Ni hao! So I am picking up dribs and drabs of Mandarin
although our lessons have not been sorted out yet. I reckon I have over 50
words, but am still not remotely able to have a conversation! Imagine trying to
communicate with only the following words at your disposal when you wish to
say; open a bank account or go to the dentist…!
Hello, goodbye, thank you, tomorrow, birthday, I/me, you,
want, lunch, good, bad, crazy, toilet, crying, beautiful, road, car, driver,
fried dumplings, this one, (English) school, Chinese, bank, money, boss/old man, a glass/cup
of, big, small, cold, the bill, a receipt, no, yes, ok, wait a little, minutes,
come here, let's go, people, cat, moon/month, rain, RT Mart, left, right,
straight on, a pair of...and numbers to 100, (with a small time delay!)
Thank goodness English speakers can be found, nevertheless I
find it cripplingly embarrassing to have to ask if anyone speaks English all
the time, and miming to fill the gaps when I am so used to being able to get
around most parts of the world I have visited with more than just a few words
at my disposal.
Here is a clip of Laura teaching us some Mandarin, or is
she??!
That's some quality bluffing!!!
Other musings (apologies if I am already repeating myself):
• My
favourite street name to date: Longdong Avenue *snigger* • Chocolate doesn’t seem to be a very popular flavour here. I have been caught out quite a few times with things that look chocolatey, but are actually made with red bean. They make all sorts of desserts with beans too, sweet dumplings and ice lollies for example. The other common flavour I have had near misses with is coffee. We chose an ice cream from a menu for the children expecting it to be chocolate, but it was coffee. Thankfully it was very mild and they both liked it. (Anything for an ice cream!)
• A popular bread topping here is Meat Floss, I can’t tell you how much this offends me, it’s probably not massively dissimilar to jerky, but I just feel nauseous every time I see it sprinkled on a roll or loaf of bread http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rousong
• Weird crisp flavour of the week: Sour plum and melon, no, I couldn’t bring myself to buy them…one day, just for you guys I will try them… Also Tortilla chips that were labelled Ethnican flavour…hahahaha, no idea what that is!
• Fireworks/firecrackers
are a regular background noise, no idea why, but they go off frequently in the
morning, afternoon and evening, weekday and weekend…
• I have been challenged to find some particular chopstick rests by my bestie Kate. Can you believe that despite looking in almost every shop I have been in, I have seen only one very plain set. Thousands of chopsticks though… ;)
• Bodily functions: while I knew about the spitting, I actually find that less bothersome than the awful hawking up noise that precedes the actual spitting. I was also quite surprised to see a toddler needing a wee being held over the small drain of a drinking water fountain in the middle of a supermarket, although I know that the outcome could have been far worse!
• Autumn is coming and the leaves are starting to fall, the temperature has dropped a little to the upper 20s rather than low 30s but the mosquitoes are still on the rampage. Very happy that compound living means that someone else sweeps the leaves off the drive daily (I do my own doorstep, I’m not that work shy).
• We had our first typhoon warning; while the rain hammered down and the wind howled, it was otherwise uneventful.
• Every time we go through the barrier in and out of the compound the security guards salute us. I LOVE this as I never took a commission and really enjoy the novelty…BUT I have to hold my arm down against the instinctive need to return the salute! The children often salute back which seems to entertain the guards.
• We may have people that go to the shops in onesies in the UK, but the Chinese are way ahead of them. It is completely normal to go out in your pyjamas. Whether popping to the shops or running errands, it is not uncommon to see people in their nightwear!
• I have discovered that the smell that makes this house most feel like home is that of burnt toast lingering in the air when I come back in from the school run!
More to follow soon, with pictures :)• I have been challenged to find some particular chopstick rests by my bestie Kate. Can you believe that despite looking in almost every shop I have been in, I have seen only one very plain set. Thousands of chopsticks though… ;)
• Bodily functions: while I knew about the spitting, I actually find that less bothersome than the awful hawking up noise that precedes the actual spitting. I was also quite surprised to see a toddler needing a wee being held over the small drain of a drinking water fountain in the middle of a supermarket, although I know that the outcome could have been far worse!
• Autumn is coming and the leaves are starting to fall, the temperature has dropped a little to the upper 20s rather than low 30s but the mosquitoes are still on the rampage. Very happy that compound living means that someone else sweeps the leaves off the drive daily (I do my own doorstep, I’m not that work shy).
• We had our first typhoon warning; while the rain hammered down and the wind howled, it was otherwise uneventful.
• Every time we go through the barrier in and out of the compound the security guards salute us. I LOVE this as I never took a commission and really enjoy the novelty…BUT I have to hold my arm down against the instinctive need to return the salute! The children often salute back which seems to entertain the guards.
• We may have people that go to the shops in onesies in the UK, but the Chinese are way ahead of them. It is completely normal to go out in your pyjamas. Whether popping to the shops or running errands, it is not uncommon to see people in their nightwear!
• I have discovered that the smell that makes this house most feel like home is that of burnt toast lingering in the air when I come back in from the school run!
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