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Translation Fails: WeChat Edition

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Language is one of the most interesting, beautifully complicated things that everyone in the world has the opportunity to experience.  Culture, language, understanding of self, and time are inextricably connected, and in order to really learn another language one basically has to completely change the way he thinks about himself, others, and the world. But languages are hard to learn (unless you've got some kind of crazy language-learning gift, which I'm totally not jealous of except I am), and usually it's just easier to go to a dictionary or the internet for a quick, direct translation from some other random language to your own.  They're handy, they're quick, and they're not usually very accurate, which can result in anything from frustrating communication breakdown to mass hilarity. Today's post is hopefully the latter. Most people already know how hilariously inaccurate Google Translate is sometimes (check out Malinda Kathleen Reese's YouTube...
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Second Nature, Part One: 5 Habits You Pick Up In China

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This is not the first time I've been to China.  The first time I came was for five weeks in the summer of 2016 with an organization called ELIC .  After a week of orientation in Beijing, my six-person team taught two 10-day English camps for High Schoolers: one in Wujin, Changzhou and one in Changsha.  Now as I've returned to China for not even a full month yet, I've found myself already falling back into the habits I barely got comfortable with last summer.  Somehow it's just familiar enough to make the transition a little smoother. Never been to China before?  Going to China for the first time and curious as to what to expect culturally?  Here's a quick list of some habits you'll likely pick up (or be forced to pick up) in your first few weeks in country. 1.  How Do These Things Work?      This one's kind of a no-brainer.  The Chinese have been eating almost exclusively with chopsticks for thousands of years, so it...
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Welcome!

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Welcome to That Wai Guo Ren Life ! This blog is an expat (the "wai guo ren's") perspective on living in Mainland China.  It's a place where I can discuss my experiences of living and working in a culture and a country that's quite different from my own, with insights, funny stories, and anecdotes that are hopefully both intriguing and helpful for anyone who is considering visiting or living in China.  Even for those of you who have no desire to come to China I hope that you'll learn a bit more about the Chinese, their rich culture and history, and see the world with a new lens in your "worldview glasses" through reading this blog. New posts will be published once a week, usually on the weekends.  In the meantime, feel free to explore around in the About and Photos tabs, and please check back again! - Soli Deo Gloria! - Chrisi
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