I had a really leaky shower and asked for it to be repaired. Two Chinese workmen came this morning and caulked the bottom for me. As they finished they shot off a lot of Chinese words that of course made no sense. BUT I did manage to recognize one word. I heard MING TIAN and I actually understood it. It means "tomorrow". I grabbed my calendar so I could point to "today's date" and the shower and say BU (means no) and OK for tomorrow. And they acted satisfied that I understood that I wasn’t supposed to use the shower until tomorrow. I felt so clever. I know my Chinese colors and my numbers – does that mean I can get into Chinese kindergarten? (probably not) BUT I can now order about 10 different dishes, get a taxi driver to turn left or right, order a bottle of water for my apartment, say where I live and work, say “I can’t understand”, say the word “pain” (for when I get a massage), along with maybe about 100 more single words and about 3 more complete sentences. Maybe listening to all those Mandarin podcasts, and Pimsleur lessons as I went to sleep every night last year worked "yi dian" (a little bit). Wonder if when I get back in ’09 I will be able to get to sleep without them?
Side Note – I also told them about my faulty washing machine and they traded it out with another from one of the empty apartments AND IT IS BIGGER (Kris and Jim are jealous)! And works just fine…so far….BUT my lint removers I brought from the US are still my most favorite and useful items I included from my “What I am missing list (2006)”
Side Note – the many, many ZUFE gardeners have been doing their best to rush spring along with planting lots of tulips, unwrapping the bushes and trees and fertilizing. The azaleas look like they are getting ready to pop. I promise I will climb up to the top of the library to take a picture of the colorful scene when it really arrives.
