The travertinepools, waterfalls, and wide swaths of limestone bumps, stretch up to 70m across (230 ft) across the valley. The mix of greens – dark pines, bright deciduous – fascinated me. Equally stunning were pools of clear bright aqua water.
The highest point of the pass was 4,000m (13,000 ft) above sea level; the sky was a stunningly deep blue and we saw yaks grazing. The base of the mountain was 3,200m (10,500 ft); ten minutes in a cable car later we were at 3,500m (11,500 ft).
Many times in taxis I have heard Australia praised on the radio as a travel destination. These days when someone discovers I’m from Australia, the instant reaction is not kangaroos or our Prime Minister, but how beautiful my country is.
After 9 years the weather in China still surprises me. At least I’m no longer surprised being surprised. My first few years I was constantly shocked by how quickly the weather changed. The temperature, but also the light.
I took a job in Langfang, a small city between Beijing and Tianjin, and my Chinese rose to a new level. I was often the only English speaker in the open office area where my desk was. Eavesdropping became a great language learning tool.
I studied Chinese in school for over ten years, the final year being at a Chinese university in Beijing. All this did NOT make me fluent. It didn’t make me sound Chinese. So what did? Talking to lots of people – especially taxi drivers.
I am often asked how I learned Mandarin Chinese. The short answer is good fortune and hard work. When I arrived in Beijing I could already read and write Chinese pretty well. Listening comprehension, however, took me a long time.
Lots of people were interested in the bird flu pamphlet I translated, so here is the full translation. “…When going out, try to avoid contact with wild birds or going to the habitat of wild birds…”
Bird flu was confirmed in my neighbourhood. I translated an illustrated pamphlet we received with information in Chinese, to see what the “Shunyi District Health Board” and “Shunyi District Center for Disease Control” are telling the public.
I got completely out of the habit out wearing seatbelts when I first arrived. Many cabs did not HAVE functional seatbelts. I would automatically reach for a seatbelt and the driver would laugh at me, bewildered as to why I would bother with it.
I have moved house 5 times in my 9 years in China, always fairly local moves. Over the weekend I made my most recent move. Surprisingly there weren’t any hiccups, parlty cos I made got a chu men tiao before moving. This step is easy to miss!
While the Gregorian calendar is used in China, the traditional luni-solar calendar has a lot of influence on daily life. All traditional festivals are governed by the yin li. Many Chinese people mark birthdays by the yin li, not the Western calendar.
Stories From Tanya 