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Foreigner guest II
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E: Hi. Welcome back to "Let's talk." We are continuing our discussion today about what you might want to think about if you have a foreign friend visit you.
R: That's right. We talked about taking your older or younger foreign friends to places they enjoy at the pace they can do. And we discuss restaurants and special toilets that they need. This time we want to talk about where you go. Of course if you are in Beijing, you can see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.
E: Right. And you may want to shop at shops for tourists. But if you have a foreign friend visiting, they'll be really grateful if you just take them to your local market where you buy vegetables and meat. That'll be fascinated. It is very different from the west. And it is really very charming.
R: That's right. We have an expression "seeing the local color", and it's true. Because wherever you are in the world, there is a local color. And it's different from the color they have at home. So by color they mean just the people and their clothing and vegetables they sell. I just have a foreign friend who loves to see the living fish.
E: And you can also take them to see a local department store which will be different from the tourist sites where they're selling tourist things. I took a friend down to visit my local big warehouse market. And they had a big bed, which was a double bed on the bottom for the parents and then up on top was a single bed for the child. My friend was thrilled to see this bed. They have never imagined this one-child family bed. You know the parents on the bottom and the child on top if they're sleeping in one room. They loved it.
R: Yeah. You know the most successful trip I think is to the local park. If you go to park in the morning, you can see all the ladies dancing with fun. Well we see that everyday here in China, but in the west this is amazing.
E: Our parks are empty in the morning.
R: Yeah. Or there are just joggers. And so to see the Taiji or the ballroom dancing is fabulous. My father was fascinated to see them playing chess.
E: And if you have a place, you can take them to show where the older men are hanging their birds to make the birds singing. Your foreign friend will be so happy to see this. In the west we walk dogs, but we don't walk our birds. So these are some of the things that will make them very excited and very happy.
R: They will for sure want to go shopping. So many wonderful things are made in China. You might even ask "What kind of shopping? What are you looking for? Sweater, silk?" And you may need to help your foreign friend with bargaining. This is very different from the west.
E: In the west, we go to a shop. And they said this is 10 dollars and 50 cents. We give them 10 dollars and 50 cents and we go home. We never or almost never have to bargain.
R: So your foreign friend may be confused with all the different kinds of money. And they might be confused with how to bargain. So I'm sure you can help them.
E: Those two jiao look a lot like two yuan。
R: Also there are just something different in China, for example, if you are in a crowd. There are just many, many people. And you might be pushed closely together. Many foreigners are not used to that. They live in Arizona where there is a large desert or Sweden where there aren’t many people. It is different for them. So they might be afraid. I had an older lady come to visit me. And she hung on to me. I realized she's afraid. She doesn't understand Chinese. So she didn't know whatever they were saying.
E: You know you also need to remember that in other countries the proper distance to keep between you and someone else may be quite far. So in western countries again, if you are walking, and someone pumps into you, it's quite a big thing and you have to both apologize and say sorry. But in China, everyone is very close. If you bump into each other, and nobody cares.
R: And I think it's a good idea to invite your foreign friend to try something new. Many great things are fun and different in China. You don't think they're different. But just to sit and have Chinese tea in a teahouse. Oh! This is an amazing experience for a foreigner who's from Wisconsin or London. So try something new with your foreign friend.
E: Also Chinese Opera, especially the operas created for foreigners. Short beats from different operas are fabulous. Your foreign friends will love them or Chinese music.
R: The acrobats are very popular and world-famous. I'm sure you know all these things. But you might not think drinking tea is so special. But your foreign friend will.
E: Or you could take them to a Chinese doctor and have the doctor listen to their pulse. Or take them to a pharmacy and show them Chinese medicine. Your foreign friend will be fascinated.
R: But end your long day of visiting China with your foreign friend by a foot massage. You could get both a foot massage and relax.
E: Yeah. So these are some things that we suggest if you have a foreign friend come visit you in China.
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“你说我说”2002 外国朋友来访 （二）
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E: 欢迎收看“你说我说”。我们今天继续讨论外国朋友来访时应该注意的问题。
R: 是的。我们上次谈到为年长的游客及年轻的游客选择不同的游览项目，安排适合他们的活动。我们还讨论了对餐馆的选择，外国人对洗手间的要求。今天我们要谈的是该去何处参观。当然，如果你在北京，你可以带他们去参观长城和故宫。
E: 你还可以带他们去旅游商店购物 ，但他们可能对另一些地方更有兴趣。如果你带他们到自由市场去看看，就是你每天买菜买肉的地方，他们会非常兴奋。这样的地方在他们看来格外新奇。
R: 是的。我们有个说法叫做 "seeing the local color" ，欣赏地方特色。无论你身居何处，那里都有它的地方特色。它与我们所说的家中的色调无关，所谓的 "local color"，是当地人的衣着风俗和饮食特色。我有位朋友就喜欢看这里卖的活鱼。
E: 你还可以带他们去当地的商店看看，这些商店与旅游专卖店不同。我曾带一个朋友去附近的家居用品商店，那里有一张双层的大床，下层是父母用的双人床，上层是孩子用的单人床。我的朋友非常惊讶，他绝对想象不到中国独生子女家庭会有这样的床。他很喜欢这些。
R: 我认为最有趣的事情是到公园。如果早晨你到公园去，你会看到很多女士在愉快地跳舞，我们对此已经司空见惯了，但对于西方人来说 这太有趣了。
E: 清晨我们的公园里很少有人。
R: 或者只有一些慢跑爱好者。所以看到人们在公园里打太极拳 、跳舞、跳交际舞，外国朋友会觉得很有意思。我父亲就曾对公园里人们下棋的情景感到兴奋不已。
E: 如果有机会你可以带外国朋友到老人们遛鸟的地方看一看, 看看他们如何让鸟儿歌唱。相信你的朋友一定会很开心, 因为西方人遛狗, 但从不遛鸟。这些都是外国朋友非常感兴趣的东西。
R: 游客当然要购物, 中国制造的产品可谓琳琅满目。所以你应该先问一问他们, 想买哪一类东西, 毛衣还是真丝? 你可能还要帮助他们讨价还价, 这一点与西方很不同。
E: 在西方，当我们去商店购物，如果商品的标价是10美元50美分，我们就付10美元50美分，我们几乎从来不讨价还价。
R: 外国朋友可能对不同样子的钱币感到眼花缭乱，他们对讨价还价感到无所适从，这时候都需要你的帮助。
E: 我觉得两毛钱很像两块钱。
R: 还有一个很普遍的现象, 如果你在熙熙攘攘的人群中, 相互拥挤是难免的。许多外国人对此都不太适应, 比如来自美国亚利桑那州的朋友, 他们那里有广袤的沙漠 。位于北欧的瑞典也是人口稀少。所以外国朋友难免有点手足无措。曾有一位老年朋友来中国玩，在拥挤的人群中她紧紧地抓着我，我知道她有点恐慌，她不懂中文，不知道人们在说什么。
E: 大家要了解这一点，在西方 人与人之间通常要保持适当的距离。所以在西方，如果你走路时有人不小心碰到了你，这件事就要引起注意，双方都要表示抱歉，互道对不起。但在中国，人与人之间的距离很近，不小心碰上了，人们通常不会太介意。
R: 我建议你可以带外国朋友去尝试一些新鲜的事物。这里有很多好玩的东西，你可能不以为然，比如请外国朋友到中式茶馆喝杯茶，外国朋友会觉得这是一段有趣的经历。这会令来自威斯康星州的朋友，或来自伦敦的朋友异常兴奋。请你的外国朋友尝试一些新的东西。
E: 还有中国京剧, 特别是那些专为外国朋友准备的一些著名剧目的精彩集粹。外国朋友对此非常着迷，还有中国音乐。
R: 杂技表演深受人们喜爱, 闻名于世。以上所谈到的内容大家都了解，但你们可能想象不到喝茶对外国人有什么特别的，但这对他们却不同寻常。
E: 你还可以带他们去看一看中医，请中医为他们号一号脉。或者带他们到中药房，看一看中药是什么样的。相信他们一定会兴奋不已。
R: 结束了一天的参观，建议你们一起去做足部按摩，彻底地放松一下。
E: 以上所谈的内容是我们的一些建议，当你有外国朋友来访时不妨一试。
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