JSLALALAND

CITY & ITS PEOPLE

How to Act Like an Angeleno

Ten LA behaviors, each with an English punchline and a Taiwanese translation.

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

Key points

Full text

  1. ① Athleisure is the daily uniform

    "I'm not working out. I just dress like it." The Taiwan translation: wearing yoga pants to brunch isn't about exercise, it's about comfort.

  2. ② Iced coffee, all year

    "It's 60 degrees. Iced, please." The Taiwan translation: it's 15°C out and still iced, the kind of order your grandma would scold you for.

  3. ③ "20 minutes away"

    "It's like 20 minutes away." The Taiwan translation: 20 minutes without traffic. With traffic, it's up to fate.

  4. ④ The 405

    "Take the 405, then the 10." The Taiwan translation: freeways always get a "the," like an old friend you know too well and can't stand.

  5. ⑤ Weather-sensitive

    "It's freezing!" (at 59°F) The Taiwan translation: LA pulls out the puffer at 64°F, and rain makes the evening news.

  6. ⑥ Hiking is socializing

    "Let's catch up on a hike." The Taiwan translation: dinner feels too formal, a hike is just right. Runyon and Griffith are LA's coffee shops.

  7. ⑦ "Let's hang soon"

    "We should totally hang soon!" The Taiwan translation: "let's get together sometime." If they really mean it, the calendar comes out right then.

  8. ⑧ Therapist talk

    "I need to set a boundary." The Taiwan translation: "I don't want to go." In LA, even a no sounds healing.

  9. ⑨ LA time

    "Running 10 minutes late!" The Taiwan translation: at least 20. Everyone blames the 405, and the 405 is used to it.

  10. ⑩ Farmers market

    "Are you going to the market Sunday?" The Taiwan translation: Sunday morning isn't for sleeping in, it's for peaches, something iced, and people-watching.

  11. The verdict

    Hit seven out of ten and you can pass as an Angeleno. All ten? Congrats, you can never go back to a Taipei winter.

In this series

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An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).