Mandarin Lessons and how swimming feels like flying.

We have a routine going again, and it's nice. A walk just after waking up, we do a Mandarin lesson on the i-pod, making all the neighbors think we are crazy as we walk by saying "Toi bo chi, shim when!" Which means "excuse me, may I ask..." Mandarin is not as difficult as it might sound at first, especially since there is no conjugation at all. My biggest worry is that people are likely to speak very quickly, which of course won't work. So far, I don't know how to say "slowly please!" only "I don't understand, you speak what?" Ha! What an adventure this will be. I have heard that many Chinese people speak excellent English, but I always think it is nice to be able to say a few polite words anyway. If I'll be teaching English, some Mandarin will come in handy for certain.

We've also been spending lots of time in the pool here and I've been thinking again how swimming is as close as you can get to flying in some ways. The weightless feeling, and how you can just glide along really give the sensation of flight. I had the same thought when I was snorkeling, how easily the floor of the ocean could be the ground far below you and how the fish move just as birds do. Anyway, the other day I made some more silly drawings of pool ladies. I put them in some cheap frames I scored at Target and scattered them all around our room and Eric said "I like the theme you've got going here."