Tap, tap, tap... that was the sound of heels on a tile floor. And then came the happy shriek of my friend, 'The Teacher', as she ran towards me and grabbed me in a bone crushing hug. I've known 'The Teacher' for as long as I haven't and it was surreal yet unbelievably familiar to see her again.
My trip from the airport to her flat was my first hair-raising experience in China. I spent the entire taxi ride hiding behind my hands, reluctantly witnessing the driver narrowly escape crashing into other nearby cars on the road.
My first taste of authentic Chinese food was a more pleasant experience. We went to a little restaurant in her apartment complex and had some beef and noodles. It was full of flavour and lots of chilli; nothing like the gloopy concoctions that we get in the UK.
Over Dirty Martini's, 'Teacher' educated me on the must know's of the Mandarin language; how to count to a 100 and how to understand/give directions. The first so that I could understand the cost of things and most importantly to be able to barter. The latter so that I could direct a taxi driver. So for my future memory here's what I learnt:
Numbers
(First part is the pinyin that translates Chinese characters into English characters and the Italics are my pronunciation based on what I could hear the sounds to be)
1 = yi (Pronounced ee) 6 = liu (Pronounced leo)
2 = er (Pronounced ar) 7 = qi (Pronounced chi)
3 = san (Pronounced san) 8 = ba (Pronounced baa)
4 = si (Pronounced se) 9 = jiu (Pronounced jio)
5 = wu (Pronounced ooh) 10 = shi (Pronounced sh)
100 = yi bai (Pronounced ee bai)
quai = quid (Pronounced quai)
you zhuan = turn right (Pronounced yo dwai)
zuo zhuan = turn left (Pronounced zo dwan)
My trip from the airport to her flat was my first hair-raising experience in China. I spent the entire taxi ride hiding behind my hands, reluctantly witnessing the driver narrowly escape crashing into other nearby cars on the road.
My first taste of authentic Chinese food was a more pleasant experience. We went to a little restaurant in her apartment complex and had some beef and noodles. It was full of flavour and lots of chilli; nothing like the gloopy concoctions that we get in the UK.
Over Dirty Martini's, 'Teacher' educated me on the must know's of the Mandarin language; how to count to a 100 and how to understand/give directions. The first so that I could understand the cost of things and most importantly to be able to barter. The latter so that I could direct a taxi driver. So for my future memory here's what I learnt:
Numbers
(First part is the pinyin that translates Chinese characters into English characters and the Italics are my pronunciation based on what I could hear the sounds to be)
1 = yi (Pronounced ee) 6 = liu (Pronounced leo)
2 = er (Pronounced ar) 7 = qi (Pronounced chi)
3 = san (Pronounced san) 8 = ba (Pronounced baa)
4 = si (Pronounced se) 9 = jiu (Pronounced jio)
5 = wu (Pronounced ooh) 10 = shi (Pronounced sh)
100 = yi bai (Pronounced ee bai)
quai = quid (Pronounced quai)
you zhuan = turn right (Pronounced yo dwai)
zuo zhuan = turn left (Pronounced zo dwan)
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