Mandarin is Difficult

Let me outline just a few of the problems I've faced in trying to learn Mandarin:

1. Characters are totally non-phonetic
Chinese characters do not follow an alphabet, so you can't look at them and know how they sound like. The end result of this is it's possible that conversational Mandarin speakers have no idea how to read.

When I was getting set up here, Mo helped me purchase a wireless router at the electronics store.  He adamantly tried to get me an English router, explaining to the store clerk that I could not speak Chinese.  This led to a moment where the clerk asked Mo, "Well, can't you just read it for him?"  Mo had to respond, "I am illiterate."  

(Here's a picture I took of a man writing Chinese characters using a brush and water in Bei Hai park.)

2. Many non English Sounds

Since Mandarin is non-phonetic, it has been romanized with a system called Pinyin.  This means when someone says something like "mǎi," I can look up "ai" and realize that should sound like "eye" in English. But much of the romanized alphabet has no equivalent in English. I tried looking up how to say "jiān" for example (a component of asking "Where is the bathroom"), starting with the J.

J - No equivalent in English. Like q, but unaspirated.

So I looked up "Q"

Q - No equivalent in English

...

3.  Four tones for each syllable

Mandarin has four tones for each syllable, which changes the meaning of the word.  There is a high flat tone, a rising tone, a falling-then-rising tone, and a falling tone.  For example, the syllable "ma" is represented in Pinyin this way to get four words: Mā (mother), má (hemp), Mǎ (horse), Mà (scold). While in principle, I can tell the difference between these four sounds, remembering a word and its tone is super tough for me to do in real time.  

As you might expect, it is possible to construct ridiculous sentences with this system. The below apparently means, "A little girl who is herding a cow finds it stubborn and so she pinches it," but only involves three syllables and multiple tones.

4.  Looking (and indeed being) Chinese

There are 20 million people living in Beijing, and probably only a few hundred thousand foreigners.  Of those foreigners, many are not Chinese.  So no matter how you slice it, an Asian looking person who does not speak Mandarin is exceedingly rare in Beijing.

When I enter a restaurant, normally the waiters can quickly figure out that I don't speak much Mandarin.  But I've learned how to say some simple things, like asking for ice water (Bīng shuǐ).  Showing minimal competence tends to unleash a torrent of Mandarin, and waiters assault me with questions.  The first time I asked for ice water, the fu wo yuen apparently asked me whether or not I wanted bottled water or not.  I didn't know what she said, so I had to pass on getting water.  I tried again at another restaurant, and the waiter asked me whether or not I wanted carbonated water, and if so, whether or not it should come in the big or small bottle.  I didn't understand this at the time, but fortunately Mo was with me who could translate.  Only on my third attempt was I able to successfully order water by myself.

In short, in my limited experience, I do think it's tougher to not speak Mandarin in Beijing when you look Asian.

("Let's Burger," which despite its name and clientèle, had waiters who spoke only Mandarin.  The restaurant where I first successfully ordered ice water.)

Our Great Wall Hike

Jon, Jon's coworkers, and I joined the "Wild Great Wall" tour to Jiankou this last Saturday (as Jon wrote about).  While the trip ended up being quite beautiful and worth it, we did face several "character building" obstacles.

1.  Our lack of preparation. Jon and I ended up on our bus to the wall with a couple of Egg McMuffins, jeans, tennis shoes, and a distinct lack of water. This was due to us being out late last night, and waking up with barely any time to spare. Once on the bus, I belated noticed everyone had boots, hiking sticks, and ski pants, and I felt like I was in a Chinese REI advertisement. Uh oh.

2.  The bus ride. I wouldn’t go into gory details, but let’s just say the 1.5 hour ride involved more than one person throwing up, due to the driver’s decision to relive Apollo Ohno’s races with his bus.

3.  The hike up. The hike itself was no joke, especially for people as fit as Jon and I. It involved walking up for about an hour from the base of the mountain to the Great Wall itself. Once we got up here, totally winded, I looked forward to taking a pretty awesome picture. Check out this one I took of Jon, which perfectly frames the scene:

And here’s the one Jon took of me. 

What the hell? The tree covers the wall, and you don't even get the top of the mountain? Can you frame this picture any worse???

4. The hike across. Anyway, Jon and I were wearing tennis shoes with barely any traction, so every icy segment seemed extremely dangerous. We had to hang on the tree branches, that stuck up across the wall. 

At one point, the branch Jon was holding cracked, causing him to tumble down a bit (maybe he was being punished for being such a bad photographer?).  Least you think I am exaggerating, this might be a good time to introduce the email, verbatim, that Jon forwarded me to invite me on the trip.

Original Email:
"I am going to great wall with some hiking club.
Anyone interested in Hiking to the wild great wall-Jiankou on Saturday morning?"

First Response:
"Reminder: people die there regularly, so be prepared."

5. The hike down. This segment was an extraordinarily narrow trail punctuated by pockets of horse manure.

Despite all of this, I have to say the hike was very worth it. Jiankou felt way out of the way of tourists, so we only really saw our small tour group. I was able to get some good photos, and met some nice people on the way. We also had lunch on the wall, and you can't really get much better scenery than that. So I recommend it!

But still, I got a massage the next day.

First few days in Beijing

Here is a recap of my first few days in Beijing.  Overall, it's definitely been exciting.  It's fun to explore an entirely new city, and with Mo and Jon around I normally don't feel entirely lost.  Friday night, the three of us had dinner by a mall with a giant LCD screen ceiling (much like Fremont street in Las Vegas).  

Later, we ended up at a place known as "Chocolate" which is an interesting mix of locals, Russian expats, and Chinese singers that sing Russian techno.  

On Sunday, we ended up getting a foot massage for ~$18 in the spa/gym complex of our building.  The most entertaining part of this was the very beginning.  Apparently you start foot massages by putting your feet in really hot water.  Mo was able to deal with this, but Jon and I couldn't.  I had to keep removing my feet after a few seconds, since it felt like I was being scalded.  Jon, in particular, kept asking the masseuse to add ice.  After several trips of getting cold water and adding it to Jon's bucket, the masseuse looked at Jon as if to say "You really should be okay now.  Right?"  Jon tested the water, and kept motioning, "More ice!"

In food news, I am still looking for the perfect local joint, where I hear you can get a meal for $1-2 dollars.  I have not found it yet, but here is a picture of a Taiwanese style meal in a small shopping mall which was approximately $6 USD:

We did find one place which was both a spa and a seafood buffet.  If it only had Chinese singers performing Russian techno songs, it could be the combination of all the things we did this weekend!  I haven't gone in yet, but I'm very curious.

Great Moments in Mandarin

Today, I got into a cab in Beijing alone for the first time. I went to meet Mo for lunch at a place he suggested called “The Village.”

I walked out of my complex and hailed a cab with no issue. The driver took a look at me and said something to me in Mandarin, so I said “Wǒ bù zhīdào. Wǒ shì měiguó rén” (I don’t understand. I am American). Then I said “San Li Tun.” Mo had told me this is where we are going. The driver repeated it back to me, I agreed with him, and we were off. I felt proud of myself.

All of a sudden, the driver asked me whether or not to turn left or right. You see, San Li Tuan is not a location, but a huge road. Thanks Mo. This is like telling someone who does not speak English to get into a cab in New York and say “5th Avenue.”

I had to pick something, so I told him “right” (Yòu) mainly because I cannot say “left” yet in Mandarin. Fortunately, even a broken clock is right twice a day. After a few nervous minutes, I saw a “The Village” sign on the side of the road and asked the driver to stop (in English) which he understood.

---

Words used:
Right - Yòu

Inspired me to learn:
Left - Zuǒ
Stop - Tíng

My place in Beijing

Hey everyone,

I safely made it to Beijing, and I thought I would use this blog to share some of my adventures. I arrived a few days ago, and Andrew Mo, my personal lifesaver, had already arranged an apartment for me. It's a studio, and the place is definitely pretty nice. Here, you can see pretty much the whole apartment:

I shot the previous picture standing up by the window, which you can see in this picture:
I do not have the nicest view. On the plus side, I can see a much worse looking apartment off on the right, so I am constantly reminded how lucky I am.
Here's the exterior of the building I am in. Jon lives here also (he arrived a week before me), and Mo is next door. The three of us realized that this is the closest we've all lived since college! Took going halfway around the world to do it.