Ni hao

Chinese is the most rewarding language to learn. Say “Ni hao” to a local and they will complement you on how good you speak their language!

I am very surprised and proud of the fact that despite the fact that I haven’t studied or spoken the language in 15 (fifteen!) years I still remember lots. And it keeps coming back! Two babies (and after having kids every mom knows the brain turns to mush) and countless parties and my brain is still storing this information. Amazing.

Nevertheless, I felt the need to brush up on my language skills and hopefully learn some more. So, after two months of procrastination…I finally called ISA’s language school to set up an appointment. 30 minutes by bike and I finally find her school, located in her home on the ground floor of an apartment building in the town of Hou Sha Yu, with an entrance through her zen-like garden, lovely in the spring I’m sure.

After greeting me, she hands me a paper, all written in hanzi (Chinese characters), to see where I’m at. Auummmmm…Dawai he Mali…ok, not much have changed when it comes to the fake foreigners taking Mandarin lessons in Chinese languagelearning books. After a lot of coaching, we made it to the end and I left her with an eagerness to study that I haven’t felt in years.

Going home I took the wrong exit of a roundabout and almost ended up on the express way.

So, while I might be good at languages, I’m still logistically impaired….but at least I can ask for directions..