For the most part Macau has become our home this second year of living abroad. It's familiar and comfortable and we easily forget that we are thousands of miles away from our former home. It's all about adapting, and as hard and as exciting as the process is, all of a sudden it's happened. We know where things are in the markets, we know our favorite restaurants and how and what to order, we know the bus routes and we finally know how to say our address in Cantonese so the taxi drivers understand us. We even know how to say, "Gai ci lo" at the noodle house that only has a Chinese menu and get the yummy noodles with chicken on top. So on and on, we go through our days knowing how to get around in a not so foreign land with a completely foreign language.
Then we have moments that occur when we get a fun reality check of, "oh my gosh! This is so cool!" Like tonight when were walking through the "3 lamps district" where the market is buzzing with evening excitement and there's all kinds of things being sold on the street. And I realize I'm the only blonde in sight and I actually hear all the foreign language surrounding me (& I still don't understand a word) and I smell the tasty foreign smells of delicious treats.
Then there are the times when I clearly realize I am still in a foreign country and I wish I would've made a better effort to learn the language in my adopted home. My excuse is that it's hard. Well duh! Like it's suppose to be easy. And really, how ridiculous to live in China and not speak Chinese. At least try to learn. Aren't teachers suppose to lead by example and be life long learners? Seriously. When were with our Chinese friends and I wish so desperately I could give them a break and I could speak Chinese to them because they're always talking in their second language to us. And I wish I spoke Chinese so I could be better friends with other Chinese teachers at our school that don't speak English. I know we would totally be friends too! And then I could talk to the lady at the counter and ask her what I want to know using actual words rather than a series of ridiculous hand gestures. And I could go to yummy restaurants that don't have an English menu and order the yummy things. This list could possibly go on forever.
So here it is, I will try to learn Russian. Adam just said, "oh no, here we go again." I say, " oh yes! I need to speak the language of the country I live in! Or at least try!" My memory is very bad after all.
Can you even imagine how much easier things would be? I would be talking to everyone!
So with that I say: paca!
