One Fish, Two Fish ...

It feels as though 2006 began only moments ago, yet here we are eleven days into November. The weather in Taiwan has been fantastic. We are probably experiencing our last heat wave before the rain and cold. It's been shorts and tank top type weather, which I've been loving. I think I may even be sporting a bit of a tan.

I've been tutoring this girl, Angel, for about half a year. Her and I are the same age and my wish is that I was better able to communicate with her. We get by during classes ... I teach her some English and she always teaches me a bit of Chinese. She seems like a very cool girl, but of course, communication is limited.

The grammar book we are using would be that of a first level. We have been learning about countable and uncountable nouns ... we are learning words like a, an, some, much and many. One of the cartoon photos in the book is of a swimmer ... he is in a restaurant and he is having some fish and a water. On the swimmer's plate sits one whole fish. Her sentence reads the following:

He has a fish.

Now, this to me sounds as though he has a fish, in a fishbowl, as a pet. Now, imagine her level of English and my level of Chinese and me trying to explain to her that when we are in a restaurant ordering food, we never say a fish as we are never really served the whole fish. Of course, she tries to explain that in Taiwan you get one fish. This is true ... eyes and everything ... apparently the head and brain of the fish are a speciality ... some will actually play paper, scissor, stone to see who gets to eat it. I haven't brought myself to try it as of yet.

It, once again, makes me consider our language and think about the complexities it offers. I had to introduce measure words to her like slice and piece and whole which is almost a whole other lesson in itself. Too funny!

We are reviewing countable and uncountable nouns and measure words in my Chinese class right now, so timing couldn't work out more perfect. It allows me a chance to test my Chinese during an English class.

Tonight I will be heading to 淡水 (dan shui) ... meaning fresh water. Apparently there are some cafes and restaurants along the water. A friend is playing with a jazz band, so it should be a good night. For now, I think I may grab the two cats and head back to bed for a little R & R.

If I had the ability to create a world of my own, everyday would be a Saturday! I am working on ...