Thursday, June 21, 2012

About signs.

There are some really great signs in China.  Really great.

First of all, Shanghai spoils us.  The city is incredibly kind to foreigners, especially Anglos.  Most road signs are in both Mandarin and English.  Most areas that do business with expats also have dual-language signage.  There are times that one can easily forget that you are even in Asia.

But sometimes the signs just stop you in your tracks.  You guffaw. You make eye contact with your spouse and do that little head jerk that means "lookovertherebutdon'tLOOKlikeyou'relookingoverthere"
the first few times.  But now?

Now I take pictures.  Because those things are awesome.

So starts a regular feature we will call Shanghai Signs.  I have three pieces for you all this evening.
Found in our apartment
The light switches are very cool in modern in our apartment, and all labeled well for easy use.  Took me a couple weeks to realize that this did not, in fact, actually say "dining."  I now giggle almost every time I use it.

Found in our area grocery store- the fancy "Whole Foods" like one
The spelling of yogurt aside, the pronoun usage along with the adjective instead of the noun just makes for a great sign.  Totally communicates the point, so successful there, and totally makes me want frozen yogurt, so successful marketing.  (This commentary is also where I remind all of you that I am an English teacher by trade; therefore, grammatical explanations tend to be specific and use proper terms.  However, also note that I am writing this blog as a casual matter, and I take liberties with the general rules of grammar and usage to speak in an authentic voice and better communicate tone.  Contradiction?  You betcha.)

Also from said grocery store

I am going to have to write out for you the wording of this sign. 

Ahem.

"Meat, in its broadest definition, is animal tissue used as food. Most often it refers to skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also refer to non-muscle organs such as lungs, livers,"

You know what makes me hungry for steak?

Not that sign. 




On another note: Thanks for the concern about the finger.  I am doing well, the finger is healing and the throbbing has finally stopped.  I have a few posts in the hopper and should be posting on the regular yet again.  


  

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