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Owen in China, Of pigs, flights and attendants

Of pigs, flights and attendants

Hello everyone, this is Owen and this is my podcast for Friday 27th of February, 2015. Greetings from paradise! No, I'm not talking about China. I'm talking to you from Isla Isabela, the largest island of the Galapagos Islands. The weather is beautiful and sunny. It is very hot though. In fact I have a nasty [1] sunburn on my back. Apart from that everything is wonderful. I've snorkelled with large turtles, seen gigantic tortoises and walked on the beach alongside numerous iguanas. And I'm planning to climb the largest volcano on the island. On today's episode I'll be talking about my early Spring Festival, getting to Ecuador and a little girl named Anita.

As I mentioned last time, a friend of mine organised an early Chinese New Year celebration for me in his hometown. I knew that his hometown was about 400km south-east of Kunming, very close to the Vietnamese border. But I didn't know where exactly he was taking me or what to expect. According to him his hometown is in the countryside. Over the years I have come to learn, though, that in China anything that isn't a city with a million people is considered the countryside. It turns out that his hometown is roughly the size of Zurich. I guess for China that is the countryside. On the evening we arrived, my friend's uncle invited us all to his house. The family had prepared a large meal for us. A few of their friends turned up as well. The south of China, along the border with Vietnam, is home to the largest minority in China. The minority's name is Zhuang. My friend and his family are from this minority. Zhuang people also live across the border in Vietnam. Their language doesn't sound anything like Mandarin. To me, it sounds more similar to south-east Asian languages, especially Vietnamese. The majority of Zhuang people speak Mandarin too. So during our dinner they were speaking a mix of the two languages. I was sitting at a table with my friend's uncle, who as the host gave a short speech to welcome the guests. He also briefly spoke about all the food on the table. And then he solemnly [2] expressed his apologies for the food not being very delicious. This is standard etiquette in China. Nevertheless it made me smile because at the table next to us was his wife. And it was his wife who had cooked all the food. Before this trip people warned me that the Zhuang people enjoy drinking. Besides beer they like to drink their homemade alcohol. So I was prepared, but I wasn't looking forward to their local drink. I've tried enough Chinese alcohol in my days and I cannot say I enjoy it. My heart sank when they brought out a large plastic canister. The sort of canister you would usually fill with petrol. This one was filled with mijiu, an alcohol made from corn. Not all that different in taste from petrol, I imagine. Thankfully, the hosts didn't insist. Out of politeness, I tried a little sip. After that I stuck to [3] beer. The next morning we had to get up early. I wasn't feeling great. I had a bad headache from the night before and a bad cold. The weather didn't help. It was grey and wet and the air looked polluted. We were in the middle of the city, not in the peaceful countryside as I had thought. It was in the city, under a newly built overhead motorway where they suddenly announced: "Alright, time to slaughter [4] the pig!” It turned out that they had ordered a whole pig for the big celebration that night and that they were going to slaughter the pig themselves. As we waited for the pig to be delivered, I couldn't help wondering why they had chosen to slaughter the pig there. Next to us there was a large building site and lots of builders making a lot of noise. Big trucks kept driving by and there was a lot of traffic everywhere. When the pig eventually arrived, I couldn't help but feel very sorry for it. The whole thing spoilt [5] my appetite for the day. Later during the celebration, I only managed to eat a few vegetables whilst everyone else was enjoying all the fresh meat. The celebration itself was very loud and messy and fun. Two Zhuang singers performed local songs and everyone was singing along with them. All in all it wasn't at all what I expected but it was certainly a very interesting experience.

Having arrived on the Galapagos Islands a few days ago, I wish I never had to leave. Why do I wish I never had to leave? Well, it is simply beautiful. But also, it took us so long to get here, I dread [6] ever having to board another plane in my life. From Kunming my girlfriend and I took a flight to Hong Kong, from Hong Kong we took another flight to Tokyo, from Tokyo to Dallas, from Dallas to Miami, from Miami to Guayaquil and from Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands. And, of course, somewhere along the way they lost our luggage. But there wasn't much we could do about that. And we hadn't reached our final destination quite yet. Next we sat in the back of a pick-up [7] for an hour to get to the port [8] where the last and hardest bit of the journey was about to start. Two hours on a speedboat bouncing over big waves to reach Isla Isabela. By the end our faces had turned green. It didn't help that our fellow passengers on the boat became violently seasick one hour into the trip. Luckily my girlfriend and I survived without being sick. And her family was there to welcome us. The journey from China to Isla Isabela took us 45 hours. And our luggage took another two days to arrive. The whole trip started off alright and then seemed to get worse and worse. To get to Tokyo we flew with a Japanese airline, which was very nice. They served a delicious lunch which included miso soup [9] and ice cream for dessert. From Tokyo onwards we flew with an American airline, which was not so nice. The food was horrible and the flight attendants [10] were very strange. The man serving my aisle was quite old but looked like a bodybuilder. Because of his age and his muscles he had problems bending over to place the food on our trays. There was also a flight attendant who wore winter gloves throughout the whole flight.

Another reason why I don't want my holiday to end is the youngest member of my girlfriend's family. She's my girlfriend's niece. Her name is Anita, she's 3 years old and she lives in Ecuador. She's adorable and she's here with us on holiday on the Galapagos Islands. As I assume with most 3 year olds, she is quite the character. She has a huge appetite and talks a lot. She's starting to pick up many new words and expressions. My favourite story about Anita that I've heard so far happened a couple of weeks ago. She was at kindergarten and they were watching a film. Anita was sitting at the front of the classroom close to the television. At the back there was a boy, who after a few minutes complained to the teacher that he couldn't see anything. Anita promptly stood up, turned around and shouted at him: “Your problem, mate [11]! You got here late”.

Now I must congratulate my colleague Andrea who just recorded her 50th podcast in German. To celebrate this milestone [12] we have organised a competition. In order to participate in the competition you must answer the following question: Where did Andrea and Joanne meet? Please write your answer in the comment box on our website. You have until March 31st to submit [13] your answer. The winner will receive a Migros voucher. Good luck to you and well done to Andrea. Thank you also to Raphaela for her comment on my last podcast. And to all of my listeners, please feel free to post any questions you might have in the comment box below. You can listen to all my podcasts on our website www.podclub.ch or by downloading our app. In a fortnight [14] you'll be hearing from my father Gerry and I'll be back again on March 27th. I'll be talking more about my holiday and the city of Cuenca which is our next destination. Until then, goodbye!

Glossaire: Owen in China [1] nasty: here: bad

[2] solemnly: seriously and without humour

[3] stuck to: here: only had

[4] slaughter: to kill an animal for its meat

[5] spoilt: here: ruined

[6] dread: not look forward to

[7] pick-up: a type of big car with an open back

[8] port: the place where boats leave and arrive

[9] miso soup: a Japanese soup made from soybeans

[10] flight attendants: the people serving passengers on an airplane

[11] mate: slang for friend

[12] milestone: an important achievement

[13] submit: here: give

[14] fortnight: two weeks

Of pigs, flights and attendants ||||персонал |domuzlar|||Görevliler ||||服务员 Από γουρούνια, πτήσεις και συνοδούς Di maiali, voli e assistenti 돼지, 항공편 및 승무원 Van varkens, vluchten en begeleiders De porcos, voos e assistentes Про свиней, рейси та стюардес 猪、航班和服务员

Hello everyone, this is Owen and this is my podcast for Friday 27th of February, 2015. ||||Owen|||||||Cuma günü|||Şubat Greetings from paradise! Cennetten selamlar!||Cennetten selamlar! Saudações do paraíso! No, I'm not talking about China. |||||Hayır, Çin'den bahsetmiyorum. I'm talking to you from Isla Isabela, the largest island of the Galapagos Islands. |||||伊莎贝拉|伊莎贝拉||||||| |||||Isla Isabela|||en büyük|ada|||Galapagos Adaları|Adalar The weather is beautiful and sunny. It is very hot though. |||Çok sıcak| Mas está muito calor. In fact I have a nasty [1] sunburn on my back. |||||ужасный|||| |||||kötü|Aslında sırtımda kötü bir güneş yanığı var.||| |||||严重的|晒伤||| De facto, tenho uma queimadura de sol [1] muito feia nas costas. Apart from that everything is wonderful. Bunun dışında|||||harika I've snorkelled with large turtles, seen gigantic tortoises and walked on the beach alongside numerous iguanas. |浮潜|||海龟|||海龟||||||||鬣蜥 |swam with snorkel|||||||||||||| |şnorkelle yüzdüm||büyük|kaplumbağalarla||devasa|dev kaplumbağalar||yürüdüm||||yanında|sayısız|iguanalarla birlikte Mergulhei com grandes tartarugas, vi tartarugas gigantescas e caminhei na praia ao lado de inúmeras iguanas. And I'm planning to climb the largest volcano on the island. |||||||火山||| ||planlıyorum||tırmanmak|||ve yanardağı tırmanmayı||| On today's episode I'll be talking about my early Spring Festival, getting to Ecuador and a little girl named Anita. ||||||||erken||Bahar Festivali|||Ekvador'a ulaşmak||||||Anita adında küçük bir kız No episódio de hoje, vou falar sobre o meu Festival da primavera, a chegada ao Equador e uma menina chamada Anita.

***

As I mentioned last time, a friend of mine organised an early Chinese New Year celebration for me in his hometown. |||||||||düzenledi|||Çin Yeni Yılı|||kutlama etkinliği|||||memleketi Como referi da última vez, um amigo meu organizou uma celebração antecipada do Ano Novo Chinês para mim na sua cidade natal. I knew that his hometown was about 400km south-east of Kunming, very close to the Vietnamese border. |||||||km||||||||||sınırı But I didn't know where exactly he was taking me or what to expect. Mas não sabia exatamente para onde me levava nem o que esperar. According to him his hometown is in the countryside. ||||||||Kırsal bölge Over the years I have come to learn, though, that in China anything that isn't a city with a million people is considered the countryside. |||||||||||||||||||milyon kişi|insanlar||kabul edilir|| No entanto, ao longo dos anos, aprendi que na China tudo o que não é uma cidade com um milhão de habitantes é considerado campo. 但多年来我逐渐了解到，在中国，任何不是拥有百万人口的城市的地方都被视为乡村。 It turns out that his hometown is roughly the size of Zurich. |||||||kabaca||büyüklüğünde||Zürih büyüklüğünde Acontece que a sua cidade natal é mais ou menos do tamanho de Zurique. I guess for China that is the countryside. Acho que para a China é o campo. On the evening we arrived, my friend's uncle invited us all to his house. ||||geldik|||amca|davet etti||||| The family had prepared a large meal for us. |||hazırlamıştı|||yemek|| A few of their friends turned up as well. 他们的一些朋友也来了。 The south of China, along the border with Vietnam, is home to the largest minority in China. ||||||||Vietnam sınırı||||||azınlık grubu|| O sul da China, ao longo da fronteira com o Vietname, alberga a maior minoria da China. 中国南部与越南接壤的地区是中国最大的少数民族聚居区。 The minority's name is Zhuang. |Azınlığın||| My friend and his family are from this minority. Zhuang people also live across the border in Vietnam. O povo Zhuang também vive do outro lado da fronteira, no Vietname. Their language doesn't sound anything like Mandarin. |||benzemek|||Mandarince To me, it sounds more similar to south-east Asian languages, especially Vietnamese. |||benzer geliyor|||||||||Vietnamca The majority of Zhuang people speak Mandarin too. |çoğunluk|||||| So during our dinner they were speaking a mix of the two languages. I was sitting at a table with my friend's uncle, who as the host gave a short speech to welcome the guests. |||||masa||||||||ev sahibi|yaptı|||konuşma||||misafirler Estava sentada à mesa com o tio da minha amiga que, na qualidade de anfitrião, fez um pequeno discurso para dar as boas-vindas aos convidados. He also briefly spoke about all the food on the table. ||kısaca|||||||| And then he solemnly [2] expressed his apologies for the food not being very delicious. |||郑重地|||||||||| |||ciddi bir şekilde|||özür diledi|||||||lezzetli E depois pediu solenemente [2] desculpa pelo facto de a comida não ser muito saborosa. This is standard etiquette in China. |||礼仪|| |||Bu, Çin'de standart görgü kuralıdır.|| Esta é a etiqueta habitual na China. Nevertheless it made me smile because at the table next to us was his wife. Yine de|||||||||||||| No entanto, fez-me sorrir porque na mesa ao nosso lado estava a sua mulher. And it was his wife who had cooked all the food. |||||||pişirmişti||| Before this trip people warned me that the Zhuang people enjoy drinking. ||seyahat||uyardılar|||||||içki içmek Antes desta viagem, avisaram-me que o povo Zhuang gosta de beber. Besides beer they like to drink their homemade alcohol. Bira dışında|bira||||içmeyi severler||ev yapımı|alkollü içecek So I was prepared, but I wasn't looking forward to their local drink. |||||||||||yerel| Por isso, estava preparado, mas não estava ansioso pela sua bebida local. I've tried enough Chinese alcohol in my days and I cannot say I enjoy it. Já experimentei bastante álcool chinês nos meus dias e não posso dizer que gosto dele. My heart sank when they brought out a large plastic canister. |kalbim sıkıştı|yerle bir oldu|||||||plastik|büyük plastik bidon O meu coração afundou-se quando trouxeram um grande recipiente de plástico. The sort of canister you would usually fill with petrol. |||油罐|||||| |||||||doldurmak|| The sort of canister you would usually fill with petrol. O tipo de recipiente que normalmente se enche com gasolina. This one was filled with mijiu, an alcohol made from corn. |||dolu||mısırdan yapılan alkol|||||mısırdan yapılan Este estava cheio de mijiu, um álcool feito de milho. Not all that different in taste from petrol, I imagine. Imagino que o sabor não seja muito diferente do da gasolina. 我想，它的味道与汽油没什么不同。 Thankfully, the hosts didn't insist. Neyse ki||ev sahipleri||ısrar etmek Out of politeness, I tried a little sip. ||Nezaketen|||||bir yudum Por educação, provei um pequeno gole. After that I stuck to [3] beer. |||sadık kaldım|| Depois disso, fiquei-me pela cerveja [3]. 从此以后，我就只喝[3]啤酒了。 The next morning we had to get up early. I wasn't feeling great. I had a bad headache from the night before and a bad cold. ||||kötü baş ağrısı|||||||| The weather didn't help. It was grey and wet and the air looked polluted. ||gri||ıslak|||hava|görünüyordu|kirli We were in the middle of the city, not in the peaceful countryside as I had thought. ||||ortasında|||||||huzurlu||||| It was in the city, under a newly built overhead motorway where they suddenly announced: "Alright, time to slaughter [4] the pig!” It turned out that they had ordered a whole pig for the big celebration that night and that they were going to slaughter the pig themselves. ||||||||||||||||||屠宰|||||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||altında||yeni inşa edilmiş||üst geçit|otoyol|||birdenbire|||||kesmek||domuz|||||||sipariş etmişlerdi||||||||||||||||||| Foi na cidade, debaixo de uma autoestrada recém-construída, que anunciaram de repente: "Muito bem, está na altura de abater [4] o porco!" Acontece que tinham encomendado um porco inteiro para a grande festa dessa noite e que iam ser eles a abater o porco. 当时，在城里一条新建的高架高速公路下，他们突然宣布：“好了，杀猪时间到了！”原来，他们为当晚的盛大庆祝活动订购了一整头猪，他们要亲自杀猪。 As we waited for the pig to be delivered, I couldn't help wondering why they had chosen to slaughter the pig there. ||beklerken||||||||||||||seçmişlerdi||||| Enquanto esperávamos que o porco fosse entregue, não pude deixar de me perguntar por que razão tinham escolhido abater o porco ali. 当我们等待猪被运送过来时，我不禁想知道他们为什么选择在那里宰杀猪。 Next to us there was a large building site and lots of builders making a lot of noise. Ao nosso lado havia um grande estaleiro de construção e muitos construtores a fazer muito barulho. Big trucks kept driving by and there was a lot of traffic everywhere. Os grandes camiões não paravam de passar e havia muito trânsito por todo o lado. When the pig eventually arrived, I couldn't help but feel very sorry for it. Quando o porco acabou por chegar, não pude deixar de sentir muita pena dele. 当这头猪最终到来的时候，我不禁为它感到非常难过。 The whole thing spoilt [5] my appetite for the day. Tudo isto estragou [5] o meu apetite para o dia. Later during the celebration, I only managed to eat a few vegetables whilst everyone else was enjoying all the fresh meat. The celebration itself was very loud and messy and fun. A festa em si foi muito barulhenta, confusa e divertida. Two Zhuang singers performed local songs and everyone was singing along with them. All in all it wasn't at all what I expected but it was certainly a very interesting experience. Em suma, não foi de todo o que eu esperava, mas foi certamente uma experiência muito interessante.

***

Having arrived on the Galapagos Islands a few days ago, I wish I never had to leave. Cheguei às ilhas Galápagos há alguns dias e gostaria de nunca ter de partir. Why do I wish I never had to leave? Well, it is simply beautiful. But also, it took us so long to get here, I dread [6] ever having to board another plane in my life. |||||||||||害怕||||||||| Mas também, demorámos tanto tempo a chegar aqui, que tenho medo [6] de ter de apanhar outro avião na minha vida. 但同时，我们花了很长时间才到这里，我害怕[6]这辈子再也要登上另一架飞机。 From Kunming my girlfriend and I took a flight to Hong Kong, from Hong Kong we took another flight to Tokyo, from Tokyo to Dallas, from Dallas to Miami, from Miami to Guayaquil and from Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands. 我和女友从昆明乘飞机飞往香港，然后从香港乘飞机飞往东京，从东京飞往达拉斯，从达拉斯飞往迈阿密，从迈阿密飞往瓜亚基尔，从瓜亚基尔飞往加拉帕戈斯群岛。 And, of course, somewhere along the way they lost our luggage. 当然，在途中的某个地方他们弄丢了我们的行李。 But there wasn't much we could do about that. And we hadn't reached our final destination quite yet. E ainda não tínhamos chegado ao nosso destino final. Next we sat in the back of a pick-up [7] for an hour to get to the port [8] where the last and hardest bit of the journey was about to start. |||||||||||||||||港口||||||||||||| De seguida, sentamo-nos na parte de trás de uma carrinha [7] durante uma hora para chegarmos ao porto [8], onde a última e mais difícil parte da viagem estava prestes a começar. Two hours on a speedboat bouncing over big waves to reach Isla Isabela. ||||快艇|||||||| Duas horas numa lancha rápida a saltar sobre grandes ondas para chegar à Isla Isabela. By the end our faces had turned green. No final, as nossas caras tinham ficado verdes. It didn't help that our fellow passengers on the boat became violently seasick one hour into the trip. ||||||||||||晕船||||| Não ajudou o facto de os nossos companheiros de viagem terem ficado violentamente enjoados ao fim de uma hora de viagem. Luckily my girlfriend and I survived without being sick. And her family was there to welcome us. E a família dela estava lá para nos receber. The journey from China to Isla Isabela took us 45 hours. And our luggage took another two days to arrive. The whole trip started off alright and then seemed to get worse and worse. A viagem começou bem e depois foi piorando cada vez mais. To get to Tokyo we flew with a Japanese airline, which was very nice. They served a delicious lunch which included miso soup [9] and ice cream for dessert. From Tokyo onwards we flew with an American airline, which was not so nice. A partir de Tóquio, voámos com uma companhia aérea americana, o que não foi muito agradável. The food was horrible and the flight attendants [10] were very strange. The man serving my aisle was quite old but looked like a bodybuilder. O homem que me servia no corredor era bastante velho, mas parecia um culturista. Because of his age and his muscles he had problems bending over to place the food on our trays. Devido à sua idade e aos seus músculos, tinha dificuldade em dobrar-se para colocar a comida nos nossos tabuleiros. There was also a flight attendant who wore winter gloves throughout the whole flight.

***

Another reason why I don't want my holiday to end is the youngest member of my girlfriend's family. She's my girlfriend's niece. Ela é sobrinha da minha namorada. Her name is Anita, she's 3 years old and she lives in Ecuador. She's adorable and she's here with us on holiday on the Galapagos Islands. As I assume with most 3 year olds, she is quite the character. Tal como acontece com a maioria das crianças de 3 anos, ela é uma personagem e peras. 我认为，正如大多数 3 岁的孩子一样，她很有个性。 She has a huge appetite and talks a lot. She's starting to pick up many new words and expressions. Ela está a começar a aprender muitas palavras e expressões novas. My favourite story about Anita that I've heard so far happened a couple of weeks ago. She was at kindergarten and they were watching a film. Anita was sitting at the front of the classroom close to the television. At the back there was a boy, who after a few minutes complained to the teacher that he couldn't see anything. Anita promptly stood up, turned around and shouted at him: “Your problem, mate [11]! Anita levantou-se imediatamente, virou-se e gritou-lhe: "O problema é teu, amigo [11]! You got here late”. Chegaste tarde".

***

Now I must congratulate my colleague Andrea who just recorded her 50th podcast in German. To celebrate this milestone [12] we have organised a competition. In order to participate in the competition you must answer the following question: Where did Andrea and Joanne meet? Please write your answer in the comment box on our website. You have until March 31st to submit [13] your answer. The winner will receive a Migros voucher. Good luck to you and well done to Andrea. Boa sorte para si e parabéns à Andrea. Thank you also to Raphaela for her comment on my last podcast. And to all of my listeners, please feel free to post any questions you might have in the comment box below. E para todos os meus ouvintes, sintam-se à vontade para colocar quaisquer questões que possam ter na caixa de comentários abaixo. You can listen to all my podcasts on our website www.podclub.ch or by downloading our app. In a fortnight [14] you'll be hearing from my father Gerry and I'll be back again on March 27th. Dentro de quinze dias [14] terão notícias do meu pai Gerry e eu voltarei a 27 de março. I'll be talking more about my holiday and the city of Cuenca which is our next destination. Until then, goodbye! Até lá, adeus!