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Real World Chinese Study
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A Visit to Hong Qiao Market
It was a sunny day, and our class had been learning bargaining language in our classes in the morning. In the afternoon, my language exchange partner, Michael, decided to take me to the Hong Qiao Market, a large indoor shopping mall with four floors of merchandise. I was pretty excited, since this would be my first real opportunity to practise my Mandarin.
Michael was great. We practised some of the important phrases, like tai gui la (meaning too expensive) on our way. When we arrived, I was impressed and overwhelmed with the size of the market! It was large, and there were many people buzzing around. There were tons and tons of sellers, offering a wide variety of merchandise, from electronic goods, to dishes, to clothes, to brilliant bolts of Chinese silk. My favourite floor was the top floor, where all the pearls and other jewellery are sold.
I was so thankful to have Michael with me, because I found it hardest to bargain without knowing how much a product was worth. Michael knew exactly what I should pay for each item, and would tell me so that I could get the best deal. It was so helpful to have learned all the important phrases in class in the morning, because they were fresh in my mind and I didn¡¯t have to concentrate on trying to remember something I had learned a week ago. The words just flowed out of my mouth and as I spoke more and more I became more and more confident. It was great! Michael barely corrected me, and I only had to ask him one or two words; most of the vocabulary I had learned in class, and I loved the fact that I had the opportunity to practice it in real life!
I couldn¡¯t believe how much I was able to buy, for very little money. I was able to get presents and souvenirs for my family and friends, and I bought some beautiful pearl earrings for myself, at a ridiculously cheap price ¨C all thanks to Michael¡¯s bargaining advice. We had a lot of fun, joking around while we looked at shoes or purses, and I taught him some of the phrases we would use to buy goods where I lived.
As my first day trying out my newly learned Mandarin words, I was very excited. I couldn¡¯t wait to go back to class and learn more words, more phrases, so that I could go out in Beijing and use them. I wanted to go back to class right away when I returned home, but the excitement finally caught up to me and I fell asleep dreaming of all the other items I could have bought if I had a lot more money.
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