Just a few words

Wherever I have been in the world I have always made it a priority to learn a few words in the country's language. As a result I can say:

• hello
• how are you
• yes
• no
• good morning
• good evening
• please
• thank you

not to mention a few expletives, in several languages! 

For the past 4 or 5 months I have been attempting to learn Mandarin Chinese. I listen to a few podcasts, have a few audiobooks and real books (yes made from paper!) that I use, but there is no substiture for practicing with a "real" Chinese person, and here in Kota Kinabalu, there are plenty of them. 

Most of  my Chinese friends speak Hakka though and keep trying to confuse me by telling me the Hakka word for something I have just tried to say in Mandarin! Well, to get to the point of this little post, as I was on my walk around the Bukit Padang this afternoon (see my posting last week for Bukit Padang), I had just reached the top and was puffing and sweating away when a Chinese lady, equalling puffed out, walked past me to rest on a bench. "Ni Hao", I said with a smile (pronounced nee how). "Hao", she said back. I was so chuffed that I got the right response! Then, as I was about to descend the steps from hell, I heard her say, "eh!" and I stopped to look. She came towards me squinting, and scrutinised my face, then said in English, "ah! I thought you were Chinese ah! Such a good accent. Good, good"! and she went off to sit down again.

Well I went down those steps with such a spring in my step. She had made my day and it just goes to show that it IS worthwhile to learn just a little and try to use what you know.