I survived my second week of learning Mandarin! It was definitely a crazy, intense week, and included crying from laughing so much, but I have enjoyed it. I thought the "r" and "c" from last week were hard, but I discovered this week that there are several more that I am going to have to really practice to say correctly. Both of my teachers have said that I am improving from last week and doing well, so that is encouraging.
Speaking of Mandarin.....the last two times that I have gone into the little quick mart in our apartment complex the shop owners have taken an interest in helping me to be able to understand numbers spoken in Chinese, so it has been cool to experience that. Tonight when I went in, the husband typed the amount on the calculator and then the wife said it slowly for me to hear. I then repeated it back to her and she smiled. I won't be learning the numbers section of my book for a few more weeks, but I may know a few before we even get to that section.
So, I have officially been here for a month now and I can honestly say that I have already seen things here that break my heart. One thing has been in regards to jobs. China has done well in trying to create jobs for as many people as possible, but the people receive such a poor salary that I do not know how many families survive - their minimum wage is basically the equivalent of $1.50 an hour, and for work that they give 110% effort to. Many of the workers are from nearby villages and either take buses into town to work for the day, or workers who have moved to the city leaving their spouses and children behind, and whom they only see 1 month a year.
On another note, I have enjoyed talking to a few of you via Skype this week. If you are unaware of Skype, it is a free service that you download to your computer that allows you to call or video call anyone on Skype around the world. My mom especially loves it since as she says: "She gets to see my lovely face." (Ok, so I enjoy seeing her face too, but don't tell her I said that!) So, for those of you that would love to chat sometime via Skype please email me and I will send you my Skype name and tell you how to set up Skype if you are interested.
In closing I have included a few more cultural observations (you knew they had to be coming):
* China is working on becoming "green," so when going to the store, you need to either purchase an environmentally friendly bag there or bring your own - most stores do not have plastic bags, or if they do, you will be charged for each one you use
* If someone hands you something using both hands, then you are to accept it with both hands (sign of respect)
* Xi'an has lots of dust, so it is rare that you will ever see a blue sky (though we had a rare day Monday, so everyone was outside most of the day)
* Everything here receives a red stamp to make it official, including when you leave a store you have to get your receipt stamped
On a quick side note, I turned in my passport last week to get my new student visa put in, and I was able to pick it up today, so that is a huge relief. I will be checking in again within the week. Thank you to all of you who read my blogs each week - I really appreciate it and am touched by your support.
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