Nancy’s Big Adventure

” … your Chinese is quite good!”

I laughed out loud when the young man obviously eager to carry on a conversation in English suggested that my command of the Chinese language is anything more than a matter of survival phrases, including ni hao (hello), zai jian (goodbye), xie xie (thanks), wo bu dong (I do not understand), and ce suo zai nar? (where is the toilet?).

Yes, pretty darn impressive, I know … 

My recommendation for anyone planning a trip to China is to try learning a few key greetings and phrases. My experience had been that the non-english speakers are perfectly content to continue chattering away in Chinese while I gesture wildly and chatter in English.   And, happily, most transactions close with both parties satisfied with the exchange.  The only exception may be when it comes to ordering food.  

Restaurants are pretty manageable, especially if you keep a running list of foods (in Chinese) that you like and any dishes that you definitely do not want to eat – the servers are very accomodating.  The street markets, on the other hand, can be pretty thrilling – and I look forward to the challenge in Beijing!

I have been advised that tarantulas, cockroaches, maggots, seahorses and bird embryos on sticks are all fair game on the street. Admittedly, you could assume it’s difficult to eat said menu by mistake, but never you never know. Sea cucumbers are reportedly quite yummy, but the spider-like bodies are a little scary-looking and just not my style. The more reputable BBQ-insect stalls will offer you a choice between 5 small brown scorpions or 1 large black scorpion on a stick!  I will have to see it to believe it  …  and will, of course, write about it when I do.  

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 at 11:12 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.