I'm Striking Out in Chinese

I have been trying very hard to learn Chinese. I have made flash-cards (like in the third grade) and I know over 100 vocabulary words. But, I have a ways to go on pronunciation! Here are quick vignettes from just the last three days -

Day 1 - I order fish in a restaurant. I am proud that I know the word for fish. It's "yu",and is pronounced (u-ee). The waitress smiles, writes it down, and goes away. We are served pork ribs. (The Chinese word for pork is "zhu".) I must not have been close. Strike 1.

Day 2 - I decide to stay away from fish and pork because they apparently sound too similar. I order chicken. In Chinese, chicken is "ji rou". Here ji is pronounced "gee." It should be quite clear. This time we are served beef roll-ups, with cilantro in the middle! They were good, but it was Strike 2 for me.

Day 3 - Yesterday Jim needed to write up a proposal for school, so I went wandering the streets myself. I had a lead on the location of a good massage parlor. That sounded great. I know I got to the right general vicinity, but I couldn't see anything that looked like a massage parlor. I tried two places, but they just shook their heads and didn't know what I was trying to say.

Then, a kind person on the street tried to help. I said, "Nar shi massage." (nar shi means 'where is') And, I added my fool-proof method - charades! I pretended I was giving a shoulder massage. I pretended I was rubbing in a circular motion.

Her face lit up. She gestured for me to follow here. Confidently, we set out. She took me to a mahjohng parlor!

I watched for awhile (wicked game!), and then just went home! Strike three! (Connie)