#Asianguestsguide 1 - Introduction; dealing with Asian guests in the hospitality industry

I am pleased to tell you I am starting with a new blog series called 'Asian Guest Guide'. In every post I will review a particular type of guest, or guests from a specific part of Asia. For everyone working in the hospitality industry I want this to be a little guide on how you can manage with foreign guests in certain situations in this industry.

Why did I come up with this guide?
I am working as a front desk agent myself and have to deal with guests from every part of Asia on a daily basis. I worked for quite a while in a major Japanese hotel as well, which equals even more Asian guests. My family has been in the hospitality industry for many years and had their own restaurants and hotels. Even though I love the diversity of guests I see every day, I see my colleagues struggling trying to deal with the 'oh-so-difficult' Asian guests on a daily basis.
In this series I am going to simplify these situations, analyse guest profiles and share my own experiences in general.

If you have any specific situations you would like me to cover in this series, or if you have difficulties with understanding some type of guest, please let me know and I will try to analyze the situation and cover the outcome in this series.

Part one will be up soon!

~ Mei mei

Book Review: Chineasy the new way to read Chinese

My apologies for not writing in a long long time, but I was really busy with many things. One of them was getting a copy of Shaolan Hsueh's Chineasy. Because I was convinced that after the release they wouldn't sell out that fast I didn't pre-order a copy. Big mistake because the book was sold out online! I tried to find a copy everywhere but I could only order one from Amazon. I was really lucky I stumbled on a copy yesterday when I was in our capital city. Long story made short, I am going to introduce Chineasy today.

Chineasy is a book which states to read Chinese in a whole other way. An very easy and fun way. I was very interested because it covers basic Chinese characters which can also be quite convenient for Japanese learners to know, since most of the basic characters are the same.

The author, a Taiwanese woman residing in the UK, had difficulties with teaching her own children Chinese with current existing books and methods so she created her own. As a result came Chineasy. The books is based on building blocks to quickly learn several hundreds of characters. If you have studied Chinese characters or Japanese Kanji it is likely that you are already familiar with this technique. But born as the daughter of a calligrapher and a ceramic artist, Shaolan Hsueh grew up immersed with art which has a great influence in the making of Chineasy. She worked together with an graphic artist Noma Bar who made the characters come to live visually. Honestly, I have to say that the bright illustrations and the interesting descriptions really caught my attention and made me smile while reading.

Although the technique is good, the illustrations are great, and the descriptions are interesting some of the links between the illustrations and words were pretty far-fetched.

As I continued reading, the end of the book contains some sentences which are build upon the words we have learned so far. Although some of the sentences are useful for daily life, others are really odd for such a book; 'The rich girls stinks', 'The mermaid Princess burst into tears'. I think I wouldn't use both ever.

At the very end there even is a short story which is kind of hard to grasp, even with the great visuals.

Overall I think it's a great book. If I got children I would enjoy to teach them Chinese words from this book. And even if your a businessman or student, this book will give you an insight into Chinese language. As I explained, there are some negative points about the book, but overall it is fascinating to read. I would recommend beginners who have not studied Asian characters before to give it a try.

I hope you enjoyed reading, have you bought Chineasy already?

~ Mei mei

The best apps for learning Japanese on Iphone and Android (Part 2)

In my first post I introduced two apps for studying Japanese. I have found two new interesting apps and tested them for a while. I will introducte you to 'I-Sokki' and 'Japanese!!' this time. These are both only compatible with Apple devices. I'm sorry for that! Switched back to iPhone recently so that's why I found these. Next time I promise to introduce some apps which are compatible with multiple devices.

I-Sokki;
Supported on iPhone, iPad 

I-Sokki is a fairly simple app with a subtle sakura style layout. It is a quiz / flashcard kind of app which offers you short quizzes studying Japanese vocab. In the main menu for the quiz there are three options; Japanese Mode, Kanji Mode and Reverse Mode. 

Japanese Mode; has questions in Kanji / Hiragana with English multiple choice.

Kanji Mode; has questions in Kanji / Hiragana with Japanese (kana) multplice choice. This one does not show the meaning of the word though, which is quite weird I think.

Reverse Mode; has English questions with Japanese multiple choice.

The app lets you train the JLPT level 5 for free. You can purchase the other levels for 1,79 per level, or purchase all levels for 4,49. You can also find a vocabulary section where you can check your familiarity with the words of your study level. Of course the app also has an achievement section where you can check your progress. If you want to drill in some vocab without spending too much time, this is an great app for that. If I'm waiting for the bus, for an appointment or something else I just spend my time quizzing away. 

The downside on this app is that there is no focus on grammar. You will not find any explanations or grammar guides.

Overall rating I-Sokki;
Visual / layout; 3/5
Information; 3/5

Pro's;
- Clean layout
- Easy to use

Con's;
- No grammar
- Only the N5 level is for free

Japanese!!;
Supported on iPhone, iPad
This app is great for the people who are just starting with Japanese or planned a trip to Japan. It is a fairly simple app with a clean blue layout. This app divides information into the Japanese cities. You can click a city and read a lot of information about the sights, typical foods and tons of other information. They even have several simple maps! This app also teaches you Hiragana and Katakana together with some basic grammar and phrases. There are eight cities with information in the app and three games. The games focus on Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji and these are just simple matching games.
Overall this is not an app which you can enjoy all year through but is a good source of basic information and will be very helpful during and preparing for your trip to Japan.

Overall rating Japanese!!;
Visual / layout; 2/5
Information; 4/5

Pro's;
- Full version for free
- Easy explained information

Con's;
- No study material
- No long term app

Thank you for reading!
If there is an app which you would like me to review please send me a message~

~Mei mei

6 reasons why you should learn Korean / why Korean might be easier than you think!

When you think about the Korean it might seem just another difficult Asian language. But don't get scared about what they  tell you, Korean is actually one of the easiest East Asian languages to learn! I will give you six reasons why Korean might be easier then you might think and why you should start learning Korean right now.

1. Korean has one of the most intelligent writing systems on earth. Compare it to Chinese and Japanese and it is looks suprisingly easy as well! The Korean alphabet is called Hangul and consists of 14 consonants and 10 vowels. That makes only 24 characters to learn!

2. Hangul is written the same way you probably have learnt. From left to right, top to bottom. And unlike Japanese, it has spaces inbetween.

3. Korean is not a tonal language. The language does have some accents but these don't change anything grammar wise.

4. The grammar in Korean language is very simple and straightforward. For example; you do not have to worry about gender and many verbs are just made out of nouns + the verb 'to do'.

5. There is a huge amount of information (most of the time for free) on the internet. You have lots of dramas with Korean and English subtitles and the amazing podcasts of Talk To Me In Korean are also free!

6. Korean has a lot of English loanwords (Konglish )and many Koreans are eager to learn English.

I hope this post has triggered your interest in Korean language. Read some more information about Korea and you will probably fall in love with it's beautifull language, interesting culture and kind people. If you are a fan of everything Japanese, have a look at my other post which compares the Japanese language to Korean.

Thank you for reading!

~Mei mei

Keeping up learning languages while doing nothing special

Everyone who is studying a foreign language will reach that point where you think you have lost your motivation. Although everyone will say you have to continue studying even though you don't feel like it, there is actually nothing wrong with taking a little break. Allowing yourself to have a break will make your mind free of stress so you can regain new inspiration.
Even if you do not want to open your books there are still many ways to learn new words, grammar, etcetera effortless. I have explained some of these simple methods below.

Podcasts;
I have an iPod only for my podcasts. Listening to podcasts can be done while you're on your way to work, have to wait for the train or while you're preparing the dinner. This is a great method for those who are have surpassed the beginners level and feel at ease listening to conversations. They will easily pick up new sentences because they already understand the grammar behind it. If you think conversations are a little hard, just stick to listening music. This is also a great way to relax while you're still studying.

Dramas, TV-shows and movies;
For those who are learning Japanese or Korean you have the access to many great dramas, TV-shows, and movies for free online. If you are an beginner this is an easy way to get comfortable with the foreign language.If you are more advanced this is a fun way to check how much you already understand. There will always be a good show or movie in the genre you like.

Eventually you will pick up the dictionary again to find out what the word is they use so frequently in your drama. You will regain your interest and continue your studies with the new information you have learned from simply watching a movie or listening to the news in the language of your studies!

Keep the good work up!

Thank you for reading.
~Mei mei

Japan, Nihon or Nippon 日本, ?

Japan;

Linguists believe the name Japan derives from the attempts of Marco Polo pronouncing the early Mandarin Chinese word for Japan which is 日本国 pronounced in pinyin as 'Rìběnguó', and literally means 'Country of the Sun origin'. Marco Polo's attempts resulted in 'Jipangu'.  Also many people believe that the word originated from Malaysia. The Malay word for Japan, 'Jepang' also came from the Chinese language. This word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca and it is believed that the traders were the first to bring the word to Europe. 

にほん or にっぽん ?

The Japanese name for Japan can be read as 'nihon' or 'nippon' (onyomi) and are both written with the same kanji;日本 ,日 ‘nichi’ means sun or day and本 ‘hon’ means base or origin. Put them together and you get ‘ base of the sun’ . You might also have read ‘base of the sunrise’  somewhere which comes from the Chinese point of view. From China, the sun rises from the side of Japan. This is also the source of the popular Western term ‘ land of the rising sun’.

When combined, ‘nichi’ often loses the final -chi sound and creates a small pause between the first and second syllable of the compound. When we want to romanize this, the pause is often represented by doubling the first consonant of the second syllable. Compounds with ‘hon’ often change into -bon or -pon. Therefore there are two possible ways to pronounce 日本.  While both are correct (and also frequently used) ‘nippon’ is often preferred for official purposes like money, stamps and international matters. 'nippon' is also used for a longer period of time then 'nihon' which is said to have derived from the Kanto accent.

Although 'nippon' is the more obvious way name to pronounce 日本, a recent survey showed that 61 percent of Japanese people read it as 'nihon', also it is a lot more popular with the younger generation.

 In Japan there is no official document defining the pronunciation of 日本 . An attempt was made by the Ministry of Education in 1934, when they started a major investigation in the national language including their recommendation of  naming the country 'nippon' for once and all. However the government simply ignored their request.

Another move was made more recently in 2009, when a member of the Lower house made a more liberal move and submitted a request asking the government to decide on an unified pronunciation, whether it be 'nippon' or 'nihon'. The government replied that they saw no reason to take official steps, since both terms are in wide usage nowadays. You can either applaud their indecision as a way of saying they had some bigger issues to deal with, or you criticize them for their laid back attitude.

What do you think of the governments decision? Do you use 'nihon' or 'nippon'?

 ~Mei mei

Black Day, Asian day for singles? 블랙데이 - Jjajangmyun 자장면 Recipe

In case you don't have that  special person to celebrate Valentine's Day or White Day with, don't worry, the Asians have a special day for you too. It is called 'Black Day' 블랙데이. Black Day is celebrated on April 14th and is mostly celebrated in South Korea. At this day the Koreans mourn a little over the fact they didn't get any gifts earlier (on Valentine's or White day) and then celebrate their singleness by getting together with other single friends. If you want to follow their tradition you just have to wear something black and eat some dark coloured food like the famous jjajangmyun 자장면. 

Jjajangmyun is Black Day's signature dish and consists of white noodles covered in black bean sauce. Although jjajangmyung is written like 자장면 , it is pronounced as 짜장면, with a 'J' as in 'jam'. Jajang (자장) means 'fried sauce' and myeon (면)means 'noodle'.

It is actually a Chinese-Korean dish which some Chinese immigrants brought to Incheon. Unlike other Korean noodles, jjajangmyun is made of white flour instead of potato starch. The noodles are made by hand, and after that shortly boiled. When the noodles are cooked,  pork,vegetables and sea cucumber are added which make the base for the sauce. Last but not least they add black bean paste and a good stock. Some corn starch can be added also if the sauce isn't thick enough. jjajangmyun is considered as a national dish of Korea and the perfect comfort food for Black Day.

If you want to take it to a whole other level there are even many jjajangmyun eating contests this day!

Although jjajanmyun may sound like a dish for the loners which can make your teeth stain, it is really delicious. I highly recommend you to try it so I have the recipe for you below!

  

Recipe;

 This recipe makes four servings;

- Pork belly, diced in easy to eat cubes or strips

- 1 cup diced carrots

- 1 cup diced potatoes

- 1 cup diced onions

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- +/-  3 large table spoons black bean paste

- corn starch

- Water

- Sesame oil

- Your favorite vegetable julienned ( I recommend cucumber or Korean radish)

- Korean noodles of your choice 

1.        Heat a wok or a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat and cook until the edges are slightly browned.

2.      Add the carrots and potatoes and sauté for 1/2 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions turn translucent.

3.      Add the black bean paste to the pan and combine. Make sure everything gets  evenly coated. Gradually add some water and bring to a high simmer. ( be careful not to add to much).

4.      Let the sauce simmer until it thickens, this will take about 3 to 4 minutes. The sauce has to stick to the noodles, but not too much either. If your sauce is not thick enough, you can add some cornstarch.

5.      Turn off the heat and add some sesame oil, stir until combined. Pour the sauce on top of the noodles. Garnish with your fresh vegetables.

I hope you enjoyed reading my post!

~ Mei mei