Malaysia Truly Asia

Malaysia Trully Asia, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

I’m back from a 2 weeks trip in Malaysia with my friend Irene. Malaysia is one of my favorite countries and it was great to go back there for a third time (been there in 2000 and 2003 already.) The place sure did develop a lot since I last visited, but the vibe is still the same. It is very interesting to see people from different ethnic background work and socialize together.
Malaysia is a bit like South East Asia, China and India rolled into one! And almost everybody speaks English, so going around is very easy and pleasant!

 

My New Chinese Books

My New Chinese Books, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

For anyone who’s learning Mandarin, you know how hard it is to acquire new vocabulary, and specially remember it for more than a week. Finding the right material for your needs is also a challenge.
Here in Seoul, there are tons of nice textbooks to learn Chinese, the only problem for me is: they are written in …. Korean!!! Now that doesn’t help me much, does it!?!?! Try advanced grammar pattern explanation in Korean…

The books I brought with me from Taiwan are a) outdated (wonder if they were ever actual as a lot of content sounds funny even to Taiwanese!),  b) in traditional characters that are not in use anymore in China, and c) really geared towards local expressions and vocabulary that Mainlanders don’t use (and really make you sound like a country bumpkin!!!) On top of it, each book is about an inch thick and weighs 1 kilo, so they are not convenient to tote around. So goodbye Shida books!!!  

I found this nice online bookstore with great prices and fast shipping: WINCLC, a Window to Chinese Language and Culture. They have a great selection and charge a reasonable fee for shipping (it cost 10 USD to ship the 3 books on the picture and I got them withing 1 week.) Service is great, you email an inquiry and you get an answer in good English within 24 hours. Choosing only a few books was hard (temptation temptation…… as most of the books are priced at under 10 USD, if not 5 USD, including 1 or 2 cds), but I went for these 3 books: Talking About Chinese Culture (a bit too easy but a good way to get used to simplified characters,) Chinese for Economics and Trade (oh dear Lord, that one I keep for dessert, as the vocabulary is really not ‘daily’ stuff) and Advanced Hanyu Kouyu (just the right level and the dialogues are fun.)

What do you use to learn Chinese? What works for you????

 

In Answer to Chiyo’s Post…

Birth Announcements, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

The author of a blog I’m following religiously, Chiyo of Stuff Korean Moms Like, posted an entry about the pride Korean parents (and pretty much all North Asians while you’re at it) take when they give birth to a boy.  Traditionally, they hang chili peppers around the house in celebration of the arrival of the ‘jewel of the family’ (for a better explanation, please refer to the entry Their Sons.) I was surprised to find out there is also ’something to display’ when a girl is born. Sorry about the poor picture, it was taken at the Korean Folk Museum with strong spotlights in the background, but we can still see the 3 strings of decorations. The ones on the left and the  right are for boys: chilis (because it looks like a …) and coal (to ward of evil.) The middle one is for girls: folded paper and pine needles.

Now, my friend Ming, with whom I was visiting the museum, observed that the paper looked like tissue paper to wipe tears…. I thought to myself: pine needles, because you want to whip yourself with pine branches upon your failure, the birth of a ‘lesser being’, a girl??? Our friendly yet sticky self-imposed guide explained that the folded paper was to represent purity (read virginity, a paramount virtue for women) and the pine needles were not for self-mortification but to symbolize sewing needles, in hope the girl would become good at embroidery and sewing…. Now THAT is reassuring!!! (I promise, Chiyo, if I’m ever blessed with a baby girl, I’ll hang the decorations YOU suggested around my house!!!)

 

Inwangsan, take II

Today was a great day to go exploring Inwangsan mountain near downtown Seoul. Diana and I went there a few times already, as it’s a not-too-steep climb, it’s really near the city center, and it offers great views of the area.

We went up another path than our usual. Some parts had ropes for the climbers to grab!!! That was fun!

The view from the top was great.

We took another path back down that was only stairs. Darn happy it was on the way down and not up, I would have cried!!!

And then, after all that climbing, a good reward was de rigueur!

 

 

 

Bukchon Hanok Village

Bukchon Hanok Village, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

Last Saturday was a nice sunny afternoon so Diana and I braved the yellow dust (yep, in fall this year, aren’t we lucky!) and headed for the area of Seoul called Bukchon Hanok Village. To call that place village is a wishful thinking, as the place consists of a few blocks, but it’s still really worth a visit. Several ‘dongs’ (street/blocks) of well-preserved traditional Korean houses grace the slopes of a hill, overlooking downtown Seoul.

The contrast of old and new is interesting and I’ll try to go back there when the sky is nice and blue, like it usually is in autumn. It would also look good with a bit of snow!

Houses in that area are insanely expensive and are mostly passed on from generation to generation. Some of these courtyard houses are open to the public as they host art galleries or shops. It’s a good opportunity to look at the architecture and imagine members of the ‘yangban’ (elite) living there a mere century or more ago!

What is your favorite historical neighborhood in your city?

 

An easy recipe

Beet salad, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

I haven’t posted recipes in a while, so here is a really simple one. Sorry for the saturated picture, it’s not the most photogenic salad in the world!

Beet Salad:
- shredded boiled beet
- shredded apple, about 1/4 of the amount of beet
- raisins, according to taste
- walnuts, according to taste also
- mayonnaise, enough to make a nice creamy salad
- salt and pepper.

Mix and enjoy!

What is your quick and easy salad you can’t stop eating these days?

 

Happy 60th China!

60th anniversary haircut, found on a chinese website.

Here is a guy getting a special haircut for the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, picture taken from the Chinese press. I was looking for a cool pic to illustrate this special day, I think this is quite unique…

All that to say: happy anniversary China!!!

For the occasion, QQ.com  (the most popular Chinese portal at the moment) asked users to put pictures of their family over the decades. You don’t need to read Chinese to appreciate the pictures, just click on any given picture with a number and the page will pop up. Enjoy!

 

Yet another cool blog

kimono (from the Mitsukoshi website), originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

Thanks to Mrs. Bao, a long time friend and asiophile, I got to get my fix of kimono and yukata culture through this really nice blog, Japan Now & Then, kept by a Western woman living in Tokyo. She is posting frequent updates about where to buy kimonos and how to wear and coordinate them. Makes me want to visit Japan again, and of course own a few of these gems!
Enjoy!

 

Chinopsis

 

Photo by Adeline Cassier, inspiration by China, the one and only!

I discovered Adeline Cassier’s blog on Elodie’s blog, both French expats living in China. Chinopsis showcases fabulous pictures of ever changing China. Please go have a look! This doesn’t help me missing China in any way though!

 

Shinjuku Incident

Shinjuku Incident, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

I watched this movie last night and was amazed at Jackie Chan’s performance. The movie relates the story of illegal Chinese immigrants in Tokyo in the early 90s. Very far from the usual Chan character of a nice guy that gets into a lot of kungfu fights, this movie shows a dramatic Chan. His character is complex, not all good and not all bad, and Chan is very very credible in his portray. There are some fights in the movie and a lot of violence, which is very different from his usual style.
Well worth seeing if you like anything related to the underworld or Asia! It’s my new favorite Chan movie. I specially like it because it illustrates the plight of Chinese immigrants, for whom life is seldom easy, wherever they chose to go. But thanks to their community spirit and their hard work, they often make it big and help out their fellow countrymen. A lot to be said about that, specially when I think how individualistic most western expats are overseas… Granted, most of us are here for one or two years, do our thing, pack our stuff and go back home to ‘real life’… But for the ones, like me, that chose to be long term expats, it’s always funny to see how our networks pale in comparison to, let’s say, the Chinese diaspora abroad!

Read the description of the movie on Wikipedia

What is your favorite Jackie Chan’s movie???