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Sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days but have been very, very busy. On Sunday I was relaxing reading in the sun when I was accosted by a group of Chinese people who wanted to practice their English. They were all reasonably good and communication was not an issue. After an hour or so of pestering me with questions about English they turned their attention to Chinese, which is practically non-existent.
For the rest of the day we hung about in the half-moon (which is what they call the garden you can see in the photo from my room, the one with the Yin-Yang in it) and they helped me get a grasp of a few basic words and phrases. Chinese is practically impossible to learn without someone to practice with, the details in pronunciation are so minute that a difference in pitch or tone can completely alter a sentence. However after a lot of hard work I can now greet people, say good-bye, tell them I am an English Teacher and ask for water.
So go me!
In the evening they insisted on taking me to there favourite restaurant, which was more like a hole in a wall with a few tables and a grimy looking fridge full off meat. The place operated like a pick and mix of meat and vegetables, you pick what you want and the chef (?) boils into in a spicy, pepper soup with noodles. It was surprisingly delicious! And after a few minutes of fiddling I was using chopsticks with reasonable skill. At least getting every other piece of meat to my mouth.
By this point there was only four of us Zhao (pronounced Chao), Yuri (simplified version of her name) and Jenny (completely invented because her name is impossible to pronounce!) and as an act of compromise they decided to re-christen me with a Chinese name as close to mine as the could, mine being equally impossible to pronounce.
So in China I am now Yi An which sounds like ee an so is easy to recognise! Apparently it means very safe or very silent! Fair enough!
I am now one step closer to going native!
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