Common Chinese Phrases

For my middle school years, I lived in Hong Kong.  While I was there, I started learning Chinese, as did almost every other student there.  Because all of my friends understood it, we would say short phrases in Chinese every so often.

When I moved back to the US, the habit stuck... and I occasionally forget that I'm no longer surrounded by people who know Mandarin.  So, I decided I would tell you, my fellow friends, what I'm saying in Chinese so you don't think I'm insulting you, because I promise, I'm not! (I'm not THAT mean... Just kidding... I'm really not a mean person, at least according to Devon)

Both "English" and "Chinese"... English is on the right and is written with traditional characters (the hard ones)  and Chinese is on the left and is written with simplified characters (the slightly easier ones that I learned back in +852) (+852 is the area code for Hong Kong).  Image credits to wikipedia.

1. Hello

你好
Nǐ hǎo (Pronounced knee.how)


2. Thank You

谢谢
Xièxiè (Pronounced shay.shay)

3. What

什么
Shénme (Pronounced shun.ma)

4. Why

为什么
Wèishénme (Pronounced way.shun.ma)

5. Very Good

很好
hěnhǎo (Pronounced hen.how)

Thank you to Google for helping me out with the characters (:

If you spend any amount of time with me, these phrases would most likely be good to know (:  but you don't have too...

Have a supreme day (:

One of my Flaws is Chasing Cars... I've had it for 100 years

For those of you who don't know Bastille, Snow Patrol, or Five for Fighting don't know what this blog post is about yet... Well, it's about music.

Music isn't like candy crush–we don't get addicted to it (haha yeah Candy Crush is a bit addicting... just a smidge) and it has actual meaning.

Last year, I listened to Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and even Glee (thank God I'm out of that stage...).  But I didn't listen to them because I felt an emotional connection to them, I listened to them because I didn't know what else to listen to.  They were just noise.

However, this school year I discovered bands and music that I could RELATE to.  It's really important to be able to relate to music because it helps you get through tough situations (and as teenagers, we have A LOT of those, am I right?)

Image generated by wordle

My favourite songs:

1. Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

"Forget what we’re told

Before we get too old

Show me a garden that's bursting into life"

I have no words to express my love for this song... It tells a story about love and excitement and discovery.  Although I'm not in a relationship, it means a lot to me.  The beat is great too, because it's just fast enough to be interesting, but it's not boring.  Also, something you should know before we go on, fast songs aren't really my thing...

2. Desperado by The Eagles 

"Desperado, why don't you come to your senses? 

Come down from your fences, open the gate 

It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you 

You better let somebody love you, before it's too late"

Part of the reason this song means so much to me is because my Dad used to sing it to me so I would fall asleep when I was just a tiny child. This song is full of artistic metaphors and messages of hope, as cheesy as that does sound...It's super relaxing and is my go to song when I'm feeling down.

3. 100 Years by Five for Fighting

15 there's still time for you

Time to buy and time to choose

Hey 15, there's never a wish better than this

When you only got a hundred years to live

No Words.  Just, no words.

This is such a great song.  So if you want the short version of it's meaning, well YOLO.   But it's so much more.  It describes different points in your life and the ups and downs of it, while saying that when you're young (specifically 15 years old) there's still so much for you to experience.  If anyone is feeling bad about their life, I highly recommend it (:  I know it helped me get through a lot!

*Note: These are my own interpretations of songs... sorry if you don't agree, but you also don't live inside my brain...

Some other REALLY great songs:

1. Flaws - Bastille

2. Pompei - Bastille

3. Let it go - The Beatles

4. Imagine - John Lennon 

5. Let Her Go - Passenger

6. Run - Snow Patrol

7. Counting Stars - One Republic

8. Hotel California - The Eagles

9. Aftermath - Lifehouse

10. Falling In - Lifehouse

                                      Along with about a million others...

The Little Efforts

Much to my disappointment, I no longer have a single lunch with two of my best friends, Devon and Lulu.   Although I still have English class with both of them, and AP geography with Lulu, it was a big change from having a chunk of time for socializing with them to in between class periods and after school for a few minutes.

Because of the change, I was incredibly worried that our friendship wouldn't be as strong (which is silly, I mean, it's 20 minutes a day).  Luckily, that hasn't happened!  Knock on Wood, right?

I did learn that the little conversations and the little efforts make a big difference.  For example, every other day, my first period class is at the high school.  However, I still go to the junior high for fifteen minutes just to see Devon, Lulu and some other friends.  Although it's not a lot, it's a huge difference, and it shows that I care about them, and that I want to spend time with them.

Overall, changing schedules can suck, a lot, but I think going out of your way to do something nice and to show that they matter a lot can really help.

If you're in a similar situation or you're a really busy person, this can apply to you.  Finding five or ten minute periods just to say hi and ask how a friend is doing can go a long ways.

Devon is a really cool person(:  He taught me how to cube, and we go skiing a lot (even though he is about a gazillion times faster than me... haha oh well).  He's a really cool, funny person and hanging out with him is so much fun (:

Lulu(: I had a picture but she didn't like it... so later (: She's my bestie!  We hang out a lot together and have a sleepover almost every week.  We ski a lot, drink way too much tea (way too much...), and watch a bunch of movies.  She's kind of obsessed with Tumblr... Oh, and also, SHERLOCK<3.