Since it's still coming along.
I know I have picked up some Chinese. I've learned words. Mainly things like "Hello", "thank you", "meat", "this", and "goodbye". I've also learned "waiter!". But these are not quite sentence structures.
I'm trying to learn words, but I guess what happens more frequently is since I'm a teacher, I can get away speaking English, and since I'm not studying Chinese, I can let a whole day pass without going to review my Chinese programs. It's frustrating, and mainly a whole level of frustrating that comes from being where I am.
I am learning. I had a student help me, and now she tutors me for learning Chinese, learning some phrases, learning some culture, learning some history. And I finally got a Chinese name. But. But.
I'm still not comfortable eating by myself with my limited Chinese- restaurants scare me if they don't have menus, if I don't know how to pay. Eating at stalls scares me when it's crowded dinner time and I don't know how to communicate.
What's really easy? Shopping at supermarkets. The problem is, their food is more expensive, and I have few places to cook food here. It is most sad.
So while I feel like I'm learning Chinese, I'm stuck between "useful" and "not at all useful", between "grammar" and "phrase", and I feel like I'm still not learning enough.
It'll come, but it's still a long way off.
In the meantime, please have a video (I know the ipod has crappy cutting) of Mrs. Wong, our gate-keepers wife, as she plays with a top.
What is your Chinese name?
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