Language Barrier

Overall I've done pretty well living in Kaohsiung without speaking Chinese. I am taking classes and am able to do say a few sentences, know my numbers pretty well and have some basic greetings and such down. I can now ask for a certain number at the market or know the price of something when they tell me. I can even say where I'd like to go to a taxi driver and they understand me. Woohoo! Living day to day has a few bumps in the road here and there but, in general, you can get along pretty well not speaking Chinese here.

But not speaking Chinese definitely makes living here a challenge. When traveling in Europe or South America, the language is different than English but there are words that you can recognize because English incorporates so many words for other languages and we have a basic understanding of some of the romance languages. I usually can figure something out. Here, there is very little in English and I'd say way less than 20% of the population speaks English. Just look at the above photo; signs are all in Chinese characters so there is no way I can figure them out until I learn characters. Finding a particular store can be quite an adventure. Most restaurants don't have English menus and, even with google translate, most websites are incomprehensible. All notices in apartment buildings are in Chinese. All public announcements are in Chinese so if the school didn't give us some of that information, I would never know what day there was a air raid drill (which happened recently and you are expected to stay off the streets and stay inside) or whether I can park or not park in a certain area.

Where the language barrier is challenging is in the little things. I can tell a taxi driver where I want to go but I can't call one myself. I have to ask someone to do that. I order food in a restaurant by pointing (although I can ask for a glass of water or beer now). I want to use the bus system but all of the signs are in Chinese so I may have the right bus number but I'm not sure which direction I need to take it to. The MRT (subway) system is fine and everything is in English there so that's great. I can't call a restaurant to make a reservation or ask for directions. If I'm lost, I have to figure it out.

Where my not speaking Chinese has been the most challenging since I got here is in dealing with my broken collarbone. I can't make an appointment by myself or ask for medicine or explain where and how much it hurts. I sit and wait for hours at the doctor's office waiting for my number to be called because the website I can log into to see when I should come in is all in Chinese. I can't explain what happened and what I need to the massage therapist. I have to ask for someone to translate for me.

Here's an example. Last Friday I was in some serious pain. I thought I was going to lose my mind and wanted to set up a massage so she could work on the muscles that are in spasm. No one speaks English at the massage place. I've been there several times but I make my appointment by pointing to the date and saying the time. How can I call and make an appointment? How can I explain my injury so they know not to touch my shoulder? It was a holiday here so no one was at school and most of the teachers were away for school break. How do I do this? Thank god for Facebook. I was able to contact one of the admin people at school and asked her to call for me and explain the situation.

It is all a very humbling experience. I have never been known to ask for help; I'm very independent. My living here has been a lesson in not only asking for help, but accepting it graciously. If there is one lesson I can learn from living here, this is probably the most life-changing one. It only just motivates me to learn more Chinese so that I can break down that barrier. I've got A LOT of work to do!