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16th March
"Ni hao!" "Ni hao ma?" I speak a little more to my tutor, Sunny. She's impressed, as she thought she was starting from the beginning with me. "Where did you learn Chinese?" She asks. "Chinese For Beginners, on my i-pod!"
I was nervous but excited about my first lesson, but all in all it went well. I went over the basics with Sunny and learnt new sentences, such as "This is my..." "What is your name?" some new words and practised writing traditional Chinese.
I'm going to have 2 hour lessons, 2 days a week with Sunny at her apartment.
17th March
An old lady pulls the stool into the shade and ushers me to sit down. I hand her my Ugg boot, that had ripped at the back. I sit amongst four other older ladies sat on stools, all trying to get as much shade as possible under the big purple umbrella. The lady gets to work on sowing my shoe, as the elders chat amongst theirselves. I sit in trainers, jeans and a shirt. One lady begins to talk to me about being cold. "Noo, I'm hot" She shows me the four layers she is wearing. She then asks if I want any food and something something something. I explained in Chinese I didn't understand. I was annoyed I didn't know what she was asking, that I couldn't even answer properly. They spoke to me so kindly, gentle even. The lady handed back my new again shoe, I wish she hadn't been so quick, I didn't want to leave. Although I didn't know what they were saying to me, to eachother, but they just seemed to have such kind hearts. They way the lady touched my hand to see if I was cold and smiled at me, it was really sweet. I gathered up my stuff, said goodbye and waited by the road until the traffic calmed down enough for me to cross the road.
From my balcony I can see a Pagoda, it stands within Fangta Park, just 5 minutes up the road. I wanted to do something productive with my day off school, but riding the subway didn't appeal to me, so with the lovely weather and half of my day gone already doing odd jobs, Fangta Park it was.
A tiny path amongst purple flowers led me away from the main attraction. Small tables within trees and flowers sat waiting for people to use, every corner had something new, something just as beautifully peaceful. The grand Pagoda stood infront a stream surrounded by trees strung with red lanterns and ribbons. A lush green park across the stream called out to me to take a football next time! A temple (unfortunatly I'm not sure what it was for) stood infront of the Pagoda. The inside was so striking. The colours, statues, items, I didn't know where to look. I couldn't believe everything from the Pagoda to the flowers, from the Temple to the stream, that this wonder land is just down the road.
I found a table looking out to the Pagoda and did some of my Mandarin homework. Harmony. I know I'm lucky having days off in the week when visiting Fangta or Confucius, as hardly anyone is around compared to if it was the weekend!
Walking amid bamboo and wild flowers, I found a little temple. Chen Huacheng (1776-1842) fought aganist foreign invasion during the Opium War. He trained soliders, started casting bronze cannons and the making of gunpowder. Chen today is seen as a patriotic General in the anti-British imperalist battle, a hero in modern day history. This small temple was erected in Songjiang in memory of Chen and his herosim.
The sun was slowing setting and the wind was getting colder. It was a shame I had to leave, with the park closing in half an hour, there was so much more to explore and a Pagoda to climb but I wasn't worried, I know I'll be going back to Fangta many times, to play some badminton or find a quite area surrounded by nature and reading my book. Fangta is my new favourite place :)
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