Language Lesson #2

Tones.

Many Asian languages uses tones. This means that the same word means different things when used with a different tone.

For example:
"Mama qi ma, ma man mama ma ma" means Mother is riding a horse. The horse walks slowly so Mother scolds the horse. Each word has a distinct tone giving it a different meaning from the other similar sounding words.

In Mandarin there are four tones:
First Tone has no rise or fall in your voice
Second Tone is high. In English it is like you are asking a question.
Third Tone is rising. This one would be like an overly exaggerated down and then rising to your voice.
Fourth Tone is low. This one starts high and then your voice drops lower.
There is also Neutral Tone which is just a short first tone.

Thai also had tones we had to learn. They were a little different but the same idea. In Thai for example Khaw (rising tone) aw (middle tone) and Khaw (falling tone) meant "He wants rice."

We just finished our second week of language learning and have many more on the way. Wish us luck for the next 150 weeks.

3 right turns make a left

Driving! We take it for granted in the states. I think when Taiwan was creating streets and organizing road rules they tried to come up with the most difficult and confusing method possible. For example: left turns are not allowed usually. So let's say you are going North on ABC Road and you want to turn left to begin heading West on Road TUV you must either continue past Road TUV and hope for a U-turn up ahead where you can continue back South on ABC Road thereby allowing you to turn Right onto Road TUV so that you can then go West. Or you must make three right turns onto side streets to end in the desired direction. Three right turns seems to be easier on paper than is actually done. Most roads do not go in a straight East-West or North-South direction conveniently intersecting with the next North-South or East-West road thereby allowing three easy right turns. No, no- the side roads are congested, crowded alleyways that appear to go in no particular direction and intersect with other smaller even more crowded alleys that just came from no direction in particular. A road map might as well be a bowl of rice noodles. We actually know Taiwanese people who get lost in their own city and our language tutor does not even drive here.

And in other news- Chloe thinks the security guard in our building is named "Ni Hao." We told her to say "Ni Hao" to him when she sees him. Ni Hao is the typical Chinese greeting for "Hello." So the other night we were walking and she did not see the security guard and she said "Mommy, I want Ni Hao." Then he appeared and she said "Oh, there he is."

Fish in a fish bowl

Last saturday we took a much needed break from the city and went to the sea. The overcast sky, icy wind, sand littered with clumps of dessert grass and the cool specks of drizzle rain were reminiscent of a trip Jeff and I took along the coast of Lake Michigan in October 2002. As we approached the waves frantically piercing the beach Chloe began searching the ground for shells. We were not far enough from civilization to find much but garbage and it was far too cold to spend time walking along the beach. But it was nice to see open sky free from buildings.

We spent some time walking around the Fisherman's Wharf area with a small handful of other tourists. Chloe and Ava became instant stars posing for camera cell phones with other local children while onlookers asked us questions that we didn't understand. We just nodded and smiled.

I forgot my camera once again. We only got lost two or three times getting there and back.

We stopped at a McDonald's without a parking lot but with a drive-thru (space is a premium) and attempted to order 6 hamburgers. The poor girl thought we were trying to order a single hamburger and despite our best attempts at using the Chinese word for "six" she just did not understand. We got the foreigner pass to go straight to the window without ordering where the English-speaking manager took over.

One other note: Please remember our entire organization this Christmas season. November is historically the time when most places in America give the most money to fund our organization. Last year's downturn has caused major cutbacks. The most unfortunate part is that our language budgets have been cut in addition to other areas such as medical, retirement and transportation. Language learning is our lifeline to the people who are ultimately the reason we are here. Please ask for open hearts during this offering time as well as wisdom for the decison-makers in our organization.

It's Thursday aleady?!

Wow! This week has flown by. We begin every morning with two hours each of intense survival Chinese. Then a quick lunch, maybe a nap for the girls if we are lucky, and on to our to-do list.

This week we got our Taiwanese driver's licenses. We are now legal to drive in about a half-dozen countries (US, Thailand, Taiwan and all the countries with reciprocal agreements including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia to name a few). Interesting fact: Jeff and I have driven in 4 different countries, on opposite sides of the road and on 3 separate continents.

Anyways, we are slowly acquiring the furnishings for our new apartment and the girls are ever so slowly adjusting to the time difference. I think Chloe is doing all right but Ava is just hanging on to that US time. It's been almost a month now since she has slept through the night. She is also in a new phase of development where she is extremely independent but totally unstable. She wants to walk everywhere but is a falling disaster waiting to happen. She wants to feed herself but most of the food ends in a mess on the floor. She wants to explore everything and it all goes in the mouth which can be unnerving. Please remember her (and us!) during your quiet times.

Jeff has started working in the afternoons on learning his new job and getting set-up in his new office. Please remember him as he has a very full schedule ahead of him.

And one other thing:
I am getting bored with cooking the same ol things over and over so if you have a good recipe that uses fairly basic ingredients or is completely made from scratch- I would love to have it. You can email it to me at hjweathers@yahoo.com. I can get quite a few American products here but sometimes I have to go on a hunt for special items like Molasses or Cake Mixes.

Survival Language Day 1

Nie Hao!

Today we had our first language lesson. Or maybe I should say survived our first language lesson. We have a tutor coming to our house every morning to help us get down some basic language before we start our formal language training in December.

So, today we learned our numbers, greetings, how to ask "how much" and "my name is". We even got new Chinese names.

That's a lot for one lesson. Anyways, here is your first lesson in Chinese.

Numbers 1 to 10

1 Yi (EEEE)
2 Er (are)
3 San (son)
4 Si (Ziiii)
5 Wu (Ooooh)
6 Liu (Leeooohh)
7 Qi (Chi)
8 Ba (baaa)
9 Jiu (Jeeoooo)
10 Shi (Shiir)

What's a Pepperoni?

Last night, we were tired. We have been out exploring our wonderful new city every day and learning our way around some very confusing streets. We met some wonderful new people that spoke enough English that Jeff and I were able to share a little about why we are here. We found a good map and a good English-Chinese Dictionary. Jeff got his desk set up at work and we begin language study on Monday. I bought a microwave and we have scoped out the cheapest places to furnish our new apartment. We went to the zoo and the girls became one of the exhibits. (There were a lot of people there who were probably from the mainland and had apparently never seen blonde hair and blue eyes- so the girls got their picture taken A LOT). That all happened last week. We were tired. Cooking dinner was out of the question.

Jeff went down to grab a pizza from a little stand not far from our apartment. The name of it is "Wood-Fired Pizza." He didn't really recognize most things on the menu as being your typical pizza toppings. He asked the girl if she spoke English and she said "just a little." He asked her if they had pepperoni pizza and she said "What's a Pepperoni?" Why on earth would the "Wood-Fired Pizza" stand actually have pepperoni? or even know what it was?

Regardless, Jeff chose two pizza options off the English menu and hoped for the best. I must say that when he brought home a smoked cheese pizza and an apple-cinnamon pizza, I was a little dissappointed. However, they were actually super delicious. Very gourmet.



This is us at the zoo last week. It was your pretty standard zoo except for the display outside the restrooms. (click on the pic below to enlarge)

This was a wall of what was supposed to be large piles of poop decorated in various shades. There was also a larger display with holes cut in it so that "you can experience a maggott's life." I'm not making this up- really. Chloe thought it was ice cream and we did not correct her.

To Do List

c Buy a refrigerator, dining room table, wardrobes (closets), oven, microwave, bookcases, TV, TV stand, couch, chair, endtables, night stands, and desk.

c Get a Taiwan drivers license

c Move-in to new apartment

c Find childcare for the girls prior to starting language study

aEnroll in Language School (we begin Dec. 21)


One out of four isn't bad

Picture Day

Aaaaghhh... a beautiful, big Asian city

(this is the view from our balcony)

It seems that the Taiwanese LOVE Subway. They're everywhere and packed at lunchtime.

And bicycles are the preferred mode of transportation around the university area where we are.

Also, located directly behind our temporary apartment is a baptist church.

We explored the university today. It's a really pretty campus - with trees!

We went to dinner with some friends and we parked in a parking garage. Nothing too unusual about that except it seems that parking is such a premium this garage built an elevator for cars. You drive in to the elevator it takes you to the correct level and there is just enough space on that level for about 10 or 12 cars stacked two deep and two high if needed.

This is the dumpling restaurant where we ate. It was great. There was a goldfish pond in the front of it where the kids played and Chloe drowned Aidan's (friend's son) lion. Sorry, Aidan.

Day 6- Sunday

Today we visited a church that some friends attend. It was a very typical service complete with a bluegrass band- no kidding. There are some college students here from Kentucky who are teaching bluegrass music to Taiwanese. The usual music guy was gone and so they filled in. It was pretty funny watching a bunch of asians stomp their feet and clap their hands to Hank Williams' "I Saw The Light." You think I am making this up but I couldn't if I tried.

Childcare at the church was not available for Ava's age, so I was not able to stay in the service for the sermon but Jeff said it was good and in English. Next week we will try a Baptist Church with an English service and then we will probably get connected with a Chinese church that we can attend at least a couple times a month.

We also listened to our home church's sermon from last week after we got home today. Isn't the internet grand?

Yesterday, we went furniture and appliance shopping and met a really friendly cab driver. We also ate at Chili's for lunch. Yum, yum. Life is tough.

The girls are still battling jetlag. Ava was up at 3:30am and Chloe was up at 4:30am. Please remember their adjustment during your quiet time. Also, remember us that our crate will arrive shortly and we will be able to get settled in to our new apartment quickly and on the budget that we have allotted.

I think tomorrow we are going to go to Ikea (It's like the Wal-Mart of furniture- they have everything you could want, it comes in a box and it's cheap). Wednesday we should be enrolling in language school which will help us begin to meet people.

I'll start posting more pics soon. I keep forgetting to bring my camera when we go places. We do not yet have a car, so we walk or take the train. After remembering diapers, wipes, bottles, shoes, extra clothes for accidents, stroller, map, Chinese phrasebook, subway card, Chloe and Ava, money and keys- the camera usually gets forgotten.

Day #4

We survived our first earthquake. Last night around 6:30pm, I felt dizzy and the floor started moving. And in true Chicken Little fashion, I looked over at Jeff and said "the floor is moving, the floor is moving." It's a good thing we found that emergency exit. But seriously, it was the worst earthquake in 10 years for Taipei and it barely moved our building (11 stories total). So I'm sure we will be fine come what may. Besides, folks at home have tornadoes much more frequently. I worry for you.

In other news, Ava's rash is gone and we did not have to take an expedition to the doctor. Although, we do know where it is should we need to use one in the future.

And even better, the girls almost slept all night. Ava woke up once from 2am-3am but after some Ibuprofen, a bottle and some rocking she went back to sleep until 6am. Not too bad.

Today, we did a little shopping for our apartment and bought a ceiling fan for the girls room. There is a store here that is similar to Home Depot.

And finally, we checked out a cool pizza joint that looked like a hip hangout for college students from the university close to us. It was pretty yummy.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Day 3

Minor Accomplishment #1: We went to Costco this morning which is like a Sam's Club. They are very popular in much of the US just not in Oklahoma. I was dumbfounded to say the least. The quantities available, the products for sale and above all the price were enough to make me love this place. First of all, they had all the familar US brands for almost the same price. We bought a giant box of Raisin Bran for less then $8 US Dollars. There were giant blocks of cheese for only $5 and gallons of milk were less than $6. To put this in comparison, a VERY small box of raisin bran in Chiang Mai would have cost $10, 8oz of cheese would have been almost $6 and milk cost the same. On top of that there were products that weren't even imaginable to buy in Chiang Mai such as Pecans, Marshmallows, Hershey's Syrup and Goldfish Crackers. Not to mention frozen Chicken Nuggets and you guessed it-Turkey! A real, live whole turkey for less than $20. The same Turkey in Chiang Mai was about $75. Needless to say, I was excited.

Minor Accomplishment #2: We walked all by ourselves using only a mediocre map to a huge wonderful park. It was great to get some exercise and fresh air. The park is called Daan Park and it is very close to our permanent apartment. Chloe got to slide and swing and release some of her tension as well. She is such a trooper. We have put her through multiple moves this year and with the exception of a little jet lag exhaustion her attitude and demeanor has just been perfect. We could not ask for a more adaptable three year old.

Minor Accomplishment #3: We found the emergency exit for our temporary apartment. Check out the pics below.

I stepped out on balcony this morning and noticed this hoist pulley system.

After glancing at the instructions complete with diagram located on the wall to my right, I realized that this was intended for human use. Go figure. By the way, we are on the 10th floor.

Day Two

Cons:

Ava and Chloe decided that midnight is a good time to wake up and that 2am is a good time to go back to sleep with alternating crying every hour on the hour until 5:45am at which time I just give up. Oh, will Jetlag ever end?

Ava is exceptionally cranky, extraordinarily clingy and is covered in a rash across her abdomen. However she is eating fine, has no fever and is neither vomiting nor has diarrhea. I gave her some Benadryl and did some research on the internet of possible causes. We may be making our first trek to the doctor today. We'll see.

Our bathroom mirror makes me look fat. Aarrrgghhh. :)

I have no motivation to unpack our suitcases again. In 3-6 weeks when our crate arrives, I will be packing our suitcases again for the 7th time this year. I sincerely hope that we will not move again for quite some time. In the last 8 years of marriage, Jeff and I have permanenty moved 8 times with several temporary moves (such as where we are staying for the moment) in between.

Pros:
We picked out the colors for paint in our apartment today. We got to go in and look around. We have a respectable view, a large kitchen and four bedrooms, and a small courtyard for the girls to play safely- yeah!

We ate McDonald's today and even found it ourself. If you saw the weird curvy streets you would understand the accomplishment in finding anything for ourselves.

My dear friend will be taking me to Costco tomorrow for a riveting day of buying groceries. Thanks a million Morgan- you guys are the best. They are also our neighbors in our new apartment and happen to have boys just slightly older than our girls.

I no longer fear looking like a tourist. When we first moved to Chicago and to Thailand, I hated carrying around a camera or a map because I didn't want anyone else to know that I didn't know what I was doing. I don't care much anymore. I have blonde hair, blue eyes and stand about 3 inches taller than everyone. If that isn't enough I have two blonde-haired children and a 6foot tall husband surrounding me- of course I don't look like I know what I am doing. In three years, I will still not look like I know what I am doing because I probably still won't. But, this time I embrace the ridiculousness. It helps with the culture shock.*


Stayed tuned for another exciting Day tomorrow. I might even post some pics if I find the camera.

*p.s. Many people have talked about culture shock and it can be a very confusing thing. Basically, culture shock is a culmination of little irritations, lack of knowledge of your surroundings and unfamiliarity to even know that you don't know what you're doing. Add on top of that the inability to ask anyone because of a language barrier and the disorganization one feels directly after moving and stuff is still packed, stored or lost and you have culture stress. Multiple all that by 10 and you have culture shock.

Example of stressor: Salt and Sugar both come in a similar-sized, clear plastic bag. This morning I sprinkled a good amount of salt on my cinammon toast and then took a big bite. Yuck!

Right now, we are at about 3 or 4 on a scale of 1-10.
We are lower on the scale this time because we can still laugh at sprinkling salt instead of sugar and the fact that we don't know what we are doing and look like clowns all the time. Who doesn't love a clown? (except the scary ones)

Day One

Well, we made it to Taipei. The trip was wonderfully uneventful yet dreadfully long. I do not wish to get on another plane for a VERY long time.

We are staying in temporary housing until our ocean freighted crate gets here. Then, the real fun happens. We get to unload and unpack all of our stuff into our permanent apartment. The temporary place is nice and comfortable and we know a few people in the building already.

We are all extraordinarily tired but still able to get a few things done in the morning before jetlag really gets us. Today, we applied for our alien resident certificate and tomorrow we get to go visit our new and permanent home just a few blocks away from where we are staying now. We also get to pick our paint colors for the new place. Let's hope we pick something we like and can live with for a very long time.