The other day, I was getting Penny ready to go, and our Ayi rattled off the fact that Penny was wearing her rain boots and running around the house. I didn't hear her very clearly, and I asked her again how to say "rain boots." She told me very slowly," 雨靴 yu xue." Hmmm, that translates as... RAIN BOOTS.
There's a reason I don't go around telling people about my bachelor's degree.
Another day I was rocking Naomi in my rocking chair. I didn't know how to say it in Chinese, so I asked our Ayi if they had this kind of chair in China. She raised her eyebrows, "What? A 摇椅 yao yi?" Ahh yes, ROCKING (as in, to rock back and forth) CHAIR.
I'm brilliant.
Saturday morning we went to a market. On the first floor they sell aquariums, fish, and plants. On the second floor are tons of booths, selling paintings, jade carvings, intricate furniture, jewelry, etc. One store had huge polished chunks of petrified wood. I asked the store owner how to say that kind of rock in Chinese. Before she even answered, Kevin turned to me, "木化石mu hua shi." WOOD-CHANGED(into)-ROCK.
Kevin only minored in Chinese.
3 comments:
I won't even tell you how long it's been since I spoke, because I worry to much about having those sorts of incidents. I am not even sure that I could order a meal, introduce myself, or figure out how to ask about directions any more. I majored in it too :)
That's why my German minor isn't on my resume. You'll be amazing by the time you're done!
Well, but Kevin also had his family influence, right?
Also, the last time I spoke in Chinese was with an English student of mine, and I used it as an example of why the student should keep practicing English, so they wouldn't end up forgetting it like I had forgotten my Chinese!
Post a Comment