(sorry for the big long gap…i’ve been slammed at work)
I’m currently on my 6th class at Mandarin Avenue - a small Chinese language school adjacent to our complex. I take 2, 2 hour lessons each week with Pieter from Swizerland and Reinhart from Germany. Usually it’s just one or the other. It’s amazing how fast I’m learning the language now and what a difference it makes. Once you learn enough to get around in a taxi and shop, you don’t need to learn much more because usually your co-workers and employees speak english and translate everything for you. Pieter has lived here 10 years and doesn’t know much more than I do. Reinhart came at the same time I did and while he started off class knowing less than me, he seems pretty bright. It’s hilarious to hear their German tongue-twirl as they speak Chinese. The speed at which I’m learning is almost exponential now. I think my vocabulary is up to about 100 words and/or phrases (not counting numbers).
Today I got to really use it in a business setting with a cinema-esque dramatic delivery. I held an off-site meeting with the owner of network engineering company along with our help desk outsourcing company owner. I needed to clearly establish that all decisions must be cleared with me and not our in-house engineer who seems to like to put himself in the middle of things. So after speaking english through a translator for 2 hours, I looked at the rep and said “wo shir lao ban” which translates to “I’m the boss”. Man, did I feel puffy after that one.
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