So I have this book, right? Don’t Joke On The Stairs. The title is based on a sign I saw in Gansu once, in the staircase of a language school.
“Avoid the exchange of jokes while using the stairs, and don’t concentrate on steps that cause trip and fall.”
That pretty much summed up the whole China thing for me. Full of excellent rules and great English, helpful yet stern, and not a little surreal.
It’s also full of tips about how to learn Cantonese and overcome the particular difficulties that white learners of Cantonese face in this strange and wonderful but occasionally frustrating town.
If you like my blog, you’ll like my book. If you hate my blog, you won’t be reading this anyway.
It’s better for everybody that you buy it directly from me, to be honest. Then you can get it signed, and delivered (by post) and… and … well, it’s just better.
Christmas is coming up and I’ve been told by many that Don’t Joke is the ideal gift! Full of information and with shiny colour photos, it is the authoritative book on surreal China today.
Yesterday I went on a high-speed boat trip ruining my hair, but it was worth it. As soon as we got off the open boat, it started raining like – well, normal Hong Kong style. Nothing special. But going home I felt it safest to put my watch in my bag
If you’re learning Cantonese, 落雨 (Lok Yu, ‘Falling Rain’)is one of the best ways to strike up a conversation. Every time I go out in a downpour carrying a rather large umbrella, several locals helpfully tell me that it’s raining. 早晨！落雨吖！Jo San! Lok Yu Ah! (Morning! Falling Rain!) can often be the beginning of a deep and meaningful conversation about water.
When I first heard or saw 落雨 I looked up the word 落 in the dictionary and saw it meant fall. So imagine my mirth when I spotted the word on the front of a tram! 落車， (lok che) Fall Out of the Car, ha ha, excellent! Then I realised it means ‘descend, come down, get out of’ too. Oh well.
But when it rains various animals like cats, dogs and zebras, (or 落狗屎, lok gau si, Falling Dog Shit as it’s called in Cantonese) there’s only one thing to do! Play cards!
P.S.
If you want to know more about Hong Kong weather and other things, take a Cantonese course this summer! Now you can take lessons from all over the world, through the excellent medium of Skype
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