Oh! Cantonese! A source of constant joy. I have a new student, ah-On, who has become my eyes and ears on the ground in Hong Kong while I live in exile in Spain. He is a film maker and goes around filming various transgressions by the HK government. This morning he told me about a new (?) expression of which I had never heard, which perfectly sums up the Cantonese language in all its glory. 

Bye-bye 肉 (bye-bye yok, bye-bye meat. I.e. Bingo wings.) Yes! When the old ladies wave bye-bye, the bingo wings are a-flapping! Like meat. 

Oh how I laughed. 

For no other reason, this is why you should learn Cantonese! This, and of course to piss off the Chinese government. That goes without saying. 

Today's Chinese zodiac animal is the Horse, a venerated figure in Chinese painting. Strangely enough, the Chinese don't eat horse meat, which is a shame because it's delicious. My only sojourn in Kazakhstan, for example, was largely saved by that country's cuisine with its many ways to prepare horse meat. But more of that later. Here is the Horse:

People born in a year of the Horse are extremely animated, active and energetic. Horses love to be in a crowd, and they can usually be seen on such occasions as concerts, theater performances, meetings, sporting events, and parties.

With a deft sense of humor, Horses are masters of repartee. They love to take center stage and delight audiences everywhere.

People born in a year of the Horse have a pleasant, amiable, easy-going disposition. With good humor and geniality, they are extremely comfortable to get along with as they have the ability to instantly put people at ease.

Horses are very quick-witted and are right in there with you before you have had the chance to finish what you are saying; they know what you are thinking even before you've said it. All these traits guarantee their popularity and a large following of friends.

Learn Cantonese the Natural Way - from a Norwegian! 

Today's Cantonese: 馬年 - Ma Lin - Horse year