User Comments - sushan
sushan
Posted on: The Non-Chinese Speaking Tourist and Toilets
January 14, 2008 at 5:36 AMToilets and handwashing - you learn, generally, not to do this where you eat unless at nicer places, and carry your own paper and handwashing wipes. Not many places have soap, even in schools - though some have bags of salt ; I haven't quit figured that one out. And If you are backpacking add the backpack to your squat practice! They don't have the hoses that you see in India to wash yourself off. Oh, and I am totally used to the lack of privacy now; even when I use a public toilet back home it doesn't bother me if the door won't close.
Posted on: Lost Cell Phone
January 14, 2008 at 3:20 AMFunny, I've never gotten a printed taxi receipt (in sichuan) - they just tear off one or two papers and I can fill in any amount by pen.
Posted on: Feminine Products
January 14, 2008 at 3:02 AMSorry if this is too graphic for some, but the OB tampon box says that it contains 内置式卫生棉球 (nei4 zhi4 shi4 wei4sheng1 mian2qiu2) - internal-insert type sanitary cotton ball. I am still trying to figure out 'applicator' since the only ones that can be bought locally are manual OBs. Re lack of tampon use, I remember they could not be found in Korea either - maybe it is a pan-Asian thing?
Posted on: Too Picky
January 13, 2008 at 12:57 PMAnyone know how would we ask the server about any local or house specialties? That howtoorder site has some useful information, but food in China is very contextual - a list of dishes for one region would not serve as a good local guide in another city or even in another restaurant. If I ask for 春卷 (chun1 juan1 - spring rolls), for instance, from a Taiwanese chain restaurant I get the familiar deep fried cylinders but if I get spring rolls from a sidewalk vendor two blocks away they are little crepes wrapped around pickled carrots and cucumbers and anointed in a peppery vinegary sauce. If I order 牛肉饭 （niu2rou4fan4, beef on rice) at a Xinjang restaurant it is going to be different from another place, etc. (I'm near Chengdu.)
Posted on: Getting Water Delivered
December 31, 2007 at 6:56 AMWater delivery here is usually really efficient - the last time I brought my ticket to the water place they were all sitting down for lunch and the laoban jumped on his bike to bring me the water anyway. Just look for a water place close to your house; at my old place all I had to do was dial and read out my 客户号 (ke4hu4hao4, customer number) and would have water within five minutes. Usually they will ask for a deposit for each 桶 (tong3) on the order of 30 rmb.
Posted on: Ten Four
December 16, 2007 at 2:34 AMHey, why don't we have a lesson on tongue twisters? My students told me one about chemical fertilizers igniting, or something, but I don't remember it... Here in Sichuan you definitely need the hand signals, ten and four sound exactly the same to me.
Posted on: Chinese Breakfast
December 3, 2007 at 2:35 PMLots of ways to make 豆浆. Here is how I used to make it back home, where it retails for an astronomical price: Soak soybeans overnight, then rub off the skins. (Rubbing off skins is time consuming but makes a creamier product I think) Blend beans with water in roughly a 1:1.2 volumetric ratio til fine, then strain through a cheesecloth. Takes a lot of squeezing to get all the liquid out. You can re-blend the okara (bean sludge, don't know the Chinese name for that) with a second batch of water. Heat til not quite boiling and add flavour/sweetener if you want. I added vanilla and honey. I love a cup of warm 豆浆 in the morning for breakfast now that it is cooler, but my local vendor always seems to burn it a bit.
Posted on: Winter Fun
December 3, 2007 at 2:15 PMHave to add 曲棍球 （qu1gun4qiu2), hockey. The bent stick game. Here in China I am reduced to listening to midday internet radio broadcasts of games. I admit I laughed at Chitty's first mention of Chinese skiers. Every mainlander I've gone skiing with in Canada were first or second timers. I remember one guy being amazed that so many children had the afternoon off to have fun instead of studying.
Posted on: How do you take your coffee?
November 27, 2007 at 5:29 AMRarely visited Starbucks back home, but in China Starbucks means free wireless, a smoke-free environment, English magazines to read, and a clean western-style toilet. More than worth the price of admission. Your drink is almost a bonus. A small tea is Y12.
Posted on: Getting Your Hair Done
January 15, 2008 at 6:03 AMIs pear shaped face the same as heart shaped - wide on top, narrow on the bottom? Or the opposite, and if so could you 倒 梨子 (dao4 li2zi3) reverse pear to describe this? How would one ask for graduated layers? Hand motions don't seem to communicate this very well. Thought I was being smart by bringing a picture to my last bad hair appointment, but the guy slowly shaking his head dashed my hopes. I asked for suggestions (你 有 什么 建议? - jian4yi4) but didn't understand them. Oh, and the one word I should have learned before that episode was LENGTH - 长度 chang2du4. To pull your hair back, the verb sounds like jia or zha and I think the same verb describes the manual motion of miking a cow, but I can't find a character for it. John, was that perm in the 80s?