Until recently, I used to think that my Mandarin was passable in terms of verbal and writing skills. I never had problems with the language in schools and had pretty good grades to show off for.
But I was brought back to earth with a huge loud thump one day at work. It had come to a point where I had to write an email to a certain company in China. The contact person knows no English. The teleconversation earlier didn't go as planned because I was bumbling most of the time. The prep before the phone call didn't help a bit. I was embarrassed and ashamed that my business Chinese vocab was that inadequate.
So, I was determined to make up for my boo-boo by writing him a bloody powerful Chinese letter.
That one page letter took me 4 hours. 4 long hours in which I had to repeatedly look up in the business Chinese letter-writing books (which I had the foresight to buy when I was in Singapore) and in the net for English-Chinese translation websites for help. Not forgetting the hair-pulling when I couldn't remember how certain characters were written and their hanyu pingyin. My conclusion at the end of my mini-project drama is my knowledge of the language has deteriorated drastically over the years. So has my eyesight in the span of a morning. Too much intense pc screen staring.
I refused to let it be. Practise makes perfect. It's time to take matter into my own hands. It's time to讲华语 (speak Mandarin). I took whatever opportunities I had to communicate with Chinese nationals, be it spoken or written. One day I got this from one of them:
The Chinese: 你是那里人? (Where are you from?)
Hoonie: 我是新加坡华人。(I am a Singaporean Chinese.)
The Chinese: 你的普通话讲得很好!讲得比我还棒! (Your Mandarin is very good. Better than mine.)
Hoonie (laughing rather hysterically now): 是吗?!您过奖了!哈哈哈哈! (Really?! Thank you! Hahahaha!)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Do you know someone who is poor?
One million of its population queue on a regular basis for free bread, butter and fruits.
In one particular school, 17 children out of its 60 students suffer from starvation everyday because their parents are simply too poor to buy bread. This is in one small town where it is lined with pretty little houses and manicured gardens.
1 in every 6 Germans is classified as poor.
This is despite the fact that 700 million euros are being pumped out by the german government each year for social welfare.
Yet the number of poor people in Germany is increasing. From 12% to 18% in a period of 7 years. There are over 82 millions inhabitants in this country.
'Do you know someone who is poor?' A question such as this 10 years ago was considered as rhetoric. However, it is no longer so today.
Even though Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the third largest by nominal GDP in the world, and ranked fifth by GDP.
Something is not right here.
I, like the rest of the working population in Germany have to pay tax. Almost 50% of my monthly pay. It accounts for pension, health insurance, social welfare and unemployment insurance. The net amount, thereafter, would be just about sufficient for a single person to rent a small apartment and perhaps pamper himself/herself in some simple indulgences once in a while.
A fellow colleague who takes the same bus as me to work everyday once lets slip that ever since she moved out from her parents', she has to watch her pennies. A jar of Nutella is now too expensive for her.
To pay 100 euros for a MP3 player is too much for another colleague. She can only afford a 20 euros one. As our pay is not due till mid month, she complains that she has to stay put at home for the next one week as she only has 3 euros left in her pocket.
I do not know how much they earn.
But I am gravely shocked. What a stark contrast to my fellow Singaporeans back home. A look in our MRTs tells a totally different story. You will find the young and the old with the latest and most fanciful handphones, itouch or iphone. Who cares about ipod videos anymore? While not forgetting their designer bags and attires. They hang out at the most trendy cafes and dine in restaurants and make plans for holiday trips a few times per year.
Therefore, imagine my struggle attempting to match Germany's image of a strong economical power with its rising proverty rate.
I am trying to come to terms with the tough reality.
In one particular school, 17 children out of its 60 students suffer from starvation everyday because their parents are simply too poor to buy bread. This is in one small town where it is lined with pretty little houses and manicured gardens.
1 in every 6 Germans is classified as poor.
This is despite the fact that 700 million euros are being pumped out by the german government each year for social welfare.
Yet the number of poor people in Germany is increasing. From 12% to 18% in a period of 7 years. There are over 82 millions inhabitants in this country.
'Do you know someone who is poor?' A question such as this 10 years ago was considered as rhetoric. However, it is no longer so today.
Even though Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the third largest by nominal GDP in the world, and ranked fifth by GDP.
Something is not right here.
I, like the rest of the working population in Germany have to pay tax. Almost 50% of my monthly pay. It accounts for pension, health insurance, social welfare and unemployment insurance. The net amount, thereafter, would be just about sufficient for a single person to rent a small apartment and perhaps pamper himself/herself in some simple indulgences once in a while.
A fellow colleague who takes the same bus as me to work everyday once lets slip that ever since she moved out from her parents', she has to watch her pennies. A jar of Nutella is now too expensive for her.
To pay 100 euros for a MP3 player is too much for another colleague. She can only afford a 20 euros one. As our pay is not due till mid month, she complains that she has to stay put at home for the next one week as she only has 3 euros left in her pocket.
I do not know how much they earn.
But I am gravely shocked. What a stark contrast to my fellow Singaporeans back home. A look in our MRTs tells a totally different story. You will find the young and the old with the latest and most fanciful handphones, itouch or iphone. Who cares about ipod videos anymore? While not forgetting their designer bags and attires. They hang out at the most trendy cafes and dine in restaurants and make plans for holiday trips a few times per year.
Therefore, imagine my struggle attempting to match Germany's image of a strong economical power with its rising proverty rate.
I am trying to come to terms with the tough reality.
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