APRIL 30, 2007
Our adventures in Shanghai continue with many positive results to report. Things are looking up!
As previously mentioned, I signed up for the Mandarin language class with quite a skeptical view of the entire situation. But, a couple of days prior to commencement of the class, I answered the door in response to a knock to find a couple of Chinese women with instructions (in English) for the class to meet in two days time. I was relieved that something was finally going to take place that might make me feel "connected" here!
Since that time, I have noticed that most of the postings in the lobby have been in both English and Mandarin, so the management apparently is doing their best to include the non-Chinese speakers amongst the residents. Good improvement!
My class is being taught by two residents of Yanlord Garden. One is a retired Chinese-American man (born in Shanghai, but lived most of his life in the U.S.) who has retired to the place of his birth, and a local Shanghaiese gal who speaks 4 languages (Mandarin, Shanghaiese, Japanese, and English). This seemed a wise plan to me as the class could (and indeed does) include folks who not speak English. Also, another Chinese American woman who has retired from the L.A. area joins us occasionally to assist (and believe me, we can use all the help we can get).
The class includes two Japanese women (who speak very little English), a German, an Australian, a Finlander, a Thai, and me. Quite the diverse group ... our own little U.N. "Jane," the multi-linguist has her hands full to make sure that the Japanese women understand what is happening, but we all manage pretty well actually. We are meeting once a week for an hour which in my opinion is not quite enough, but we have a CD and a lesson book. Our "homework" is to work daily on these lessons, but never having been good at the discipline of schoolwork, I don't get to it every day. Luckily, my Pimsleur CD lessons have come in handy, and so far, I seem to be a little ahead of the group. In fact, the instructors have complimented me on my pronunciation ..... nice to hear.
I have become friends with the Australian gal, Toni. After the last class, Toni and I took a walk to the ATM where she had some banking to do. She is a wonderfully chatty woman and, as I've been dying for female companionship, she was like a breath of fresh air to me. She has three children all under 6 years of age, so her life is rather complex. We've agreed to stay in touch and have made plans for a lunch date next week (to the Dumpling Place, as Toni calls it).
Since the weather has become quite pleasant (almost hot at times), I've been trying to get out for morning walks in an attempt to stay fit. I had been noticing a group of ladies doing Tai Chi in the garden while I've been walking. Sometimes I would sit down and just watch them for a while. So beautiful and graceful. So I talked to Jane about this group of ladies. Jane is part of a group of fan dancers that are preparing for a competiton of some kind (and I have been watching them also), so I thought she might know about the Tai Chi ladies. Good thought ... she told me that the Tai Chi ladies meet daily at 8:30 and anyone is welcome to join. Jane agreed to meet me in the garden the next morning so she could introduce me to the ladies. Great!
I showed up a little early thinking I'd see Jane, but she was not present. The ladies started the music and began their routine. These are always the uncomfortable moments. Do I simply join in? I assumed that they spoke no English, and I didn't want to barge in where I might be unwelcome. So I sat down on the bench right in front of them. Finally, one of the ladies waved me over to join. Oh, joy!!!
The first 20 minutes or so are simple stretches and movements designed to warm up the body and get the blood moving a bit (like simpler yoga positions). Then we do a Tai Chi routine which we run through twice. When the warm up was finished, one of the ladies from the other side of the group came over to me. "Where you from?" I told her Michigan in the USA. She translated to the rest of the group. They all smiled and clapped. They seemed really happy to have me with them. We then started with the Tai Chi. I'd done Tai Chi about 16 years ago so I have a little familiarity, but in no way am I proficient. The ladies were very sweet about placing me in the middle of the group so that I would have someone to watch (and imitate) no matter what direction we were facing. It seems to be something that most people over here have learned (must be taught in school). Folks strolling past would step in and join for a few minutes, and then be on their way again. The ladies seemed to be quite proud of their newest member. Every once in a while, someone would stroll past, and they would point at me and smile as if to say, "See who we have HERE!" Jane did eventually show up, waved to me and gave me the thumbs up!
After having attended the first Tai Chi gathering, I decided to call Toni and Katja (the Finlander) as they had also expressed interest in the Tai Chi group. Toni is having difficulties with child care right now and begged off until she can get that arranged. Katja said she was indeed interested and would try to join us in the morning. Katja has experience with Tai Chi in the last ten years and looked like she knew what she was doing when we met the next day. I told the ladies that she was from Finland, and they were happy to have another newcomer.
In spite of the fact that I don't know much Mandarin, and the Tai Chi ladies (as I have come to call them) don't know much English, we actually communicate pretty well. I have managed to communicate to them that we have four children and their ages (all in Mandarin), and the fact that they live in the U.S. Also, on Friday when Randy was home feeling poorly, I was able to tell them that I left my sick husband home in bed (at least I hope that's what I said). When we met yesterday, one of the ladies said something to me in Mandarin that was going straight over my head. She persisted, and finally I recognized "Finland, Finland?" They wanted to know where Katja was. I spread my arms like an airplane, and said, "Banzhi (flight)" OK, they understood. She has actually flown to Singapore, but Singapore wasn't connecting ... must be another word for Singapore in Mandarin. Anyway, they got that she was away for the holiday. There is a Japanese lady in our group who speaks a few words of English so she tends to be our translator although she wasn't there yesterday. At the conclusion of our meeting yesterday, the leader said to me, "May 8 continue." OK, we're off for the weeklong holiday, and commence again May 8.
I also have made friends with a Ukranian gal, Ludie (short for Ludmilla), who lives here in our building with her husband and 6-year-old son, Andre. But the universe is conspiring against us to meet in any meaningful way other than running into each other on the sidewalk. Seems like every time we try to make a plan, either she has guests or we're unavailable. We've agreed to continue to try though.
As previously mentioned, this is a holiday week. China has three weeks of holiday, the New Year in February, the May holiday, and another week in October. It is our hope to meet with our friends, Rich and Magali, for a day or two this week, and also get some shopping done for my upcoming trip back to the states (as detailed below).
I have made plans to fly back to the states on May 14 for a couple of months. Randy will stay and work here until sometime in June when he comes back to the states for a vacation, and we'll fly back to China together in July sometime. At least that is the plan right now. I have to say that I now have mixed feelings about leaving China right now. I feel as though I have finally made some positive steps toward making some great connections and feeling more vital in our new community, just in time to leave it all behind. But I have to say that the fact that I have some friends now to which I can return makes me very happy! The instructors of the Mandarin class have agreed to continue the class as long as there is interest, so I plan to catch up with all my new friends upon my return. Life is good!
As previously mentioned, I signed up for the Mandarin language class with quite a skeptical view of the entire situation. But, a couple of days prior to commencement of the class, I answered the door in response to a knock to find a couple of Chinese women with instructions (in English) for the class to meet in two days time. I was relieved that something was finally going to take place that might make me feel "connected" here!
Since that time, I have noticed that most of the postings in the lobby have been in both English and Mandarin, so the management apparently is doing their best to include the non-Chinese speakers amongst the residents. Good improvement!
My class is being taught by two residents of Yanlord Garden. One is a retired Chinese-American man (born in Shanghai, but lived most of his life in the U.S.) who has retired to the place of his birth, and a local Shanghaiese gal who speaks 4 languages (Mandarin, Shanghaiese, Japanese, and English). This seemed a wise plan to me as the class could (and indeed does) include folks who not speak English. Also, another Chinese American woman who has retired from the L.A. area joins us occasionally to assist (and believe me, we can use all the help we can get).
The class includes two Japanese women (who speak very little English), a German, an Australian, a Finlander, a Thai, and me. Quite the diverse group ... our own little U.N. "Jane," the multi-linguist has her hands full to make sure that the Japanese women understand what is happening, but we all manage pretty well actually. We are meeting once a week for an hour which in my opinion is not quite enough, but we have a CD and a lesson book. Our "homework" is to work daily on these lessons, but never having been good at the discipline of schoolwork, I don't get to it every day. Luckily, my Pimsleur CD lessons have come in handy, and so far, I seem to be a little ahead of the group. In fact, the instructors have complimented me on my pronunciation ..... nice to hear.
I have become friends with the Australian gal, Toni. After the last class, Toni and I took a walk to the ATM where she had some banking to do. She is a wonderfully chatty woman and, as I've been dying for female companionship, she was like a breath of fresh air to me. She has three children all under 6 years of age, so her life is rather complex. We've agreed to stay in touch and have made plans for a lunch date next week (to the Dumpling Place, as Toni calls it).
Since the weather has become quite pleasant (almost hot at times), I've been trying to get out for morning walks in an attempt to stay fit. I had been noticing a group of ladies doing Tai Chi in the garden while I've been walking. Sometimes I would sit down and just watch them for a while. So beautiful and graceful. So I talked to Jane about this group of ladies. Jane is part of a group of fan dancers that are preparing for a competiton of some kind (and I have been watching them also), so I thought she might know about the Tai Chi ladies. Good thought ... she told me that the Tai Chi ladies meet daily at 8:30 and anyone is welcome to join. Jane agreed to meet me in the garden the next morning so she could introduce me to the ladies. Great!
I showed up a little early thinking I'd see Jane, but she was not present. The ladies started the music and began their routine. These are always the uncomfortable moments. Do I simply join in? I assumed that they spoke no English, and I didn't want to barge in where I might be unwelcome. So I sat down on the bench right in front of them. Finally, one of the ladies waved me over to join. Oh, joy!!!
The first 20 minutes or so are simple stretches and movements designed to warm up the body and get the blood moving a bit (like simpler yoga positions). Then we do a Tai Chi routine which we run through twice. When the warm up was finished, one of the ladies from the other side of the group came over to me. "Where you from?" I told her Michigan in the USA. She translated to the rest of the group. They all smiled and clapped. They seemed really happy to have me with them. We then started with the Tai Chi. I'd done Tai Chi about 16 years ago so I have a little familiarity, but in no way am I proficient. The ladies were very sweet about placing me in the middle of the group so that I would have someone to watch (and imitate) no matter what direction we were facing. It seems to be something that most people over here have learned (must be taught in school). Folks strolling past would step in and join for a few minutes, and then be on their way again. The ladies seemed to be quite proud of their newest member. Every once in a while, someone would stroll past, and they would point at me and smile as if to say, "See who we have HERE!" Jane did eventually show up, waved to me and gave me the thumbs up!
After having attended the first Tai Chi gathering, I decided to call Toni and Katja (the Finlander) as they had also expressed interest in the Tai Chi group. Toni is having difficulties with child care right now and begged off until she can get that arranged. Katja said she was indeed interested and would try to join us in the morning. Katja has experience with Tai Chi in the last ten years and looked like she knew what she was doing when we met the next day. I told the ladies that she was from Finland, and they were happy to have another newcomer.
In spite of the fact that I don't know much Mandarin, and the Tai Chi ladies (as I have come to call them) don't know much English, we actually communicate pretty well. I have managed to communicate to them that we have four children and their ages (all in Mandarin), and the fact that they live in the U.S. Also, on Friday when Randy was home feeling poorly, I was able to tell them that I left my sick husband home in bed (at least I hope that's what I said). When we met yesterday, one of the ladies said something to me in Mandarin that was going straight over my head. She persisted, and finally I recognized "Finland, Finland?" They wanted to know where Katja was. I spread my arms like an airplane, and said, "Banzhi (flight)" OK, they understood. She has actually flown to Singapore, but Singapore wasn't connecting ... must be another word for Singapore in Mandarin. Anyway, they got that she was away for the holiday. There is a Japanese lady in our group who speaks a few words of English so she tends to be our translator although she wasn't there yesterday. At the conclusion of our meeting yesterday, the leader said to me, "May 8 continue." OK, we're off for the weeklong holiday, and commence again May 8.
I also have made friends with a Ukranian gal, Ludie (short for Ludmilla), who lives here in our building with her husband and 6-year-old son, Andre. But the universe is conspiring against us to meet in any meaningful way other than running into each other on the sidewalk. Seems like every time we try to make a plan, either she has guests or we're unavailable. We've agreed to continue to try though.
As previously mentioned, this is a holiday week. China has three weeks of holiday, the New Year in February, the May holiday, and another week in October. It is our hope to meet with our friends, Rich and Magali, for a day or two this week, and also get some shopping done for my upcoming trip back to the states (as detailed below).
I have made plans to fly back to the states on May 14 for a couple of months. Randy will stay and work here until sometime in June when he comes back to the states for a vacation, and we'll fly back to China together in July sometime. At least that is the plan right now. I have to say that I now have mixed feelings about leaving China right now. I feel as though I have finally made some positive steps toward making some great connections and feeling more vital in our new community, just in time to leave it all behind. But I have to say that the fact that I have some friends now to which I can return makes me very happy! The instructors of the Mandarin class have agreed to continue the class as long as there is interest, so I plan to catch up with all my new friends upon my return. Life is good!
posted by Roxanne Gillett at
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