Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Happy Virus...The Perfect Gift

I love the freshmen Class 2 girls. Today during our break they came to find me (I don't teach their class) and gave me a gift. I opened it, and lo and behold, a compact! It is adorned with a bear dressed up in a peacoat drinking some kind of cocktail and the phrase "Happy Virus" on it. Very sparkly and very fashion. It is the perfect gift because the other day at dinner they were asking me what I eat for breakfast and I said that I eat oatmeal sometimes and junk food other times. I said I didn't buy baozi (steamed bun stuffed with meat) or man tou (steamed bun) on the way to class because I was afraid of having it stuck in my teeth and teaching that way and I didn't have a mirror. But now I do! So I can eat baozi and mantou everyday on the way to class and be fat and happy.

Chinese lesson of the Day: Fat is not an insult here. Fat has a positive connotation of being pleasantly plump and cute. If you want to insult someone about his or her weight you need to call them 肥 (fei2) - which I believe translates more to "fatty."

3 comments:

Shauna said...

Hey! My name is Shauna and I am a sophomore at the College of Charleston. I am in an Anthropology Education class and our next big assignment is exploring the experience of someone teaching in a foreign country through their experience of Peace Corps. Your blog really caught my attention and I would love to learn more about your experience as well as the education system in Bolivia. If you would be interested in helping me with this project please email me at snbuczko@yahoo.com. Thanks so much!

Unknown said...

such thoughtful students! mmmm mantou...mmmm...baozi...grumble brumble [stomach]

Unknown said...

i thought you had a new years resolution to post once a week? :-P