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felix

Chinese food in Germany

By Food

If you often deal with people who have experience of China, or have even been to Asia yourself, then this problem will not be unknown to you: The food even in a not cheap Chinese restaurant in Germany may simply not taste the same as what you could get everywhere in Asia after all. In fact, it is not easy to find authentic Chinese food in Germany, perhaps precisely because migration from China to Germany, unlike in the UK for example, started relatively late.

In this very entertaining and entertaining TedTalk, Jennifer Lee takes a close look at “Chinese” food abroad, noting that different countries have their very own Chinese cuisine, always tailored to local tastes. In doing so, she also shows how the understanding of what Chinese eat reflects the historical development of the Chinese minority in the US.

From her own experience, however, this is also the case with European food in Asia. And besides, there is an increasing amount of good Chinese food everywhere in Germany, and even restaurants that specialise in one of China’s many regional cuisines. Feel free to contact me if you need restaurant recommendations!

 

 

Understanding the Chinese calendar and Chinese zodiac

By Chinese Culture

As you might have read or seen on TV, the Chinese cultural sphere celebrated the Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year, in late January. You might also have seen that the lunar year that began on 28th January is known as the year of the rooster. If you have wondered about the story behind the Chinese zodiac, this TedEd video outlines perfectly how this cycle works, and also provides great insight into the traditional calendar still applied in the Chinese-speaking world and other countries such as Korea and Vietnam to date. Prior to adoption of the Gregorian calendar for official purposes, this calendar had been used for all occasions — which actually makes the work of historians even harder, as 60 years was the longest period of time that could be measured under this system: Once the 60 years were up, the cycle would restart at year 1. To make matters even more complicated, each new emperor ascending to the throne would announce a new era name — and the cycle would restart at 1, regardless of which year it had been. But that would be a story for another post.

 

A Little Introduction to Conference Interpreting

By Interpreting

This little TedTalk by professors teaching on the MA Conference Interpreting at the Monterrey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) is great introduction to the two main modes of conference interpreting: simultaneous and consecutive interpreting.