Chinese Lessons

The Big-Cat has come home from Beijing and is teaching me how to speak a little bit of Mandarin (which is all he knows).


knee-how = hello
zai-jen = goodbye
duay = yes
boo-yao = no
shay-shay = thank you
wo-ting boo-dong = I don't understand
mow = cat (I'm not kidding)

There was also a popular verb (bo-cog) created by Westerners for the Olympics which is an acronym of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. Bo-cog is roughly translated as "sorry if you got screwed, but that is a price you pay for doing business in China".

A couple of uses:
- McDonalds was bo-cogged when they built a huge restaurant in the Olympic Green area before they found out that no one without a ticket to an event that day would be let into the Green (restaurant usage was about 25% of what was estimated).
- That not-as-cute little girl was bo-cogged when she was not able to be seen during the opening ceremonies (even though she recorded the song).
- Some citizens of Beijing were bo-cogged when their house and neighborhood were moved so the Chinese government could build the Bird's Nest Stadium.

I wonder what Van-ocked will mean?
PK