Went to Chinatown for lunch today after church. I was overwhelmed. The hawker centre we were at was some sort of complex, you know, multi-level and the sorts. And there were shops below selling all kinds of things from alarm clocks to shoes. Yes, I'm not quite a Chinatown person and the last time I remember being there was when I had to go buy some ethnic Chinese costume for the purposes of performing with the ACJC Choir. Anyway, yeah, I was overwhelmed because it was such a big hawker centre and there were so many stalls and, looming up in the inevitable distance, I knew I had to order in Mandarin. JIANG HUA YU. So I bravely went to a stall which was least threatening and hesitantly proceeded to tell the auntie that I wanted SHUI JIAO TANG. Phew, that was easy. And I sounded pretty natural too :) But then she asked me, "LIANG KUAI HAI SHI SAN KUAI?" I wanted to ask her the difference between the two and how many dumplings the LIANG KUAI one had. Now I didn't know if I should ask JI KUAI, JI LI or JI GE. Which all basically mean "how many". I think I went with JI GE, which didn't really matter to her because after I said LIANG KUAI DE, she locked that into her mind and didn't hear anything I said after. Anyway, in case you're wondering, the LIANG KUAI one has 5 dumplings. Don't ask me how many the SAN KUAI one had. I didn't get that far.

You see, Cheryl, we have the same problems. But at least you look Eurasian. I couldn't look more Chinese.

It's not that I don't enjoy speaking the language, it's just that I feel like an idiot when I do, so I'm not very confident in articulating the vernacular. Seriously, it's terrifying for me when I have to use the language with the locals. You know, I really don't want people to think I'm a "banana" (which many a kind relative has inferred) or look at me with the "HUA REN BU HUI JIANG HUA YU" look of disdain. When I was younger, I was actually quite proud of not being able to speak the language well. I mean, it was funny! I hail from ACJC and even though the first "C" stands for Chinese, you're not a true ACSian if you speak the language well. hehe.. I mean, we're well-known for our horrible Chinese. It's almost like a school pride thing. Of course I could be totally wrong, in which case, I've just made myself look like a complete fool :)
So there you have it - my Chinese woes. Let's hope it gets better eh.

Still thinking about whether I should head down to Chijmes for the jazz festival. It'll be on till 1am. Hmm...
Hey Kelvin, you old geezer you.. *snigger snigger*.. Or should I call you "ALFRED"? hehehe..
Argh... my eyes are acting up again.. if I only got a penny for every time I rubbed them...
hmm... update more tomorrow yah..