Ice Cream for You and Me

The first time I saw an ice cream truck was in San Francisco.  I was spending a summer with my cousins.  When I heard the music I was not sure what that was.  Suddenly, the kids who were playing in front of me all disappeared and then came back with money and ran toward the music.

Out of curiosity, I followed and running after them.  Here and then I saw an ice cream truck. It was quite different from the bā bū (the sound of the horn) wagon I know when I was growing up in Taipei.  However, the reaction of the kids was the same.

The excitement and the fun of chasing after the ice cream guy!

Here are the two important Chinese expressions for the summer days and maybe also winter days!

• ice cream – 冰淇淋 bīng qí lín

• popsicle – 冰棒 bīng bàng, this expression literally means ice bar or ice stick.

• Both expressions have the same character, 冰 bīng, which means ‘ice.”  Maybe your child can have fun and detect that.

If you want to go further you can dissect the character, 冰 [bīng] ice ：

冫on the left is read as [bīng] and it means “ice.”

水 on the right is read as [shuǐ] and it means “water.”

Learning Chinese characters are a lot of fun for kids.  When children can spot the most basic elements of the Chinese characters they become the detectives of Chinese words.

These basic Chinese elements are called “radicals 部首 bù shǒu,” they have a similar function as the roots in the Romance languages.

Now, let’s go back to the ice cream.

Does your child enjoy ice cream?  Can your child have it any time of the day?

You might think it is a funny question.  But, actually, it can be a culture question.

For Chinese, cold food like ice cream, iced tea, water with ice cubes should be avoided in the morning.  However, Chinese people still enjoy ice creams and cold drinks, especially young people and kids.

Cold milk in the morning?  Nope.  It might not pass a Chinese grandma’s eyes because she will warm it up for you.

At the same time, if you have a chance to visit China or Taiwan you will see Chinese breakfast food is almost always warm and hot with only a few cold item options.  What you will see on the street are the vendors selling the hot steaming buns, the freshly made Chinese pancakes rolled up with egg inside on the stove, the hot crunchy Chinese churro, yóu tiáo packed in the warm crispy sesame pocket, the rice rolls, rice noodle soup,…etc.

So, the quick breakfast cereal with cold milk is not a typical breakfast for Chinese people.  Cold food in the morning is a little too “shocking” for the body for Chinese.

The idea from Chinese medicine is that cold food is not the ideal choice for your digestive system.

Ice cream for you and me?

Or, hot water for you and me?  It is now more than a simple question but a deeper understanding of Asian culture.

More fun with Mandarin – Listen to Playful Chinese podcast featuring ICE CREAM!

top image by Ted McGrath.