It’s been a few months since I updated you on the progress I’ve made learning Chinese. And there has been some progress–albeit modest.
Jill and I stopped taking our Chinese classes two months ago since we felt we weren’t putting in sufficient time studying outside of the classroom, and we were falling behind in the text book. But what little we did learn we’ve put to good work.
In fact, in the last few weeks, I’ve had a few very simple exchanges with locals entirely in Chinese. They go something like this; and they usually take place at a 7-11 or other convenience store.
Me: “nihao” (hello)
Taiwanese person: “nihao” (hello)
Me: “duoshaoqian?” (how much is it?)
Taiwanese person: “ee bai” (one hundred)
Me: (handing over my money) “ee ga daitze” (one bag, please)
Taiwanese person: “hao” (okay).
Me: “Shieshie. Dsaichian” (Thanks. Goodbye).
Taiwanese person: “dsaichian” (goodbye).
So there you have it, folks. The result of 8 months of immersion in a Chinese-speaking society. I can now buy items at 7-11 and speak a few words of Chinese (quite poorly). If this isn’t reason to celebrate, I don’t know what is…