It’s funny, the things you learn from a urologist:
- The left testicle normally hangs lower than the right one, because of the arrangement of the circulatory system.
- The Chinese word for “not” is “bu”, which is important when you’re in Beijing but not so important in Shanghai, where many people speak English.
- If you’re getting weird sensations on the left side of your body, including heightened awareness of your circulatory system, it’s probably stress.
Meanwhile, my mother and my girlfriend have been recommending green tea to me. Mom says it’s good for maintaining or losing weight, as it supposedly affects the way you process your food. My girlfriend said some NGO worker in Korea actually replicated the Super Size Me experiment, but with green tea substituted for the colas, and he suffered none of the ill effects reported by Morgan Spurlock. Which I took to mean it’s probably the cola that’s a killer, and not the burgers… but yeah, maybe green tea has some effect, since according to my mother there have been studies just of the tea consumption that suggest it does really good things for you. Anyway, I like it, and I have it occasionally… actually, something more like daily, now that I’ve got a proper teapot. And I think when we move into our family housing unit, I’ll invest in a water cooler. They come with hot water spouts dispensing water at the perfect temperature for (green) tea.
(I think Orwell was right about black tea — it preferably goes into boiling water.)
Important phrase to know whether in Shanghai or Beijing, especially if you’re a conspicuously white foreigner: bu yao = don’t want (meaning, “I don’t want it”).
Heh… yeah, the urologist taught me that one too. :) Thanks for making sure I know it. It’s burned into my mind now. And “bu hao” is “no good” or “not good”. And… well, you get the idea.
I have ex-students in both Shanghai and Beijing who expressed a desire to be my “dragoman” when I visit, so I’m hoping to pick up a little more from them, should that work out.
Green tea has antioxidants. For maximum effect, you ought to drink at least 5 cups a day.
I’m addicted to Tazo’s Zen. Green tea, lemongrass, some other yummy stuff designed to tickle my particular palatte. (And they serve it at Alamo Drafthouse, so I can watch a movie and drink as many cups of green tea as I want! Which usually works out to 2 or 3. And they cost a lot. But boy, if I’m going to spoil myself, that’s a nice way to do it!)