This week has been much busier! We were ready for school to get started so we'd have something to do and BOY do we have stuff to do!! We are in class each day from 8-Noon but the expectation is that we would be in language work for eight hours a day. They say we study in class each morning and learn in the afternoon out in the community. After four days we can introduce ourselves, tell where we live, that we are married, how many kids we have and how old they are. We can say, "Thanks" and "Good morning/midday/afternoon/evening/night" "See you tomorrow" and know about 100 words. We are getting in the habit of stopping strangers in the supermarket and asking help finding things.
After lunch we go out and walk in the neighborhood near us. Today we got invited into a lady's house where we talked, ate apple pie (oh yeah, apple pie) and had tea. There were not nearly as many long uncomfortable pauses as you might imagine. People seem to like to hear you speak and then restate everything you said in the way in which you should have said it. They are more patient with me than I have been with foreigners somedays at Wal-Mart that is for sure.
It has started raining here and yesterday and the day before it rained most of the afternoon and evening. I learned something very interesting that I hadn't noticed before. Our vehicle doesn't have a defroster. Isn't that odd? I mean you really need a defroster. I have never been one of those people who appreciated other people wiping the inside of a windshield with their hand....what else can you do? I was at a loss and so we cranked up the A/C and people had to deal with it!
Sometime we'll try to get some good traffic pictures. Angie wants one of a family of five on one scooter with the two year old up front holding the handlebars and a 4 year old (asleep) in between the mom and dad and a baby in the mother's arms. I want one of a regular two lane road that has four lanes of traffic. And a few pedestrians. And a guy pushing a cart selling fried tofu. And maybe a few cats.
2 comments:
Glad to know language learning is going well. Seems like you can learn more than just the language from the indigenous people. It's been raining in Glasgow as well, so you're not missing much. Although it is pretty nice today. Stay strong by staying weak.
Sounds like you are learning lots! I guess you can really appreciate all those out-of-towners we have had here, and how lost they must feel when they first come so far away from home. Makes me think, and appreciate.
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