shaffej7070 Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Nice list Jesse. I gotta get me one of those foot massage thingies sometime. BTW, since Christine's still asleep, I can't ask her what maidan is. What's maidan mean? From your post it looks to mean "Check please"? Skip the foot massage (IT FEELS SO GOOD WHEN IT'S OVER BECAUSE IT HURTS SO MUCH WHILE THEY'RE DOING IT) and go for the full body massage Dave... Depends who your masseuse is. I've had foot massages in northern, southern and western China, and most were pleasant...except that one in Kunming that felt like my bones were being crushed. Link to comment
david_dawei Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 (edited) Nice list Jesse. I gotta get me one of those foot massage thingies sometime. BTW, since Christine's still asleep, I can't ask her what maidan is. What's maidan mean? From your post it looks to mean "Check please"?According to my limited Mandarin thats exactly what it means. I thought it refered to the server... 买单 (mai3 dan1) ; to pay the bill服 务 员(fu2 wu4 yuan2) ; to request the waiter/waitress Although in north it is said in more Bejing mandarin with the ending "r" sound as is typical on many words... when I say it, is sounds something like phonetic like "Fu Yu-Are". Great lists.. I see my favorites being mentioned... Edited October 31, 2008 by DavidZixuan (see edit history) Link to comment
rogerluli Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Wow Dave. Very nice list indeed. I'm impressed. I didn't think you would do it. I like being proven wrong in this way. I've proven you wrong numerous times and you've never thanked me... Link to comment
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Okay, my glasses are a little rose-colored at times, but here are ten things I like about China... 1. Spike heels. Man, I just love these things. And Asian girls just know how to wear them! 2. Chicken Heads. Well no, not really. I do enjoy the look on the server's face when I ask them to remove the head from the chicken in my soup though. 3. Maidan. It never ceases to amaze me how everyone in a restaurant stops what they are doing, and first looks, then quickly comes to bring your bill; especially after you get confident enough to say Maidan loudly enough. You just don't get service in a restaurant like that in the US. 4. Fruits and Vegetables. They are just everywhere, and varieties that you will not find anywhere else. I love how you can take your time to pick through, and how many vendors will even help you pick the best ones. After all that work, they weigh it with their hand-held scale and give you the price. 5. Taxi Rides. I'm a maniac driver anyway, and I usually can never get there fast enough. Chinese taxi drivers satisfy my adrenalin addiction by finding every imaginable way on earth to beat the traffic. 6. Rock star stares. Being stared at, can take some getting used to. I've been learning to take this in stride, by believing that I'm an extremely good-looking rock star. I feel special. 7. Haircuts. After getting a wonderful scalp, neck, and shoulder massage, what can you say about someone spending more than one-hour to cut your hair for almost nothing. 8. Foot Massage. It hurts so good to be pampered. 9. Night time. Every night, Chinese cities come alive; especially on weekends. Night markets, bargains, and people everywhere. 10. Sense of Family. I've not seen more love an devotion amongst family members anywhere on earth.Nice list Jesse. I gotta get me one of those foot massage thingies sometime. BTW, since Christine's still asleep, I can't ask her what maidan is. What's maidan mean? From your post it looks to mean "Check please"?According to my limited Mandarin thats exactly what it means. I thought it refered to the server... It more literally means "my bill, or my check. If you want to address a specific server, it's acceptable to say to a young woman, xiao jie, or xiao mae, and for a man, fu wu yuan. Link to comment
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Wow Dave. Very nice list indeed. I'm impressed. I didn't think you would do it. I like being proven wrong in this way. I've proven you wrong numerous times and you've never thanked me... I'm trying really hard to remember one of those times, but right now it escapes me. Nevertheless, you're welcome... Link to comment
rogerluli Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Wow Dave. Very nice list indeed. I'm impressed. I didn't think you would do it. I like being proven wrong in this way. I've proven you wrong numerous times and you've never thanked me... I'm trying really hard to remember one of those times, but right now it escapes me. Nevertheless, you're welcome... After you wake up a bit more and have a nice plateful of ANGRY EGGS perhaps you'll remember... Link to comment
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Wow Dave. Very nice list indeed. I'm impressed. I didn't think you would do it. I like being proven wrong in this way. I've proven you wrong numerous times and you've never thanked me... I'm trying really hard to remember one of those times, but right now it escapes me. Nevertheless, you're welcome... After you wake up a bit more and have a nice plateful of ANGRY EGGS perhaps you'll remember... I just love me some eggs. Mixed in some with my pancakes this morning, and I still cannot remember being wrong. I guess that goes along with being a good looking rock star in China... Link to comment
david_dawei Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 It more literally means "my bill, or my check. If you want to address a specific server, it's acceptable to say to a young woman, xiao jie, or xiao mae, and for a man, fu wu yuan.I posted the chinese... the first character is literally to "pay"... but the phrase actually originates from cantonese; and mandarin made a character 'loan' of changing to the 'pay/buy/money' character. In my wife's home town, you never say "xiao jie", as this is slang for the ladies of the evening... so one has to know the local useage. When we were in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, we rarely heard 'fu wu yuan' but more likely to hear 'xiao jie' or 'xiao mei'... Link to comment
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 It more literally means "my bill, or my check. If you want to address a specific server, it's acceptable to say to a young woman, xiao jie, or xiao mae, and for a man, fu wu yuan.I posted the chinese... the first character is literally to "pay"... but the phrase actually originates from cantonese; and mandarin made a character 'loan' of changing to the 'pay/buy/money' character. In my wife's home town, you never say "xiao jie", as this is slang for the ladies of the evening... so one has to know the local useage. When we were in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, we rarely heard 'fu wu yuan' but more likely to hear 'xiao jie' or 'xiao mei'... So very true David. It can be quite offensive in some cities to use the term, xiao jie, for the reason you mentioned. It is however often used and acceptable in Nanjing. A nicer greeting is to use, xiao mei (like saying shou as in ouch, and mei and in may), or little sister, and of course the more formal fu wu yuen (or foo woo, you en). When at a bar in Taiwan, I called one of the waitresses "xiao jie" and received a very stern look in reply. I said, bu hao yi si (boo how eee siu), or I screwed up, I'm sorry. From there on, I called her xiao mei. Link to comment
LaurenAmber Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Hmm here's my 10 that i love 1) The family unit. I have never seen a family as close as my Chinese family. It really amazes me.2) The scenery. I spent half my time in the countryside and every morning the view was just breathtaking.3) The 'waste not' mentality. Granted i'm not gonna eat chicken feet anytime soon lol, but the food really shows that they don't waste anything, really awesome.4) Cussing out the racist landlady. She was so abusive to me, but also knew NO English. She was so abd so it was really fun to just say my peace without worrying about her knowing haha5) The fashion. Chinese girls seemed to have the best fashion sense i've seen.6) Prices! It rocks to get clothes that in the US would cost me abot $40-$50 for only $7 lol7) The flavor of Coke. Y'all might think i'm weird but Coke tastes different in China. (Japan and Korea too)But i love the taste, i tried to drink a Coke here in America and it just tasted bad.8) Private rooms at the restaurants. The reaturants where instead of sitting in some booth in a large room willed with tons of other people, you're in a private room, sitting at a round table. I loved it because it felt so much more personal.9) Carrefour! haha For a little white girl like me that can't eat Chinese food, this place was a lifesaver lol10) The villages. Hard to describe but the villages were amazing. The people had simple lives, but were so happy because they had each other. They found joy in the simple things, had a great sense of humor, and were some of the most genuine people i came across in my whole trip Link to comment
LaurenAmber Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 and where I was saying "Xiao mei" to the waitress was quite popular. Which was ironic because my ABC friends call me "Xiao mei" and also i am a waitress on the side in the US lol Tho actually i met a group of 'ladies of expensive sensibilities' and they were some of the most hilarious people. They looked at me like a rockstar and whatnot and were really sweet. I guess 'they're people too' should've occured in my mind. I was jsut also suprised how open it was to see them. Link to comment
izus Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 (edited) It more literally means "my bill, or my check. If you want to address a specific server, it's acceptable to say to a young woman, xiao jie, or xiao mae, and for a man, fu wu yuan.I posted the chinese... the first character is literally to "pay"... but the phrase actually originates from cantonese; and mandarin made a character 'loan' of changing to the 'pay/buy/money' character. In my wife's home town, you never say "xiao jie", as this is slang for the ladies of the evening... so one has to know the local useage. When we were in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, we rarely heard 'fu wu yuan' but more likely to hear 'xiao jie' or 'xiao mei'...xiao mei sounds like some type of dumpling.... hmmmmm....... he said dumpling........ Edited November 1, 2008 by izus (see edit history) Link to comment
izus Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 9) Carrefour! haha For a little white girl like me that can't eat Chinese food, this place was a lifesaver lol you went to China and you cant eat chinese food? wow!! Link to comment
LaurenAmber Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 9) Carrefour! haha For a little white girl like me that can't eat Chinese food, this place was a lifesaver lol you went to China and you cant eat chinese food? wow!! Well i can eat Chinese food in America just fine. When i ate authentic Chinese food it was like getting food poisoning everytime. Someone on here mentioned MSG allergy and i spoke to my doctor. Turns out that's about right. I'm allergic to MSG. Sucks that i've found out all my allergies the hard way Link to comment
steveandrong Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Nice list Jesse. I gotta get me one of those foot massage thingies sometime. BTW, since Christine's still asleep, I can't ask her what maidan is. What's maidan mean? From your post it looks to mean "Check please"?According to my limited Mandarin thats exactly what it means. I thought it refered to the server... Âòµ¥ (mai3 dan1) ; to pay the bill·þ Îñ Ô±(fu2 wu4 yuan2) ; to request the waiter/waitress Although in north it is said in more Bejing mandarin with the ending "r" sound as is typical on many words... when I say it, is sounds something like phonetic like "Fu Yu-Are". Great lists.. I see my favorites being mentioned...and i think many cities and areas have their own little spin on how to say...in Xi'an, is always said as fu yan...many differents dialects Link to comment
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