And not some memorized, pre-fab joke. Anyone can do that.
Today’s Mystery: HOW Is This Woman Walking (video)
How this this physically possible?! This woman appeared to be walking totally normally until I looked down.
Cantonese versus Mandarin
Mandarin is easier (4 tones instead of 9), spoken by 10 times more people, but for me Cantonese wins because… um… I’m in Hong Kong. So guess what people are not speaking here: Mandarin. Everyone speaks English in HK, so I don’t need to know Canto for any practical reason. I’m just curious about things I overhear … Continue reading
How to learn Cantonese for free in Hong Kong
I’m a believer in not having to pay for something you can get for free, and learning Cantonese is no different. Especially if you’re in Hong Kong! 1. Download this free podcast off itunes: Naked Cantonese. It’s awesome. (I have no idea why it’s called Naked Cantonese…) Cecilie is a Norwegian lady on a mission … Continue reading
My schtick
Every morning I hear this as the elevator arrives at my floor at work.
Dragon fruit
On the way to work I’ve been picking up a $1.50 fruit cup. This is watermelon, cantaloupe and dragon fruit, which I’d never heard of until I came here. Tastes something like a pear or honeydew. A tiny bit like a kiwi. A more revealing pic of dragon fruit I grabbed of the internet:
Most boring post ever
In the near future, I hope to replace this post with a legitimate one. But here’s what you get for now:
Friday French Lunch
Went to La Crêperie for lunch today for breton galettes (thin buckwheat pancakes with various toppings). It’s right around the corner from work: G/F, 69 Jervois St., Sheung Wan. Look, Rico came with us! (And he let me photograph his lunch.) I learned the phrase, “sek TSI la-lay” which is not at all polite, so don’t do … Continue reading
Weekly-Chip-Something
Chip‘s a good sport. I need to think of a regular segment I can do with her. “Weekly-something with Chip.” Something. As it turns out, she does a decent cat impression. Unfortunately, she no longer wants to appear on camera, so she drew her face on a post-it instead. Click here for 14 seconds of … Continue reading
Chicken chest! (And other things that actually make sense.)
My coworkers have an app that sends certain local lunch menus to their phones. Today’s looked like this: They tell me in basic terms what the choices are and we order lunch. Today Rico explained, “This one’s fried fish… this one’s chicken chest…”
My homebody ways may save me yet again.
After I moved to Ohio from San Francisco in 2009, a coworker remarked that Columbus must be quite an adjustment. Really it wasn’t. Aside from having to buy a vehicle – I don’t enjoy driving or the endless related expenses – my life didn’t feel that much different. I still woke up around the same … Continue reading
New fb friend.
Chip and I are fb friends now. I guess “Chip” is her nickname. You won’t believe what her real name is. Her real, actual-Chinese, name. (Could she be any more adorable?!)
What’s on the exact opposite side of the world?
For me, it’s Argentina, close to the Bolivia border. If you’re anywhere in the US, your opposite point is the middle of the Indian Ocean, miles and miles from anything. Check it out here. It’s a slow day at work.
How long does a letter take to get to Hong Kong from the US?
Ten days. (And about a dollar.) Postmarked the 3rd. Today is the 13th. Thanks to Angela for this bit of research. Here’s my address for everyone participating in the exclusive timeshare offer in the previous post:
Weekend meal-outings and Ian. (video!)
Last night Ian and I went to an enormous mall called IFC not too far from our hotel and ate at a Thai place there called Greyhound. Spent about $38 each. I forgot to take pics of the food except for one dish. (I’ll try and do better.) After Ian spent 15 minutes looking at … Continue reading
Weekend odds & ends.
Every weekday morning as soon as I step out of my hotel, I’m have to walk by this quite-stinky fish-based store. Everything in there is a dried out part of an ocean-dweller and hoo-boy, does it stink. And here we have two buildings on my walk to work: Blissful Building and Wrong Design. Not sure … Continue reading
It’s been 4 weeks.
…but it feels like a month. Just kidding, it feels like way longer than a month. It’s definitely better than at the beginning. And it hasn’t been raining, thank God. Here’s the view out my window this morning: Starting to feel more comfortable at work; most of my coworkers really seem to know what they’re … Continue reading
A square is a mouth!
I only like simple Chinese symbols. So not this one: It probably means “guy tripping another guy while trying to open an umbrella.” That’s what it looks like. Well forget that symbol! I hate it anyways. Check out this beauty: Guess what it means. Mouth. A simple square is a mouth! I love it. From … Continue reading
Another fuchsia twin!
Charlie’s an account guy. His dad’s from New Zealand and his mom is HK Chinese. He speaks English with a NZ accent and almost never speaks Cantonese. When coworkers talk to him in Canto he answers in English. We both wore fuchsia today, so I made him take a photo with me.
What I do at work (sometimes.)
It’s probably only 5% of my day, but I wish it were 100%! Rico, the Chinese copywriter, translates the Chinese that he writes into English (red) and I fix it all pretty (blue.) Here’s a small excerpt. Is it hopelessly nerdy that I like this so much?
O hi, Asia! 