A Note About Currency
Just to clear up any confusion, here is a legend for deciphering my references to money.
As an American who lives in China, I think in two currencies: the US dollar and the Chinese yuan. Currently, the US dollar is worth about 7.5 yuan, down from 8.2 when I moved to China in 2004.
Most of you know that the most common slang term for a US dollar is "bucks". Others exist but I only ever refer to dollars or bucks. They're interchangeable.
In China, the currency is called äººæ°‘å¸ (Ren2min2bi4) or "people's currency". The other official name for the currency is å…ƒ (yuan2) which basically means "dollar". The nationally used slang term for yuan is å— (kuai4) which literally means "piece".
So if you read that I spent 50 kuai on something, think of it as 50 yuan or about $6.75.
