It's not like I'm without help. Willy left me with a list of his friends' phone numbers, so when I'm feeling confident about my Chinese, I can give them a call. (I've yet to use Chinese on the telephone.) And I'm living with his grandmother and aunt, so I'm not really on my own. The whole point of this arrangement was that I start using Chinese with his grandmother, who speaks about as much English as I speak Spanish (i.e., a vocabulary of about ten words and three phrases, and perhaps one song). We have already had several slightly awkward conversations, and since I never even tried with my translator around, I consider this great progress. And though I'm not feeling particularly confident right now, three months is a long time. Multiply my progress since I've been here by two, and that's how much better I'll be in November. At least!
Probably less than half of my recent progress in Chinese has been related to the Chinese language. One of the best things about studying abroad like this is that I have been forced to drop my excessive nervousness and inhibitions about making mistakes. If I don't try to use my Chinese to communicate, chance s are I won't be understood. Moreover, I used to be the kind of student who didn't ask questions or volunteer answers in class, ever...but what's the point of that when I quit my job, bought a plane ticket over here, and paid the tuition out of my own pocket so that I could get a better grasp on Chinese? My motivation now (rather than merely a diploma) is to get past that stage where communication is a chore for everyone involved and into the semi-fluent conversation stage...as quickly as possible.
Since I didn't come here on a term abroad or with a group of students--purely an individual undertaking--I've had to figure out the study-abroad experience on my own. I find this rather daunting. (Advice from previous language-learners is appreciated.) But in the past week, I have realized that the sheer number of strangers with whom I could practice Chinese may be a benefit in the language-learning progress. Take this simple comparison: in the two months I was in Taiwan before Willy left, I had exactly zero conversations with Chinese speakers; in the one week after he left, I've had the aforementioned several conversations with his grandmother, as well as two brief chats with convenience store clerks and two sales-oriented encounters at shoe stores. The latter in particular convinced me that these strangers are perfect to practice with. For one thing, they want to talk to me so that they can sell me shoes, and they are therefore willing to put up with my painfully slow speaking and unreliable listening comprehension.
Now, don't get me wrong, my shoes are falling apart. I need new shoes. But I can't help but think the whole department store shoe-saleswoman trial-and-error approach to learning Chinese might have some merit. The first time I tried to go shoe-shopping went something like this:
Me (seeing a pair I like): ...
Polite saleswoman: Take a look. Try a pair on.
Me (wondering if they're leather): ...
Polite saleswoman (on the phone): [unclear]
Me (leaving the store): Ugh.
Pretty much a failure. But it's all relative, and silence is a step in language learning, after all. Attempt number two, at a different store:
Me (seeing the same pair of shoes--I told you every store has the same goods): ...
Brash saleswoman: Try a pair on.
Me (trying on a shoe): Is this...real leather?
Brash saleswoman: [unclear sales pitch]...which color do you like? I can get out a pair for you. Would
you like to...[unclear]
Me: No, thanks.
That second encounter was confusing, and I only understood a few words from the context. Willy'd told me how to ask if the shoes were leather, but I wasn't prepared enough to understand the answer. I only caught one word: bu. I know that bu can mean "not," but from the sentence I was pretty sure that's not what she meant. But it also means "part," and from the look of the shoes, they could have been part leather, which was why I decided not to try them on. (You know, because I don't wear leather.) I was all proud of myself until later that day, when Willy told me that bu also means cloth. Ohhh. (Maybe I'll buy that pair later.) And then yesterday, I went shoe shopping again....
Cute saleswoman: You can try them on. These are cute.
Me: I like the white ones.
Cute saleswoman: Oh, you can speak Chinese. These shoes...[unclear]
Me: Eh?
Cute saleswoman (in English): Ten percent off.
Me: Oh.
Cute saleswoman: Would you like to try them on?
Me: Okay.
Cute saleswoman: Just a moment.
[I try on the shoes]
Me: Not bad....
Cute saleswoman: They wear well. Looks great. Do you like them?
Me: How much are they?
Cute saleswoman: NT$2080, but they're ten percent off, so...[shows me a calculator]
Me: That's a little expensive.
Cute saleswoman: Yeah, but they wear well. And this kind is from Japan. Also, they're real leather, so
they're a little more expensive.
Me: Oh....
Cute saleswoman: They're great shoes. Do you like them? They're really great. NT$1800 is the cheapest
price. [pause while I try to figure a way out] Would you like to think about it? ...Why don't you think
about it?
Me: Okay. Thanks.
See, now that's progress. The third saleswoman basically taught me how to say "I'd like to think about it," so that next time the saleswoman doesn't have to tell me what to say to her if I don't want to make a purchase. (Department store workers are mostly female here.) Besides the modest increase in speaking, you can also see that my listening comprehension in the area of shoe sales has improved. The way I figure, three more trips to shoestores and I'll be able to buy shoes like a native speaker, and then I'll be ready to move on to small appliances.