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Xian zai, wo bu shi waiguoren. Wo guo hui jia. Wo hen gao xin yingwei wo hen wo mama he baba, dan shi wo ye hen xiang zhong guo. Shenme shihou wo hui qu zhong guo? Wo bu zhi dao. Wo yao hui zhong guo. Zai jian zhong guo.

Now, I’m not a foreigner. I went back home. I am very happy because I really missed my mom and dad, but I really miss China, too. When will I go back to China? I don’t know. I want to return to China. See you soon, China.

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In today’s look at slang that I’ve never used and may not understand, I’ve found the wonderful phrase “straw in the wind”. Once again this book comes out on top with a dynamite explanation, but first I’d like to provide you with some possible other definitions. This could relate to the Kansas song, “Dust in the Wind” which explains that man and life are just dust in the wind. But that’s apparently not even close. After the jump, wonderful examples that make this phrase your new favorite phrase.

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Have you ever had a difficult task to accomplish and you passed it along to someone else? Or perhaps, you had a plan to ruin the graduation ceremony at your college, but the plan hinged on someone mooning the whole audience and everyone was afraid to be that person. In this case, you can ask, “Who will bell the cat?” Read the rest of this entry »

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Here in Wuhan, people work a lot. Definitely more than my 15 hours (maximum) a week. Everyday, from 12 to 2, my students go off to take naps, while the teachers also go off to take naps. In the beginning of my trip, I thought I could use this time to wisely set up my life. As you may remember from such banking pieces as this and this one, you can see that sometimes business is not running on full tilt. Read the rest of this entry »

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It is very funny when I think I have covered the English vernacular well, just to find that there’s even funnier ways of saying things. Have you ever been “all at sea”? It is today’s delicious english slang. It means being confused, I am glad this time the explanatory examples are good. It is comparable to “it’s all greek to me,” which is also in this book, but I thought a little too popular. Read the rest of this entry »

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English slang is often a mystery to Chinese people and the same goes for Chinese slang to me. I was told last night that the Chinese phrase for Philips light (like the lightbulb company), which I forget how to say, means coming between a couple, similar to a third wheel. Today, however, I have an interesting English slang to provide you with.

Being green can be defined as a “young, naive, or new,” I think. I’m sure some of my friends will tell me what this means later, but from reading the examples, I believe it means that. I think it comes from things being ripeningly (not a word) green or leaves being newly green. Read the rest of this entry »

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I haven’t written about a good Chinese idiom in a long while, not because I stopped learning, but instead, I have just not been learning idioms. I have been building my vocabulary to impress the Americans at home. Today, however, I am able to present you with a beautiful one.

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When China isn’t polluting or putting torches on buses, they like to get down and dirty on some athletic competitions. Ping Pong’s name likely comes from the Chinese name, ping pang qiu, which is ping pong ball in english. This continues the trend of sports having qiu in the name of sports (lanqiu is basket ball, etc). Here it is played like it is much more than the family sport I have come to see it as.

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