Coming to India for vacations, internship or job? Regardless the amount of time you are planning to spend here, it is very advisable to learn at least a couple of basic phrases in Indian languages. They will make your stay nicer, your experience richer and they will even save you some money! The "language situation" in India is quite different from other countries. You have many official languages and countless of other languages. In fact, India has the most complex linguistic set up anywhere with literally thousands of languages being spoken. Nevertheless, there is one language that functions as a lingua franca across much of the country. Indians generally refer to it as Hindi!

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[This article is not for those who drink solely tea, or the ones who are certain that a cup of coffee can kill a horse.] When you live in Delhi, you bargain successfully every day with rickshaws on the way to your office and can barely breathe through your scarf in the compulsory traffic jams. Everything is fine until one day you realise, that the supply of “as if it was always there” coffee in your kitchen, that used to be the best moment of your morning, is over. And at this very moment you understand that your day cannot start right, that the sun set and this city had finally got a chance to catch you. If the caffeine-deficiency in your body is not that high and you can still think, you go to the nearest market and try to find something like your favourite Lavazza.

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Along with economic development and social evolution in both developed and developing countries, leisure activities have become more important and diverse than ever. Relaxing after long and strenuous working hours and the other obligations of daily life is now a necessity. The “need to escape” is enjoyed in different ways across cultures and is closely related to daily lifestyles, working life, and cultural patterns. As Chinese society has experienced great changes over the last few decades, leisure activities have also developed a lot. I have had the opportunity to observe these evolutions in China and explore Western and Chinese views on this issue. The following is an interview conducted with David Ritter, a 27 year old American male who has been living in China for two and a half years, and Yang Qi, a 25 year old Chinese male who studied in Australia for six years but has since returned to Chengdu. Below is a transcript of our discussions about Chinese leisure activities.

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