First I want to thank my Best Friend Ellen. Saturday after 3 days of rain I was feeling a little blue or sad. She reminded me of all the things I have done since I got to China two almost three years ago. Learning to communicate was and is the most visible but there are SO many things that I forgot that I learned and adapted to because for me it is life. Thank you for your words, they helped me feel much better about me. I also want to thank Wang, my piano teacher and a very important person to me. With all the not really easy piano music I’ve been playing I was starting to wonder if piano playing was really something I’m good at. You gave me some new music that is just as beautiful and much more pianist to a friendly! Not only did you introduce me to a new composer but you trusted me with something of yours that means a great deal to you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 谢谢你王。
Today I walked from my first lesson to the subway to get to Manhattan and my second student of the day. It was a nice walk and of course I was able to take more pictures than if I had caught the bus (that didn’t come while I while walked so maybe I’d still be standing the waiting).
As some who know me already know I love bridges and there is a lovely bridge that crosses a waterway on the bus route that I walked today. You can see so much more when you walk than riding the bus! However, I remember when I first got to China after my life with my car I’d never thought of walking three blocks but today it was no big deal, or as Chef Anne would say a POC (piece of cake)…LIFE has indeed changed. I took lots of pictures and to answer the question Ellen asked about my communication skills here’s an update. On this walk I was reading some street signs with and without pinyin. However reading large amounts of Chinese say in a book is still something that I’m working on. Sitting here in Dico’s I can understanding a few of the words I hear in conversations around me. I can also tell taxi drivers how to get me home and I can answer a few questions like Where are you from? What do you do? How long have you been in China? And probably the most frequently asked question especially after my young female students meet my son. How old is your son?
Please do look at the pictures. And yes this happened on Monday 11 August. I’ve been without internet and unable to post for a few days.