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Chinglish – Funny Chinese to English Translations!

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Today, I have a silly travel story from Richelle who runs Adventures Around Asia, about how an experience that she thought she had signed up for that ended up turning out to be something completely different, unrelated – and possibly way better! I think it’s an example of Chinglish – where things in Chinese don’t translate in quite the desired effect in English!

Anyway, her blurb is the following – ‘A recent grad in her early 20’s hailing from Seattle, USA. Richelle spent last year teaching English to 1,000 high school students in “the middle of nowhere”, China’. Check out her blog Adventures Around Asia for more of her crazy misadventures. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Here it is!

Chinglish T-Shirt Story – Getting Wasted with the Head Hunters

A few years ago I took a trip down to Hainan, China for my study abroad spring break. As much as I love the beach, I can only spend so long laying out before I get bored (and sunburnt). So the evening before my last full day, I found an activity advertised in my hostel that looked fun: spend a day exploring the jungles of Hainan and then head out for a feast with all you can drink beer. I managed to rope two of my guy friends into the adventure, while the girls all went to the beach.

My friends and I were the first to arrive, and we got our seats on the bus. One-by-one everyone else arrived, and I began to notice… everyone was in full-on running gear! It turns out we had signed up for a community running event called the “Hash Harriers” in the jungle. None of us were dressed appropriately, especially me. I had a nasty sunburn on my chest (because there’s no sunscreen in China), making it impossible for me to wear a bra. The only thing I could wear was a knee-length dress.

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Sunburn In China

Eventually we arrived at the jungle and everyone started stretching. Picture this: here I am, wearing a dress, walking sandals and a crossbody purse with my two male companions who are both between 6’2” and 6’4”, surrounded by a bunch of Chinese people stretching like they’re about to run a marathon.

Now, I’m not a particularly small-busted person, and my main fear was that my boobs were going to fall out of my dress. My friends and I started asking around for a shirt to throw over my dress, and a kind gentleman gave me a shirt from the back of his trunk.

The shirt he gave me was glorious. A navy blue breathable material, this shirt had “Time to get wasted with the Head Hunters” written across the body, complete with a skull made out of beer bottles. The shirt was huge on me, so it was basically like wearing a second dress. But it allowed me to complete the 8k run without worrying about scarring the villagers for life.

Chinglish - Funny Chinese To English Translations! Head Hunters Tshirt

As I crossed the finish line, I was handed a large beer and a slice of watermelon. When I tried to give the shirt back, the man wouldn’t take it (I don’t blame him), and said it was a gift.

Running Race In China

It’s now my favorite souvenir from China!


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