ChinesePod

You eat lunch at your office every day. Five meals a week, nearly fifty weeks a year. It might seem like there are a lot of options at first, but after a few months (or years) on the job, the options really start to bore. Discover a very familiar office conversation in today's lesson on lunch options.

Today's podcast explores a common situation, albeit one that's more likely to occur in dreams than real life. You've guessed it - it's the nightmare scenario in which everyone is staring at you, and for a very good reason! Check out today's lesson to find out why this person has everyone else's attention.

Got plans with friends that you've got to rearrange? Looking for a way to explain why you can't attend an appointment? Check out this ChinesePod lesson to learn the language you'll need to cancel plans.

Sending a package can be a bit intimidating in any language. The post office employee will ask you a number of questions about the contents of your package, the way you want to send it, and the options you have for its arrival. Check out today's ChinesePod lesson to prepare yourself for the next time you need to send a package and communicate these important details in Chinese!

It's the new year and that means traveling home to see friends and family. In today's lesson learn how to make plans to see old friends. Hopefully you're able to fit it all into a week-long visit!

One thing is true about the weather these days: it's really unpredictable! People generally try to stay on top of the weather news in China, but despite an effort to stay informed, one of the characters in today's lesson will most definitely be feeling the chill tomorrow. Tune in to find out why!

If you take random peeks at your Chinese co-workers' computer screens throughout the day, you'll be sure to find quite a few of them raising farm animals and growing crops on Kaixin Wang. Kaixin Wang is China's answer to Facebook, and it's super popular. Listen to today's Mandarin lesson to find out more.

Some people are minimalists, others are pack-rats. When it comes to moving house, you'd better hope your the former and not the latter! Join us today as we call up a moving company to find out just how to get stuff out of one apartment and into another!

Ever found yourself running late, navigating an unknown place, trying to find the address you had scribbled down in front of you? Well today we're in this very situation, and our directions are all off! Learn how to ask for directions (and to criticize someone for completely messing up the directions)!

Now that it's cold out, sitting around a boiling pot of broth for hours on end doesn't seem like such a bad idea. On the contrary! It is a very appealing style of eating (which also accounts for the long lines at hot pot restaurants all over town right now). Learn how to talk hot pot in today's delicious ChinesePod lesson!

As children we're told not to judge a book by its cover. That being said, if you spend hours, days, perhaps even weeks finding just the right Christmas gift for someone, do you want to give up at the home-stretch and wrap it in a brown paper bag? Of course not! Listen to this ChinesePod lesson to make sure you know how to get the perfect wrapping paper suitable for your perfect gift!

Everyone likes free money, right? But is there really such a thing as free money? Join us at ChinesePod today as we go shopping - and receive some vouchers that are tempting... too tempting!

What better way to spend an hour on Saturday than soaking your fingers, getting your hands massaged, and coming home with beautifully manicured nails? And did you know - manicures aren't just for women! Check out today's lesson to arm yourself to confidently walk into a Chinese nail salon and get a lovely French manicure.

It's intimidating enough meeting your spouse's family... today we're meeting the whole extended family, titles, relationships and all. After studying this lesson, you'll have the tools you need to feel comfortable in any Chinese family gathering!

We're in for a treat today - foot massages! But not just any foot massages... these will be medicinal foot soaks. Learn all about how the foot relates to other parts of the body - and how taking care of your feet might even help your stomach (huh)?

If you've been to China, you will have noticed the lack of fire detectors in homes and office buildings. We won't be solving this problem with today's ChinesePod lesson, but we will be providing you with the language tools to alert others if there is a fire. You'll also be learning how to ask for a fire extinguisher!

We've all been there: you're in the middle of a big project, you're about to save, and... nothing. Your computer is frozen. Nothing to do but shout in anger and beg the tech. department to come over and see what the bigger problem is. A virus? A hardware issue? Tune in today to learn how to describe computer problems and how to ask for help.

Today we're leaving behind the rats, monkeys and tigers of the Chinese zodiac for Leo, Taurus and Saggitarius. Find out how to discuss your own sign, and learn how to ask someone else theirs. Who knows, you might even pick up some flirting tips!

Foreigners everywhere are working hard at learning Chinese. Unfortunately, many of those sincere students find themselves learning from boring, poorly designed material. In this lesson we take a look at this issue from the angle of the school and the teachers, who are asking each other: what can we do to make these Chinese classes more interesting?

Do you know all the work that goes into maintaining a rice paddy? And can you talk about it in Mandarin Chinese? In this lesson, a visitor to the countryside learns about both the hard labor and the simple pleasures to be found outside of China's urban areas.

Do you know the story of the Frog Prince? Do you know the Chinese chengyu about frogs and wells? In this lesson, hear a children's fairytale infused with Chinese cultural characteristics, and also get a little dose of Middle Kingdom morals.

In August 7, 2010, there was a terrible mudslide in Gansu Province. In this lesson we hear not only a newscast related to the natural disaster, but also the reactions of some average Chinese people with relatives in Gansu.

Ah, taxes... one of the few certainties in life, and the bane of our existence. Unfortunately, learning all the little quirks of the Chinese tax system doesn't make the whole ordeal any more fun in China. Listen in to this lesson, and we can help you out with the Mandarin Chinese side of the equation, at least.

What goes on in a Chinese bath house? Maybe not all of it is fit for a family podcast, but in this lesson a husband insists that bath houses are rapidly becoming popular (and legitimate) places to make business deals. Listen in on the debate and learn some useful Mandarin Chinese.

The days of the "iron rice bowl" are long gone, a daughter reminds her mother in this lesson. Just as in many other parts of the world, modern Chinese young people aren't staying with any one employer for too long. Find out more about this viewpoint on the Chinese job market in this lesson.