Once in a Blue Moon in Spain

Sahpnihn (Dou) Mfuhng Yatyeuhn: once in a blue moonIn Hong Kong, people use both the solar and lunar calendars.  There are ten days fewer in one lunar year than in a solar year, so an extra month (yeuhnyuht) is added every three years to make up the difference.  An exaggerated saying rose out of this practice: sahpnihn (dou) mfuhng yatyeuhn, meaning to not have a leap year in ten years, or "once in a blue moon."The highlight of my Spain experience happened on the high-speed train between Madrid … [Read more...]

To Go or Not? A Writers’ Conference Dilemma

Louhsyu Laaigwai --> Mouhdehng Maaihsau: don't know how to startIn Chinese language, there exists a verbal riddle known as the enigmatic parallelism.  A hungry rat (louhsyu) tries to bite a tortoise (gwai)--without success when the tortoise hides in its shell.  This image of the rat trying to pull out the tortoise demonstrates the phrase's meaning of not knowing how to begin.I'm not sure where to start in terms of writers' conferences.  According to this post called "The Writers Conference … [Read more...]