So, we'll be in China soon, and -- more importantly -- we will have a daughter who speaks no English. Really, there's only so far pointing and grunting and crazy gesticulating is going to get me.
Clearly, I need to learn some Mandarin.
I started with Rosetta Stone, which was a big mistake. After the first level of lessons, I could tell you that the girl is swimming, the women are eating rice, and the man is reading a newspaper, but I couldn't say things like "please" or "thank you" or "where's the bathroom" or "I love you" or "Don't cry" or "I want to...". You know -- those little phrases that I actually NEED? (Especially the bathroom one, if you know me and my bladder.) I'm sure the method behind the learning is solid, but it's one I'm not used to; nothing is ever explained so you're left to guess at what the words mean or the sentences are saying based on pictures.
Yeah, notsomuch for me. Next up: Chinesepod.com.
This stuff? Is awesome. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Little podcasts with useful dialog (I can ask for a beer now! And tell Beatrix Nan Yu to behave!), explanation of the grammar and lots of opportunity to practice pronunciation, which believe me, I need. And vocabulary. YAY, vocabulary!
I actually got up the nerve to bust out some Cave Mandarin the other night when we went to dinner at what might be the best Chinese restaurant I've been to. It's one of those that has two menus: One in English, and the other in Chinese. We ordered from the Chinese menu and oh, the yum. Real mapo tofu, a whole fish with spicy bean curd, some sort of flaming dish of mushrooms and other, uh, items... Sichuan, so it was all spicy. The owner could not have been nicer - he spent a ton of time talking about the menu and helping us choose some good stuff. He didn't even laugh when I told him in my horrible Chinese that the food was delicious, and thanked him. (Well, not to my face. Who knows what he said once we left...)
It's been a long time since I've felt so worried about being able to communicate. I know we'll have guides and translators with us a lot of the time, but I'm really thankful to be learning at least some basic stuff. I think we'll be using it for a while with Beatrix Nan Yu, and I'm pretty sure I can't smuggle home one of those translators in my suitcase. *taps chin thoughtfully*