I can (barely) understand Chinese!
So, today, I was getting breakfast at this wonderful little breakfast stand near the hostel, and when I went to pay, I understood what the woman behind the counter was saying!! Granted, she was just telling me how much money I owed, and so it’s only numbers, but I was still quite excited. I just about clasped my hands over my head and shook them from side to side in a victory celebration.
You see, as far as Chinese goes, numbers (1-10) are the first thing I’ve been endeavoring to learn over here. With the whole “5 tones” thing, it can be a bit of a pain in the rear. But somehow, this morning, the number the little lady behind the counter quoted me rang clear in my head. And then, when I bought some fresh squeezed orange juice mere minutes later, I understood the price that that woman quoted me. Now, I don’t want you to get all intimidated by this incredible display of skill and aptitude. I still put my pants on one leg at a time.
No, seriously, as I’ve said many times before, Chinese is insane. This morning was the smallest of moral victories. Still, when your Chinese is on par with the skill of the 92-93 Dallas Mavericks, you’ll take what you can get. At least, I will.
I was really happy when I was able to ask someone behind the counter a question in Germany. I only understood every other word of the answer, but I figured it out.
[...] by 9, we loaded her friends on our scooters and made our way to my favorite little breakfast place (the one where I realized I totally understood Chinese). Being as that my mouth felt like I’d inhaled a cotton field and tasted like I’d eaten [...]
Cool issue, did not thought this was going to be so amazing when I read your title with link.