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Aug. 8th, 2006 03:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizzybennetChris had tummy trouble today. He spent all morning between the bed and the bathroom. He's feeling much better now, and woke up asking for some KFC. As a result, I took my first independent outing. Well, not quite all alone. I asked Zack to go with me because I just wanted someone to hold my hand :) The KFC is less than a block from our home and we can see it from Zack's bedroom window. Zack and I braved a huge intersection to get there. I was very proud of us. Once we got to KFC, the cashier handed me a picture menu and I simply pointed to what I wanted (I got the bucket meal.) She asked me a question, which turned out to be "For here or to go?" I shrugged and she started to put it on a tray. Then I said "It's to go" and pointed at the door. She and her co-worker repeated to each other "Ah, to-go. To-go."
There is a point to this play-by-play. In my inability to communicate with the locals, it has really made me realize something about my American self. I think back to when I worked at Wal-Mart and would have encounters with people who didn't know English. In my arrogance, I would think "They live in America now, they need to learn English." Yeah, easier said than done! I wonder if I come across as ignorant to the people who try and speak with me. Sometimes they repeat themselves several times, or speak louder, as if that will help me understand them. I wish it was that simple.
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risingpheenix, I thought of you today. You made a comment earlier this week about the security guards and how respectable it is that they take their jobs seriously. As we were walking to KFC, I saw the security guards marching in a line down the sidewalk; I suppose they were practicing drills. Most Chinese employees -- of all sort-- that I've encountered take their job seriously. Also, another interesting aspect of the Chinese job market is that most everyone wears colorful uniforms. Not just smocks or tops, but pants as well. We were in an electronics store last week and every employee was dressed in a bright yellow top and blue pants with a paper crown on their head.
I'm very glad that we're going home for Christmas. Sometimes I just yearn for a break from so much unfamiliarity. I'm really looking forward to being home at my parent's and inlaws homes. It will be so nice to be comfortable in my surroundings again. Chris assures me I'll feel more at ease here soon enough, and I know he's right. Still, I know there's no place like Mommy and Daddy's house.
There is a point to this play-by-play. In my inability to communicate with the locals, it has really made me realize something about my American self. I think back to when I worked at Wal-Mart and would have encounters with people who didn't know English. In my arrogance, I would think "They live in America now, they need to learn English." Yeah, easier said than done! I wonder if I come across as ignorant to the people who try and speak with me. Sometimes they repeat themselves several times, or speak louder, as if that will help me understand them. I wish it was that simple.
risingpheenix, I thought of you today. You made a comment earlier this week about the security guards and how respectable it is that they take their jobs seriously. As we were walking to KFC, I saw the security guards marching in a line down the sidewalk; I suppose they were practicing drills. Most Chinese employees -- of all sort-- that I've encountered take their job seriously. Also, another interesting aspect of the Chinese job market is that most everyone wears colorful uniforms. Not just smocks or tops, but pants as well. We were in an electronics store last week and every employee was dressed in a bright yellow top and blue pants with a paper crown on their head. I'm very glad that we're going home for Christmas. Sometimes I just yearn for a break from so much unfamiliarity. I'm really looking forward to being home at my parent's and inlaws homes. It will be so nice to be comfortable in my surroundings again. Chris assures me I'll feel more at ease here soon enough, and I know he's right. Still, I know there's no place like Mommy and Daddy's house.
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Date: 2006-08-08 05:50 pm (UTC)How wonderful that they gave you the picture menu! and then that they were so awesome about "To go". They'll remember that. And maybe they will remember you since you live right there. How nice would it be when you go in and people smile and wave at you! (I'm planning a happy future for you in Nanjing.)
Poor Chris, I hope he gets through it soon.
*hugs* You are so awesome. You're really doing such an awesome job and really putting your best foot forward. I would have flown back to the states by now. One look at the dirty bathroom and I would have booked my flight back home! *lol* *HUGS* Just give yourself some time, do your deep breathing exercises and enjoy it.
(Of course, tell me when my chipperness and encouragement becomes and annoyance.)