Language exam

[abcdefg]

Had a language exam a few minutes ago. The kind that counts, not the kind at a desk with paper and pencil. Called the guesthouse in Jianshui 建水 that I had reserved on-line from a booking agency.

 

Me--“Hello, I’d like to confirm my reservation for tomorrow.”

Lady--“Yes, I see it here. Two nights, one room, right.”

Me--“Right, correct, that’s me.” 

Lady--“Are you driving?”

Me--“No, I’ll be taking the 8 a.m. train from Kunming, arriving a little before noon.”

Lady--“OK, you’re all set. If you take local bus number 91 from the train station it will get you here for 2 Yuan instead of a taxi for 25 or 30.”

Me--“Thanks, see you tomorrow.”

 

Basic stuff, but conducted at native speed without either of us having to repeat or clarify things. Didn't feel unnatural or strained. I have no doubt the lady realized I was a foreigner and that Chinese was not my native language, but I don’t really care. Passed the language exam. (One of the keys to success is setting the bar fairly low.)

[Jim]

Very much agree that these are the most satisfying things, just doing ordinary everyday stuff with the minimum of hassle. I usually follow it up by attempting an involved conversation on something abstruse where I'm almost immediately out of my depth and my interlocutor is looking perplexed to bring me back down to earth.

[imron]

Language exams over the phone are the worst!

[abcdefg]

3 hours ago, Jim said:

I usually follow it up by attempting an involved conversation on something abstruse where I'm almost immediately out of my depth and my interlocutor is looking perplexed to bring me back down to earth.

 

I'll be riding the train down tomorrow morning. It's one of those old trains, where a hard seat ticket 硬座 gets you a place on a bench at a table with four to six other people. You sit facing eachother. Always results in at least some "Where are you from" chit chat, occasionally more. Doubtless there will be places where I'm completely stumped. But that's part of the fun. And like Imron implied, in person is better than over the phone. You can at least write problem words on your palm with the index finger of the other hand. 

[DavyJonesLocker]

It's a key step in your learning phase when you actually answer the phone .

I think I didn't answer a call for the first year in China.

99% were marketing anyway so I guess I didn't miss much 

 

[Lu]

15 minutes ago, DavyJonesLocker said:

99% were marketing anyway so I guess I didn't miss much 

Those are the ones you should take! If you mess up a hotel reservation call, you don't have a hotel. If you mess up a marketing call, you lose nothing but a little time.

[DavyJonesLocker]

16 minutes ago, Lu said:

If you mess up a hotel reservation call, you don't have a hotel.

 

Come to 2018 Lu, all online now

 

However deliveries , getting things customs made like I was doing recently usually require phone calls. Unfortunately a lot of words are very specific so although good listening practice I prefer wechat messaging to ensure I order the right thing.! 

 

I found that a lot of people don't really have the same patience as a face to face conversation.

[Tomsima]

Great perspective, important to remember this. About 6 months ago I went to the tiny airport just outside my city to pick up my best friend who was visiting me here in China from the UK. His luggage got sent to Amsterdam, and it was up to me and the non-english-speaking airport staff to get it sorted out. I remember all communication was done clearly, no repetitions. The bag arrived on the same day that evening. The airport called me to pick it up. Once I had the bag in my hand at the airport, it was like getting my graduation certificate. I called a didi and actually cried out of happiness as I waited at the arrivals entrance. That was a great moment in my life.

 

Congratulations on passing the test today @abcdefg

[somethingfunny]

Enjoy the Tofu.

[anonymoose]

I've done those in Shanghainese. Get in a taxi, say where you're going, get a surprised reaction out of the driver and then sit there praying for the rest of the journey that the driver doesn't say anything else to spoil the perfect exam mark.

[889]

I too dread phone conversations: those visual and other clues you get face-to-face are important.

 

My recent real-life test, though was a written one, dealing with a customer service rep using one of those instant back-and-forth messaging systems on a website. No time to think, the seconds are ticking away and you have to just type something out.

 

Of course you can never be sure on those sites whether you're dealing with a live person or a machine.

 

Or vice-versa.

[edelweis]

double Turing test: pose as a human being AND a native speaker.

[happy_hyaena]

When I was travelling in Taiwan I met a foreigner who was quite fluent. I remember being in awe of how he was able to commicate so fluently with the hostel owners, even crack jokes that made them laugh quite audibly. He gave me some helpful advice and assurance that I could go definitely make a lot of progress in one semster.

 

Cue half a 6-7 months later, I had finished my semester in the mainland and it was time for my family to come visit me. That time I was to one speaking in Chinese to the staff, cracking small jokes with them and making sure that my family were having a great time. One night I went out with another person in the hostel and we ended up in Houhai, where we met a group of Americans at a bar who were leaving the next day. Somehow we ended up on the topic of KTV, and they told me how they'd heard it was big but had never tried it. I used my Chinese to ask other Chinese people there for the location of the closest KTV place, searched it in Baidu Maps, hailed a cab and got us there. We spent the night drinking and singing our throats sore to whatever stupid English songs we could find, like Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Get Low. 

 

Anyway, the point isn't to humble brag. Being able to help people have a good time and experience something they would otherwise be unable just felt really good.

[Publius]

No need to ask next time, just tell the cab driver 去最近的钱柜～

[happy_hyaena]

11 minutes ago, Publius said:

No need to ask next time, just tell the cab driver 去最近的钱柜～

 

Is that a specific chain or just a general word for KTV? I wouldn't want to be driven halfway across Beijing because the driver didn't know the area too well, or because he wanted to make some extra cash.

[Publius]

It's a chain https://baike.baidu.com/item/钱柜KTV/9679341

放心好了，在城里拉活儿的司机，对这些娱乐场所门儿清。而且正规出租一般不敢黑你。下车要发票，一个投诉过去他吃不消。当然黑车就不好说了。

EDIT: 俺没开玩笑，京城最大的KTV真叫钱柜。。

[abcdefg]

I think @Publius was joking. "Drive me to the nearest cash register." 

 

--------------- 

Edit: Oops, looks like I was wrong.

 

[happy_hyaena]

32 minutes ago, Publius said:

It's a chain https://baike.baidu.com/item/钱柜KTV/9679341

放心好了，在城里拉活儿的司机，对这些娱乐场所门儿清。

 

哈哈好滴好滴，我下次会直接告诉师傅。反正，大不了他可以百度一下。

 

Edit:

 

32 minutes ago, Publius said:

而且正规出租一般不敢黑你。下车要发票，一个投诉过去他吃不消。当然黑车就不好说了。

EDIT: 俺没开玩笑，京城最大的KTV真叫钱柜。。

 

有道理!

[somethingfunny]

10 hours ago, happy_hyaena said:

whatever stupid English songs we could find, like Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Get Low

 

Both quality tunes.

[Lu]

@happy_hyaena, that's a great story. I can just imagine how awesome it feels to be able to give a guest such experiences because of your new knowledge. An occasional bit of bragging is perfectly fine (and one of the perks of learning Chinese).