
wěiyú(鮪魚)= tuna
kǎoròu(烤肉)= barbecue
niúròu(牛肉)= beef
yùmǐ(玉米)= corn
qǐsī(起司)= cheese
péigēn(培根)= bacon
huǒtuǐ(火腿)= ham

22 August 2013

Blown Away

$\"DSC08312\"$

Is what my fiancé, Ruby and I nearly were this past Wednesday when we went to the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linkou. This is the largest hospital with the best equipment and facilities in Taiwan. You can get there very easily from many places, including the San Chung Bus that you can take from the Kuo Kuang bus stop located near the Taipei Main Station just out the South entrance and across the street to the right. The ticket costs around 40NT$ and it's about a forty minute ride (depending on traffic of course). But we live in Zhongli, so we took a cab to the shuttle bus on Zhong Yang E. Rd. In front of the 7-11 and hopped on. The bus-ride is about thirty to forty minutes long, depending on traffic and the fare is 35NT$ per person.

$\"linkou\"$

(A view of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from afar taken from http://www1.cgmh.org.tw)

One interesting thing about hospitals in Taiwan, and hotels for that matter, is that they never have a fourth floor. Their floors go like this: one, two, three and then they skip to five. Now we all know that Chinese have a reputation for being good at math, right? So what the heck's going on here? Well, as I wrote about a while back, Chinese people are very superstitious, and a lot of their superstitions stem from how words can sound like other words very easily in Mandarin (Believe me, just try saying forty-four stone lions without screwing the whole thing up and you'll thing Sandy and her seashells are a joke!). The word four, or sì(四) sounds very close to the word sǐ(死) which means death! So would you want to get operated on on the forth floor? I didn't think so? Moving on. So, despite it being a Typhoon Day, Ruby and I were at the hospital for her surgery(a very minor and routine procedure, so calm down already!). She had already booked her appointment, and I had taken the day off from work to accompany her. It was a quick visit and we hit up the hospital's food court, or měishíjiē(美食街) for lunch after she was fineshed. She had beef noodle soup (broth without the beef chunks) niúròutāngmiàn(牛肉湯麵) and I had Subway. Are you kidding me? Yes we have Subway in Taiwan! Bellies full and feeling satisfied with the trip, we headed back to the shuttle bus to Zhongli…or we tried to! Somehow or another we got turned around in the hospital's maze-like corridors and ended up leaving by another entrance. Rather than going back the way we had just come, we decided to walk around the building to the bus stop. We hadn't gone a hundred feet before it started raining down hard. Another few feet and our umbrella was broken by the strong winds. It sucked, but strangely, even though we were being pelted like there was no tomorrow, our reaction was to laugh. Seriously, it felt like the rain was punching us!

$\"DSC08802\"$ $\"DSC06095\"$

("Momma said knock you out"-LL Cool J)

We eventually made our way around the building, but rather than finding the shuttle bus waiting to take us home, we were back where we had started out from! It was too ridiculous a situation to get mad about, so we went back in and squeezed as much water out of our clothes as we could in the bathrooms, then we did what we should have done in the first place. We went back through the basement level of the hospital and eventually found the bus terminal and got in line. Cold and wet, with the bus's AC blowing in our faces, we made ourselves as comfortable as we were able and we took the forty minute trip back to Zhongli. Once we had arrived, we got off the bus, took a cab back to the house, followed by a hot shower and then a two hour nap! Adventures are tiring!

$\"DSC08313\"$ ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Chinese phrases of the day:

sì(四)= four

sǐ(死)= death/die

měishíjiē(美食街)= food court

niúròutāngmiàn(牛肉湯麵)= beef noodle soup (no beef chunks, just soup and noodles) ———————————————————————————————————————————

22 August 2013

Look Who\’s Talking

$\"IMG_5573\"$ $\"IMG_5574\"$

Alright, so for today's post, I want to share a little of my experience learning Mandarin with you. When I first came to Taiwan I could only speak three phrases: nǐhǎo你好, nǐhǎoma你好嗎？and xièxie謝謝. That was all. Was I particularly good at communicating with the locals right of the bat? Nope. Am I now? Yep. But it didn't happen over night.

In a few of my previous articles I mentioned that I spent my first year in Taiwan in the harbor city of Keelung. I lived about five minutes from the coast and there was no lack of beautiful scenery. Needless to say it was a big change from Texas! But this post is not about Keelung specifically. It's about learning Chinese! Living in Keelung was, in my opinion, essential to my acquisition of Chinese. The reason for this is quite simple. In a big international city like Taipei, people are used to dealing with foreigners and it is completely possible to get around solely speaking English. This is not the case in the countryside. Though many people I came into daily contact with in Keelung very likely could speak a relatively decent amount of English, they simply lacked the confidence to speak in English with a foreigner (though of course there are exceptions, I'm just making this generalization to get my point across).

So what did I do? Well, I got on Tealit.com and found myself a tutor and made the trek out to Taipei twice a week to learn with a native speaker, one-on-one. But as I lived in Keelung, the lessons didn't end after my classes finished, I went out and made a point to try and converse with the local people as much as I could(be it ordering food at a restaurant, or just trying to chat up my neighbors). Was it easy in the beginning? Heck no, but I kept trying and within three months or so my conversational ability was decent, though certainly lacking in many areas.

After having lived in Taiwan for around eight months, I met my fiancé and saw a sudden improvement in my Chinese almost overnight. It's really convenient having a walking, breathing dictionary with you, though she might not agree! Anyway, after we'd been together for a while and my contract was up with my school, I decided to move to Taipei and study Chinese intensively at NTNU for a semester. I took a trip to Thailand to do some sightseeing and switch over to a student visa, then I came back and took the university's placement test, which consisted of a reading comprehension and speaking portion. I scored very well on the speaking test, but since I hadn't practiced much reading or writing my first year, I did considerably worse on this portion. Still, my speaking was proficient enough that I tested out of the first text book, and half of the second. I want to make it clear that I am not bragging, I just had the benefit of living in an environment very conducive to learning conversational Mandarin.

After my semester as a student, I once again started teaching English, and continued my Mandarin studies independently. I've made a lot of progress over the last five years, but I'm still learning new phrases all the time. Which brings me to the point of this post, I am working on a FREE Mandarin course that I will be starting to upload very soon here on my blog. My approach to teaching/learning is different from the popular method of memorizing grammar rules and sentence patterns. This was never the best approach for me, and my philosophy has developed over the past five years, but you can start benefitting from it immediately! I'll be making updates on the status of the Language Lab in the weeks to follow, so please bear with me for the time being and of course, I'd love to hear any suggestions you have for how this program can work best for you. I'll also be posting tips on how to improve your Mandarin that I have learned through my own experience. Gǎnxiè感謝大家！

Chinese phrases of the day:

你好= hello

你好嗎?= How are you?

謝謝= thank you

感謝大家= to show appreciation for everyone

22 August 2013

Look Who\’s Talking

$\"IMG_5573\"$ $\"IMG_5574\"$

Chinese phrases of the day:

你好= hello

你好嗎?= How are you?

謝謝= thank you

感謝大家= to show appreciation for everyone

20 August 2013

Rain Rain Go Away!

$\"DSC03078\"$

With a typhoon set to arrive tomorrow you can count on heavy rains and strong winds through Thursday. In fact, even though it has yet to arrive, we already felt the influence of the typhoon on the weather. Seriously, it rained cats and dogs today! But typhoons, or táifēng(颱風) are just an ordinary part of life on the island that you must learn to cope with if you plan to spend any length of time here. I'm just glad I don't live in Keelung anymore! Expats and locals alike are(or should be) stockpiling food, drinks and various other necessities to get them through the next few days, so get on that if you haven't already! Seriously, if you go to an RT Mart, A Mart, Carrefour or Costco at the last minute, you will be stuck with what you can get, which is usually just about nothing! So, to make sure that my readers are well prepared for their coming Typhoon Day(they're practically like national holidays here, hence the capital letters) I have prepared a short list of a few essentials you shouldn't be without when the milk tea hits the fan.

Typhoon Day Survival Kit:

1. As many packages of instant noodles pāomiàn(泡麵) as you can grab
2. A loaf of bread miànbāo(麵包)and some PB&J huāshēngjiànghéguǒdòng(花生醬和果凍)
3. Packages of dried food: cookies, chips, bǐnggān(併港) etc.
4. A few gallons of drinking water, and or any tea or sodas you may want to have on hand
5. A flashlight and extra batteries diànchí(電池) just incase you lose power, and candles wouldn't be a bad idea either
6. A basic first aid kit just in case
7. A stack of DVDs, I'll let you choose which ones(see, aren't I nice)

If you are a hardened veteran, having come out victorious over countless typhoons, then you probably already know it all, but if this will be your first typhoon, make sure you're prepared!
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Chinese phrases of the day:

táifēng(颱風)= typhoon
pāomiàn(泡麵)= instant noodles
miànbāo(麵包)= bread
huāshēngjiàng(花生醬)= peanut butter
hé(和)= and
guǒdòng(果凍)= jelly
bǐnggān(餅乾)= cookies, chips
diànchí(電池)= batteries

12 August 2013

5 Reasons for you to spend a year (or more) abroad in Taiwan.

1. Mandarin is THE language to learn, and with over a billion people in the world who speak it, learning even just basic Mandarin will open up a lot of doors for you, especially with Mainland China's economic growth in recent years.

$\"2012-08-07$

2. Taiwan is a safe place to live with a rich cultural heritage. On top of that, the locals are very friendly, and welcoming of Westerners. The people will take care of you and help you out however they can. Whether you are having trouble ordering food at a restaurant, or finding your way around, the majority or Taiwanese are very approachable and willing to help you out. Many Taiwanese are also very interested in learning English and about Western culture, so don't be surprised if random people approach and befriend you. This makes Taiwan an ideal place to pick-up a second language and to learn about a fascinating culture that has been around for thousands of years.

$\"DSC06270\"$ $\"DSC06300\"$

3. Convenience is paramount in Taiwan, and public transportation is excellent. Taxis are cheap, buses run late and to practically any destination you could possibly have in mind, and the MRT system makes getting around Taipei(and now Kaohsiung) very easy. And there are plans to further expand the MRT system, which will eventually run all the way from Taoyuan international airport to Taipei city. Usually in North America, when we say a place is nearby, we mean 5-10 minutes by car. In Taiwan, distances are usually measured by foot(except in the county, where having a set of wheels becomes more necessary). When I get hungry, I just walk downstairs and have a ton of options in the neighborhood, not to mention 7-11 around the corner and the night market just a little further down the road. More on night markets in a future post.

$\"IMG_5527\"$

4. Taiwan is a great place for nature lovers. Whether you feel at home surfing or just chilling at the beach, or if a hike through majestic mountains is more your thing, rest assured, there're plenty of amazing places for you to explore. I'll expand on this topic in a future post, but I'll leave you with a few pics of some of my favorite destinations: Penghu and Hualien.

$\"DSC08118\"$ $\"DSC03682\"$

5. It's a fruit lover's paradise. Taiwan has a ton of unique fruits which are either uncommon or unheard of in the USA. A few of my favorites are bājiāo(八蕉), a type of short, sweet banana, huǒlóngguǒ(火龍果) or dragon fruit, and shìzi(柿子) or persimmons, but this topic really deserves a future post of its own. Easy access to a variety of fruits and fresh juice stands makes it easy to get a healthy snack on the run!

$\"f\"$

Chinese phrases of the day:

bājiāo(八蕉)= a type of short, sweet banana

huǒlóngguǒ(火龍果)=dragon fruit

shìzi(柿子)= persimmons

10 August 2013

These Boots were made for Walkin\’!

$\"IMG_5692\"$

(My nice, new pair of Converse I got on my last birthday)

Okay, so not exactly boots. But they were made for walking, so I got that part right at least. Moving on. In my last post I mentioned the significance of the number eight to Taiwanese people. Today I want to introduce my readers to an interesting Chinese superstition,
míxìn(迷信) in Mandarin. In Chinese culture, it is considered taboo, or jìnjì(禁忌) to give your significant other shoes as a gift. The reason being, as I already mentioned, shoes were meant for walking, and if you give your lover a nice pair of sneakers they will use them to walk out of your life. So if you ever give your boyfriend/girlfriend a pair of Converse for his/her birthday, make sure they pay at least a small portion of the price-tag, 100Nt should suffice. That way they aren't a "gift" or lǐwù(禮物).

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Chinese phrases of the day:

míxìn(迷信)= superstition

jìnjì(禁忌)= taboo

lǐwù(禮物)= gift

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Tag: Mandarin

This Little Piggy Went to Market

Unconditional Love

How To Use Chopsticks

Bada-danbing!

Blown Away

Look Who\’s Talking

Look Who\’s Talking

Rain Rain Go Away!

5 Reasons for you to spend a year (or more) abroad in Taiwan.

These Boots were made for Walkin\’!