My life and other things that have happened

Coming home from Carrefour today, I was giving the taxi driver directions and on arrival at the flat he gave me a big smile and told me that my Chinese is very good. I can't tell you how chuffed I was. I haven't learnt a lot but I'd like to think that what I have learnt I'm saying correctly. Pronunciation is really hard and very important in a tonal language like Chinese, so I was really please when the taxi driver told me my Chinese is good. James and I haven't been taking lessons sadly but we're picking things up as we go along. Two of James' students are teaching him some words and I'm picking things up when I'm out and about shopping etc.  What have I learnt so far and more importantly what am I confident saying: Hello - Nǐ hǎo Goodbye -  Zàijiàn Thank you - Xièxiè ni Yes, thank you - Shì de, xièxiè nǐ No, thank you - Bù liǎo xièxiè  nǐ Turn right - Yòu zhuǎn Turn left - Zuǒ zhuǎn Zhongshan north road - Zhōngshān běi lù Tianmu Wes...

Those of Canadian heritage should find this quite interesting. I was reading through my Taipei travel guide that my friend Emma gave me and stumbled across this short note at the bottom of a section about Danshui. It refers to a Canadian by the name of George Leslie Mackay who was a Presbyterian missionary on the island. It says: "George Leslie Mackay (1844 - 1901) was born in Ontario, Canada. At the age of 28, he was commissioned as the first foreign missionary of the Canadian Presbyterian Mission. He set up his mission station in Danshui, where he stayed for the rest of his life. Besides his evangelistic efforts, he was a dentist and educator and despite being given the moniker "black bearded barbarian" by the locals, he was well respected for his medical work and benevolence. An important figure in Danshui's history, his legacy includes a nursing school, hospital, college, and an ethnography entitled From Far Formosa: The Island, Its People and Missions. ...

I had a fantastic day today with my friends Grace and Daisy at the Yongle Fabric Market. It's a huge building full of all the fabric that you could imagine. We all went looking for different things and I think we all came away happy. I got some cotton fabric to start a new quilt, some stripey linen for some new shorts and some lovely cotton/lycra mix material for a maxi dress. Three yards of the maxi dress material was only £15 which was great. The linen was only £15 and there is enough there that I'll have lots left over. It was really fun hunting through all the stores and feeling all the different fabrics. We have plans to go back :)   On our way to hunt for a taxi in the rain we came across a stage with some Taiwanese opera singers. It was lovely!