Peter has joined the gym and I have been thinking about joining a pool here ... but thinking about water quality is a bit scary. There is a pool nearby, just across the Grand Canal from us, only about 10 minutes walk away. Its right on the bank of the canal. It's not open in the mornings, which is a bit of a blob because that's when I'd most like to go swimming - no classes, and most other people are at work. Friends of ours here told us that the students at their school do swimming lessons there - that's a little bit off-putting. And they also said that they don't have a filter-purification system like we're used to, they simply empty the water and replace it every day. Well, that totally puts me off. Much as I hate chlorine, at least I know what it does.
Our sweet little Chinese teacher has warned us that we have a test next Tuesday and we should practise our vocab. The fact is, though, it's hard work. And we need to find opportunities to use what we learn. It's difficult to learn stuff "just in case" and then bring it to remembrance when the occasion suddenly calls for it.
But one thing we have found we need is; "Please get out of the way, I'm getting off the bus." People are understandably very protective of their little bit of space in a bus, even if it is directly in front of the door, and they are very reluctant to give it up unless they are sure someone is just passing through. So Peter is practising that one at least before he goes to the gym this afternoon.
Today is our day off, but I don't feel like going out anywhere - feeling a bit washed out after a couple of days of upset tum. On Thursday as we were finishing our Chinese lesson, I was about to head down to the street to meet my ride to the company where I teach, when our office receptionist popped in to say my lesson was cancelled.
So Peter and I wandered down the street instead for some late (4pm) lunch at KFC. I had a slight queasy feeling already, which I mistook, understandably at that time, for hunger. But after eating my KFC I had some more definite discomfort. Peter headed off to the gym and I stood at a bus stop to wait for a bus. Bad time of day for that, school kids all heading home, there were a good 40 - 50 people at the bus stop. A couple of buses I didn't want came, and about 10 people got on each, and a double-decker came and 30 or so squeezed on there. Then another bus ... but as fast as people were leaving on buses more people were arriving at the stop.
By this stage my stomach was complaining to me quite severely. You know, when you start to feel all sweaty and prickly, something serious is about to happen.
Finally a number 211 bus arrived, and the crowd I was with surged forward and started the usual pushing rituals ... I looked at the bus and there were already people standing up from the back of the bus to the front two or three deep. And I couldn't even remember the "get out of my way I want to get off" sentence for if I did get myself wedged in there. I didn't dare get on!
So I stuck my arm out and flagged a taxi instead. They are good and very reliable. Its great to know that whenever we look like getting stuck somewhere there's bound to be a taxi nearby. Nice little man driving - wanted to be friendly and chat with the few English words he knew, I was hardly in the mood! He was asking me something. I told him in my best Chinese that I was a teacher. He looked puzzled and tried his question again, pointing to himself and saying "China" and then to me with a "--?" Once again using my best Chinese I told him I was an "Ao-da-lee-ya" (Australia) person and he beamed at me.
The traffic was heavy and the trip was slow, with a lot of honking and jerky start-stop motions that are necessary to intimidate pedestrians and bikes in heavy traffic and help them remember their place and keep out of the way.
Then he wanted to know if I wanted to go to the back gate (where we had arrived) or the front gate of the apartment complex, and I assured him with a "hao! hao!" - good! good! - that just here was fine.
Yesterday I felt a bit better, and managed to teach a "conversation" class last night. Its funny, the evening classes (which this language school is mostly about) are all 6.30 - 8.3- or 7-9pm. But the building we are in (on the 2nd floor) has a gatekeeper who lives in a room just inside the front door of the building. And he goes to bed about 8pm. Regardless. Locks up the door, turns off the lift, and goes bye-byes. And no one can change his mind. So after lessons we have to make our way down the stairwell (no lights) to the basement and out through the car park into the laneway at the side.
So this morning I woke up feeling grotty again. Peter has been listening to the cricket, but he's restless so he's learnt his phrases and gone in to the gym, and to have a bit of an explore around the city. He just phoned me excitedly to say he wandered down a laneway where he hasn't been before and found a huge fabric warehouse setup that he is eager for me to look at with him next time.
So now I'm regretting the lunch I just had - but I was sooo hungry - and I might take a little kip and listen to our Chinese lesson tape and try to learn a few tones.
No comments:
Post a Comment