Word(s) of the Day: 下毛毛雨 (xià máo máo yǔ)

Language: mandarin Chinese
Meaning: 'hairy rain' - ie light, feathery rain or drizzle! 
  

Photo credit: Teresa Chipperfield

Semen everywhere! (And the cat oven explained)

Not my photo. This logo would have been most helpful!

On a recent trip to Bali, Indonesia, I was surprised to see endless billboards advertising semen. Several different kinds, it seems. It's popular stuff! One poster even added 'bagusnya!' which means 'it's good!'. Hmm..

I speak some Indonesian, and the word 'semen' is not a part of the language that I know of. So what's going on here? 

In fact it IS an English word. Sort of. Take English pronunciation out of it and re-think. You could also pronounce this word as se-mehn. Which is exactly what it is: cement! Spelled in the way an Indonesian would say it. (Incidentally 'c' in Indonesian is pronounced 'ch'.) 

In East Asian languages, it's common to use words from other languages, and re-spell them in a way that's locally compatible. Usually this is for words for modern imported items or concepts. Or sometimes these words appear in the language from past colonial influences. Japan, in fact - which has never been colonised by anyone - has one of the richest vocabularies of foreign words. They even have an entire separate alphabet for them (Katakana). In some languages, they have their own indigenous words too, and you can pick which one to use.

Here are some common examples:

Japanese
Teburu (テーブル) = table
Takushi (タクシー) = taxi
Basu (バス) = bus
Miruku (ミルク) = milk
Biru (ビール) = beer
Kurisumasu (クリスマス) = Christmas 

Malay
Fesyen = fashion
Imigresen = immigration
Bas = bus
Teksi = taxi 
Bir = beer

Indonesian
Imigrasi = immigration
Taksi = taxi  
Komputer = computer
Doktor = doctor
Sepatu = shoe (from Portuguese I think, 'sepatos') 

I'm now trying to think of some British English words like this. We have plenty of words adopted from other  languages - pyjamas, juggernaut, jodhpurs are all from India, for example.. and we have a whole bunch of French and Gaelic going on in there too. With the French words we seem to keep the original spelling but pronounce them locally (we say Paris not 'Paree' like the French do, and 'beecham' not beauchamp). I don't speak any Indian dialects, and I think the script is different, so can't say if we spell these in an 'English' way or not. If you know, or can think of any other examples, do post in the Comments below!


PS Full translation of the billboard above: Three Wheel Cement - Sturdy & Trustworthy. (It's Good!)

PPS I also saw a large sign for a premises labelled 'Body Work & Cat Oven' - good lord! In fact 'cat' is Indonesian for paint I think, so suspect (hope!) this place was vehicle related. Meow.

Halva

OK, not East or West, but 'Middle'! 

Halva is something I was vaguely aware of years ago, as a packaged sweet available in Turkish food shops in the UK. But in Israel, halva seems to be a big deal. Check out this apparent fest of gateaux... it's all halva! Flavoured with chocolate, vanilla, coffee, pistacchios, fruits and all sorts of other fashionable variations. I wasn't sure what it was at first - cheese? I can't read Hebrew, so browsing markets and supermarkets here is a continual adventure. OK, universal things like apples and Unilever 'global style' detergents are easy enough to guess. But anything local - who knows! Shopping in Israel is not dissimilar from shopping in Japan in this respect! 

Halva at the Shuk HaCarmel in Tel Aviv

Halva is basically a dessert / cake thing, usually made with pulverised oily sesame seeds, or a nut butter, to which is added honey or sugar syrup. To eat, the basic sesame version is very sweet and nutty, with a unique texture that is dry, oily, chewy and crumbly all at the same time! In fact it turns out that Halva is pretty popular across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. And there are variations in different regions, using different seeds, nuts, cornstarch, semolina, or even rice flour + coconut as the base. The name also varies by country.

The exact origins of halva look fairly obscure. It seems most likely to have originated in the Middle East (as the name is of Arabic origin) maybe as far back as 3000 years ago. The food then spread regionally and then more widely with trade and migration.

It's quite yummy stuff; I can see why it has endured!

Here's some packaged, original flavoured halva - to give you a closer idea of texture. (You can click on pics to enlarge them.)

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

Well, it's been Christmas again. And we're now counting down the 12 days of Christmas. Remember the song with the Partridge in a Pear Tree? Well, in Western Christianity, it is not about the 12 days leading to Christmas, but Christmas day and the 11 after it - leading up to 6 January, known religiously as 'Epiphany'. This, traditionally, is the day when The Magi visited the newborn Jesus. (And in the modern day we barely recognise this period / event, beyond the tradition that decorations must all be taken down before Twelfth Night to avoid bad luck!)

In UK biblical tradition, there were Three Kings (or Three Wise Men, or Magi) who visited Jesus when he was born. They came from the East, and followed an unusually bright star in order to navigate their way to the stable where he was born. The Magi knelt before the infant Jesus, and it was a sign that powerful people had realised Jesus's significance from day one. And they brought with them three precious gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.

In fact it seems the number of kings was not made explicit in the Bible, and some branches of Christianity believe in larger groups of Magi. Magi is the Latin plural of 'Magus', meaning magician - and in ancient times, referred to Zoroastrian priests from maybe Persia or Babylonia, who were expert astronomers and astrologers. 

But anyway, back to the gifts. All these gifts are traditionally viewed as presents fit for a king. And Gold, we all know about. But Frankincense and Myrrh? What's going on there? They're peculiar words which Christian children make jokes about. Because in the West, most people have never seen or used them. 

In fact, I've seen Frankincense a few times, in markets in Dubai and Jerusalem, for example. It's actually the fragrant resin from a tree, and looks a bit like chunks of crystally rock, or rough brown sugar crystals. It can be used as incense, for aromatherapy and can even be chewed to aid digestion and for other medicinal uses. In some cultures, it was mixed with oils for anointing people (including infants) as a sort of initiation, and symbolised Godliness. Frankincense comes mainly from North Africa and Arabia, and was traded widely in olden times, even as far East as China. It was used as far back as ancient Egypt. Today in the West it is used nearly only as incense at some 'high Church' ceremonies. Which is why most of us had never seen it as children. Apparently it's still used as part of traditional medicine in India and other countries. There are different grades and types of Frankincense, coming from different varieties of the same tree.

Frankincense resin

The smell is a sort of sweet, woody, piney fragrance. Some varieties are 'lemony'. The modern English name comes from old French, meaning 'noble incense' - basically, if you were a Wise Man, it was a posh gift to give! 

 

Myrrh is a bit more obscure. Though actually it is also an aromatic resin originating in Arabia and North Africa - but from a different tree. I'm not sure I've seen Myrrh in modern markets, and in ancient times is was considered a rare substance. But it, too, can be used as an incense and medicine, and it can be ingested if mixed with wine. It generally has a reputation as an analgesic and  antiseptic, and is also used in Chinese and Indian traditional medicines to correct bloodflow. Myrrh was used in embalming processes (by the ancient Egyptians, for example) and some people took this gift from the Magi to symbolise the fact that Jesus would die early to save man. (Now there's a cheerful baby shower gift.) Though some parties state that in ancient times, Myrrh could also be used to rid infants of both coughing and worms - thus it had a healthy, practical use too!

Myrrh apparently smells more like a bitter aniseed. The name originates in the Middle East, and means 'bitter'. Both Frankincense and Myrrh are obtained from their respective trees by slicing the bark, so that the beads of resin drip out and harden.

Oddly enough, in their day, it is likely that both of these resins were more valuable than the third gift: Gold. 

Myrrh resin

Harvesting Frankincense

Absinthe

I ended up trying absinthe for the first time in Singapore. Randomly. The drink is European (famously from France) and I've made plenty of trips to Paris from the UK intending to try it, but we never quite managed! So, I ended up trying it in Asia.

Absinthe is one of those slightly enigmatic drinks. It has a 'glamorous' history of inspiring great artists to create great art in the 19th and early 20th centuries, alongside others getting generally quite sick from it. It's supposed to be ludicrously strong, hallucinogenic, and generally not a healthy thing. And as a result it was banned throughout most of Europe and the USA for a good chunk of the 20th century. (Real, clean absinthe has since been scientifically proven to be no worse than other spirits, and the bans have mostly been lifted - in fact I don't think it was ever banned in the UK.)

Absinthe is made from the Wormwood plant, along with fennel, anise and other herby things. The famous illustrations generally depict it as green, but in actual fact there are a few different versions. And these depend on how it is distilled. A superior product is green from natural processes, but many are artificially coloured nowadays. The drink can also be clear, known as blanche (white) or bleu (blue) absinthe.

And you don't just drink it, straight, on the rocks, with a mixer. There are special procedures for drinking absinthe, which is one aspect which drew me to it. It is consumed by mixing sugar and water with the spirit. This sometimes takes the form of resting a sugar lump on a special absinthe spoon, and then slowly dripping water (from a special absinthe dripping jug!) through the sugar into the drink. 

We tried a good quality absinthe bleu, and in the bar we visited, the process involved resting an absinthe spoon + sugar lump on each glass, and lighting the sugar, so that it melted and dripped into the spirit. Then we added water. When water is added, the drink turns cloudy. We were told to add roughly 3 parts water to 1 part spirit. 

The verdict:
I liked it. It's understandably quite sweet, but the flavour and aroma are - also not surprisingly given the ingredients - strongly of aniseed or liquorice. And I like the natural forms of this flavour (my companions were less excited!) And the entire ritual of preparing it was kinda fun. My opinion: I think 3 parts water is a bit too weak! I'm not much of a drinker but even I didn't struggle with the alcohol content here - did Manet and co. really turn crazy and artistically inspired by this?! So if you try, maybe add 1-2 parts of water and sip a bit first! 

Next on the list is to try a green absinthe, somewhere in the world. And maybe with a different preparation process. Still researching on that one, and once I find it I'll be sure to blog it :)


Photo courtesty of Yohei.

Frozen beer foam beer

This is a fairly recent trend from Japan, and popular in Singapore. Basically the froth on your pint of beer is replaced by fluffy ice-beer-froth. This seemed like a great idea in the tropics, actually, as potentially your beer could be even more refreshingly cold (and for longer) and thus more enjoyable. 

Kirin seems to be one of the leaders in this trend, and they even sell a special 'beer froth slushy machine' so that you can make your own at home. But in Singapore at least, you can find most Japanese beer brands served 'frozen'. And I was pretty keen to try one!

The verdict: Not as nice as normal, chilled beer! For me, anyway. The froth has no real flavour (like the unfrozen version) so there's no particular joy in eating it, but instead of making your drinking experience colder and more refreshing, the frozen foam kind of makes the lager underneath feel warmer, and creates a barrier to actually drinking it! I also got less flavour from the beer itself (frozen tastebuds?) 

So, anyway, it's fun to try this unusual way of serving beer, and I can understand why establishments would serve it - for novelty value. But I won't be forking out for another pint of it! 

You can watch the Kirin beer slushy maker ad here: 

Genki Desu Ka? Starstruck in Singapore

Here's an unexpected happening in Singapore. Last weekend some friends and I exit a late movie and could only find one bar still open. In that bar was a rowdy Japanese crowd, celebrating. One of the group turned around to apologise for the noise, explaining that it was a birthday event. And I kind of recognised him, thinking he was a Muay Thai instructor I'd had. Then realising that my Muay Thai instructor wasn't Japanese... In fact the guy was Sudo Genki (Genki Sudo to Westerners) - an absolute legend of the MMA and fighting world, and quite a bit more besides!

Sudo san has been a massive hero of mine, and of countless fight friends for years. His combat style (not to mention ring entrance style) is extremely entertaining but underpinned by beautifully skillful technique. He's famous for moves such as the spinning back fist and flying triangle  - and has inspired many a young thing (me included!) to try the same.

In 2006, after multiple wins at K-1, Pancrase, Hero's and UFC - and while still young - he retired to focus on performance / dance. He founded the group World Order - a performance band of seven Japanese 'business men' in suits, doing intricate robot dance moves in global and deliberately ironic places. They seem to make comments on modern (Japanese) society. He has also written several books.

Anyway, I got talking to him and he came over to our table for a chat and photos. He speaks good English and was genuinely interested in how such a multicultural bunch of us (a mid-Western American, an Austrian, a Japanese-speaking Uruguayan, and a Japanese-speaking Brit) met in Singapore. Apparently he fought at UFC in London's Royal Albert Hall (they had UFC at the Royal Albert Hall?!*) and now calls himself a lover not a fighter. The rowdy bunch were World Order and their tour group, who were celebrating three birthdays and the end of a one-off gig in Singapore. He was just a regular, intelligent, friendly chap, actually. But this evening has to go down as one of my most surprising experiences in Singapore!

Anyway, here are a couple of videos of Sudo san, in case you are not familiar with his work: 

Sudo san in Singapore

:)

* The Royal Albert Hall is a 'posh', old venue in London. With a capacity of about 5000. It is the place you would go to see ballet,  classical music, The Proms - UFC was a surprise!  

The title of this post relates to the standard, polite Japanese greeting 'O genki desu ka' which means literally 'Are you healthy?'. In fact Sudo san's name is the same genki (元気)