Having a Peanut Allergy in China
When I first became interested in studying abroad in China, I was not thinking about the practical side of my daily life. In the United States nut allergies are very common and restaurants typically do not use peanut oil or are specific about allergens on their menus. In China; however, this is not always the case. I have a peanut allergy, which impacts how I can go out and consume food in China. However, though my allergy is something I now have to think about in my daily life here, it is manageable with a few tricks. This week's blog explores some useful considerations to staying safe with allergies. 1. Know how to say your allergen correctly! The Mandarin characters for peanut are 花生 [huā shēng] and to express my allergy I say “ 我对花生过敏 .[w ǒ duì huāshēng guòmǐn] ” You can say “ 我对 [insert allergen] 过敏 .” Make sure you are pronouncing this correctly and get t...
