Chinese Conversations

As a means of self motivation I am going to publicly keep track of successful conversations in Chinese between myself and one or more strangers. And I already have something to tell!

Supermarket

Last Wednesday morning I had my first Chinese conversation, which was in a small grocery store buying green milk tea, a banana, and a bun, and was mainly about numbers. I managed to understand and repeat the prize, say the amount of money I was giving and the amount I was getting in return. Then the guy asked me where I was from (and I understood!) and I answered (and he understood!). Context certainly helped a lot here, but nevertheless, this first Chinese conversation with a stranger made me very very happy. I think I will be a regular customer in that grocery store.

Rain shelter

When I was caught by sudden and heavy rain last Thursday, I quickly moved to the closest shelter, and so did a Chinese woman. She tried talking to me, and although I did not understand everything, we did manage to exchange information about where I am from, her kid, my husband and his origin, what I am doing in Taiwan, and how long I am staying. She tried to speak clearly and slowly and we did use Pleco  a little. But still, I think I can call it a successful conversation.