Eavesdropping..

I know people hate people who eavesdrop. I on the otherhand, love to eavesdrop. But before you judge me – I need to clarify first the reason why I eavesdrop. Since I came back from Beijing, China – I have to admit – it became a hobby. At first, I didn’t realize that I was eavesdropping.

It began when I went to Beijing to learn to speak Mandarin Upon arriving – I was clueless on what people around me were saying. I had to decipher the meaning by actions, making sounds, and by drawing (I am the worst ever artist! I cant even draw a nice stick figure!) I swear, the first month was the worst! I was literally in a foreign country where I could not understand what was being said, the signages were all in Chinese characters. Everything sounded and seemed alien to me. But after a few classes – I found myself understanding what people on the other table (in a restaurant) were saying. Then it hit me, I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD Mandarin!!

This is where my eavesdropping (hobby) began. I started listening in on converstations while on the subway, while inside a restaurant, inside the cafeteria, while walking around shopping. Even now – whenever I hear a conversation in Mandarin – I make it a point to eavesdrop – just to prove to myself that I can still understand the language. And proudly, I still do!

I can’t describe how much I love the Mandarin language, I am fascinated by it and I dream in it (sometimes – they say that whichever language you dream in is the first language you learned – gets?) Anyways – thank god for Mandarin – I can understand Asianovelas, go shopping and haggle to death in China (while shopping at flea markets – my panget swears by my bargaining skills – I taught him and he swears it to be effective! – thanks Kath!!)

Here’s to my missing Beijing, China and everything else Chinese!!

By the way – I also realized by watching a famous Asianovela ‘Endless Love’ that I understood the language. I realized this because on one part (actually in a lot of parts) I found myself crying because of a melancholic scene. Finally!!!