Yesterday, Min and I talked about parts of the body. She drew me a picture and labeled the many different parts in Chinese. I asked her if there was a song for kids with the parts of the body in Chinese, since there are so many in English (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, The Hokey Pokey, etc.). She said no, but she used to play a game with her son when he was little: she would say a part of the body, and he would touch it. We played that for a while.
Min had suggested a lesson on parts of the body in case I needed to go to the doctor while in China. She introduced me to a Chinese friend of hers, a neighbor whose husband is studying here. As we studied, Min and the friend asked me questions about how tell a doctor what is wrong in English. For example, people can have a toothache, headache, stomachache, etc. but not an armache or legache. Why? I have no idea. We have to say "My arm/leg aches."
Min said it's cheap and convenient to go to the doctor or hospital in China, and that many Chinese Americans move back for that reason when they grow old. She could not believe that people have to wait three weeks for an appointment here! She said it would only cost about $20 to have a dentist pull a tooth, too.
She pointed out that sometimes the same spoken word corresponds to different characters, which is something to watch out for. She said when she was growing up, she had to take a class in Chinese calligraphy, but her 12-year-old son does not do that now. It's always interesting for me to learn about Chinese writing, even though I can't read it!
Min had suggested a lesson on parts of the body in case I needed to go to the doctor while in China. She introduced me to a Chinese friend of hers, a neighbor whose husband is studying here. As we studied, Min and the friend asked me questions about how tell a doctor what is wrong in English. For example, people can have a toothache, headache, stomachache, etc. but not an armache or legache. Why? I have no idea. We have to say "My arm/leg aches."
Min said it's cheap and convenient to go to the doctor or hospital in China, and that many Chinese Americans move back for that reason when they grow old. She could not believe that people have to wait three weeks for an appointment here! She said it would only cost about $20 to have a dentist pull a tooth, too.
She pointed out that sometimes the same spoken word corresponds to different characters, which is something to watch out for. She said when she was growing up, she had to take a class in Chinese calligraphy, but her 12-year-old son does not do that now. It's always interesting for me to learn about Chinese writing, even though I can't read it!
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