It’s hard to believe that Kristi and I have been here almost 10 months already, and it was just this week that we learned the Chinese word for diarrhea! Those of you who know my family well, know that we enjoy talking about socially taboo subjects. Maybe it’s the fun of seeing the shock on the listener’s face, or maybe we just enjoy the freedom of being able to talk so freely about a fairly common occurrence; but for one reason or another, my family really enjoys talking about bodily functions. With that said, I just had to smile when I heard “Lā Dùzi” for the first time. Imitate an Italian guy saying “la doodza,” and you’ve just said diarrhea in Chinese. It just runs . . .uh . . . I mean rolls, off the tongue, doesn’t it!
Besides being fun to say, here in China it’s okay to talk openly about your . . . . you know . . . issues! Historically, there hasn’t been too much privacy in China. Most households are multi-generational, a small city has a million citizens or more, and everywhere you go there are people, which means less privacy. On top of that, because of poor sanitation, it’s pretty common to get the “24 hour flu/stomach flu” or gastroenteritis for you doctors or WebMD frequenters. Why not talk about something that’s so common, and everybody already knows you have anyway! So for the people out there that like to use creative coinages for socially taboo subjects, you can add this one to your vocabulary . . . . . . “Lā Dùzi”!
1 comment:
just looking at it, the words, in print and then pronouncing them phonetically - well, it makes sense then when people say "whew, that was a doozie!" Nick
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