by Alison | Jun 11, 2025 | Blog, Chinese Language and Culture, Just Life
I love playing games, and Mahjong is no exception. During my first year in China, two of my students approached my friend Megan, and me. “You guys have to learn how to play Mahjong, and we will teach you.” “Ok, sure!” Our first year in China, Megan and I were almost...
by Alison | May 14, 2025 | Stories (Chinese)
译者：厉雪灵感词：钓鱼，日本俄罗斯留学生迈克正磕磕巴巴地读一篇汉语文章，同学们静静听着。读到一个不认识的词，他停了下来，等待老师提示。他认识这个词的第二个字“鱼”，但前面那个字怎么读呢？“钓鱼。”老师念道。“是什么意思？”迈克问道，目光从课本上移开，看向老师，她正斜倚在讲台上，课本在面前摊开。“你想听简短的还是长一点的回答？”老师把眼镜摘下，放到身后的讲台上，迈克向一旁的日本同学腆然一笑。不好意思，迈克不出声地用口型向对方说道。二人知道，教室里所有人都知道，无论他们说什么，最终都会得到一个很长的回答。老师开始滔滔不绝地解释渔业对很多中...
by Alison | May 14, 2025 | Stories (English)
Inspiration Words: Fishing and Japan Mikael (mee-kayl), a Russian student, labored through the Chinese passage while his classmates listened to him read. When he came to a word he couldn’t recognize, he paused and waited for his teacher to offer the word. He knew the...
by Alison | Mar 12, 2025 | Blog, Chinese Language and Culture, Just Life
Last week, I translated a speech for a friend of mine and then interpreted the speech in a live situation. I am definitely not the best translator or interpreter that I know, and I felt like a bit of a fraud standing in front of everyone and trying to translate...
by Alison | Feb 26, 2025 | Blog, Just Life
Conversations with taxi (or didi in China) drivers are almost always interesting. One guy in my city told me about the interesting things people had him transport—like a cat without anyone accompanying the cat. Someone just dropped it off and someone else picked it up...
