With the development of worldwide communication and business, English has become a worldwide language. How to communicate with foreigners when we don’t know how to say the word we want in English is a big problem.

    Last week, we learned a strategy Tang Ying taught us on how to solve this problem by thinking in English and explaining it with the words we knew. She used the example of jieqi which means “solar term.”

    There are many words like this word. We have the Chinese name, but we can’t find the equivalent word in English. So, we can’t say its English name.

    For example if I meet a foreigner and want to talk about “guasha,” I think it would be a great challenge to me.

    At this moment, I will imagine the image of “guasha” that I have seen and then explain it to the foreigner in my own way.

    In China, it (guasha) is a way to cure illnesses and stay healthy. People use a stone or their fists to rub a sick person’s skin on their back, neck, arms, legs and so on. Some people believe there are some bad things which make them nervous and sick. So they will use this method to take them out.

    However, it looks like it will hurt you because your skin will turn red or even purple in the places you have experienced it. It seems very painful, but in fact, you will feel comfortable and relaxed. After that, you will feel better. This is my description of “guasha.”

    In the future, we will experience these situations very often. The easiest thing to do is to explain it to make others understand you.

    Maybe sometimes you can’t make yourself understood, and you can’t solve some problems if they ask some further questions. The most important thing we need to do is to think in English so that you can use the words you know how to explain.