Cute misunderstanding of the week:

One of the most hilarious and enjoyable/frustrating and outraging things about living in China is the language barrier. Almost every day I have an experience that makes me laugh out loud, and another that makes me want to swear. The mis-translations across the city always make my day. From store fronts (The Pregnant Woman Lives the Hall) to hilarious translated shirts (Super Lover I Need You Tonight) if I keep my eyes open, I will always have a little grin on my face. Last week I had my class leaders put together a class list with student number, English name, Chinese name in Pinyin, Chinese name in characters, and if they're a boy or a girl. One class leader must have misunderstood "Chinese name in characters" and looked up character in a dictionary. Now I have a class list complete with personality descriptions! It was just so cute I couldn't tell her she'd done it wrong. I love how they've chosen to describe themselves. Anchorite?? I'm pretty sure that is a mistranslation. I'd be really surprised if I had a Christian hermit in my classroom.

As far as my Chinese goes, its getting better by the day. I can now have a basic conversation with a taxi driver or a lady on the bus (only if I ask them to PLEASE speak slower) and I can order food and get around the city no problem. I have mini triumphs every day in speaking Chinese and I feel like I'm progressing quickly. The key, I've discovered, is being willing to fail...miserably. Be willing to speak like a toddler, be willing to have no idea whats going on, be willing to ask questions, be willing to be a beginner, be willing to do things totally wrong. I set mini goals for myself every week. Last weekend I wished 15+ Chinese people a happy mid-autumn festival (zhang qiu jie kuaile!) and was able to tell the taxi driver where my apartment was without looking it up. Mini triumphs to say the least but at least I'm working towards something. My big goal is to be able to read a Chinese menu by the time Mike gets here. Wish me luck!

(PS More about Mid-autumn festival soon...it was incredible!)