|
Sometimes I catch a sight out of the bus
window, or have a brief encounter with the culture. Too small to merit a
page of their own, these moments are recorded here as Glimpses into life in
Shenzhen. More will be added as they happen.
True Love: A man and a woman riding
bikes on a busy highway, side-by-side (despite trucks whizzing by), his right
hand resting between her shoulder blades as he steered his bike with his left
hand. (10/29/2004)
A new euphemism: My friend told me
that his Chinese girlfriend didn't know how to inform him of her grandmother's
death, and finally came up with: "My grandmother finished life." (10/29/2004)
Resolution: A pedestrian got hit by
a car, and rolled about 10 feet (3 meters). He got up, limping; argued
loudly with the driver for almost 10 minutes (he wasn't in the nearby crosswalk
when hit); and finally got into the car, presumably for a ride to the hospital. (10/28/2004)
Cargo Bicycle Chronicles 1: [I will
often be telling you of amazing things I have seen transported on ordinary
bicycles.] One man, one 2-wheel bike, four
double-sized mattresses on the rack behind him, and resting at a slant on the
back of his head. Even better when the wind blows. (10/28/2004)
Fitting: One of my students missed
the first class meeting. When he appeared today at the second, I asked,
Why? Couldn't find the room, he said. OK, What's your name?
"Lazy." (10/21/2004)
My faux pas: I am teaching an elite group of students who will go to Beijing for a speech competition next month.
I had this conversation by text with one of them today:
-
R: i am afraid i cant come to ur class today because of a party meeting, sorry about it
-
ME: PARTY?!
-
R: Chinese Communist Party (10/21/2004)
Menu: One could go mad trying to
record all the "Chinglish" encountered, but one 112-item menu stood
out. Highlights:
-
Two of the eight under
"Congee": "Spring onion a laurel blossom fillet gruel"
and "Salty chicken matrimony vine gruel." [So many gruels,
so little time.]
-
Three of the thirteen under
"Steamed": "Multicolored cow cypress leaf," "The
ancient method steams the sparerib," and "Tore the chicken spring
roll." [Beggars description]
-
Three of the seven under "Rice
roll": "Preserved egg roast filet of pork bowel," "Fresh
shrimp in fresh vegetable silk bowel," and The xo sauce silver bud
fries the bowel powder." [Can't get enough bowel.]
-
One of the
eight under "Snack": "The joss stick fryings the gold
pastry." [???]
-
One of the
twenty under "Assort buns": "Verdant a vegetable
dumpling." [Actually sounds good]
-
Two of the nine under
"Deep-fried": "Pig's blood jello w/Chinese chive" and
"The joss stick fryings the horses hoofs pastry." [Hold the chive,
please; it detracts from the pig's blood]
-
One of the
eighteen under "Elegant dessert": "Honey BBQ pork cake"
[Yum! "Mom, can we have pork cake for dessert
tonight?" "No, Honey, that's only for elegant
dessert."]
-
One of the
seven under "Beverace": "Classy milk" [Who wants to
drink ordinary milk?]
I have skipped everything under "Shan
shou chu dian" (mostly uninteresting, Chinglish-wise) and "Chu
shi tui jie," whose twelve items are simply transcribed, but not translated
(useless). (10/11/2004)
|
