July 14, 2006
I've been meaning to write a short note about Chinese-picture-taking-tourists; here it is.
Like most places we travel, there are always people taking pictures. In China, the person behind the camera counts up 1, 2, 3. In Chinese, the person says "yee", "aar" (pronounced as would a forlorn pirate), "san" and then takes the picture. There are two poses for the subject: over a certain age, stand up straight without expression; below a certain age, smile and flash the 'peace' gesture, which I was told means 'happiness.'
(Philological note: in a previous post, I had written that 1 is 'yo'. As I understand it now, there are at least two different words for 1 and 2. 'Yo' is acceptable for bus numbers, but 'yee' is used in counting. I don't really understand why, though, so make up reasons as you choose.)
-David
