Tag: Chinese

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #6,812

yeah I know you did not ask!

You should so be blessed – well cursed at times actually – with a mind such as mine, making all these weird connections between my rumored neurons. Just be thankful that I do not share all of my random thoughts.

I  made a run to a local grocery store, Schnucks, as I was out of my eponymous cerveza,  Dirty Bastard.  As I was walking in, an elderly Chinese couple was walking out.  Okay, the Chinese ethnicity is an assumption on my part, probably a good one, as there is a large Chinese population in the St. Louis area.  In fact our neighbors to our left are from Taiwan. But I meander.  The wife (another assumption on my part) was jabbering away at her husband in what I assumed was Mandarin.

Trouble was that she was eating something and had her mouth so full that the words were very garbled.  I just could not understand anything she was saying.

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My Chinese Nightmare

Ten or 15 years ago I was toying around with the idea of becoming ESL (English as a Second Language) certified so I could teach the language in a foreign country.  Perhaps a better word would be fantasizing. I never really pursued the fantasy for a few reasons.  Number one, in a class room situation I am a dreadful teacher.  I do fine one on one or maybe myself and 2 or 3 other souls sitting in a cube as I go over a technology I know really well. I have had people praise me mightily in those circumstances. The few times I was roped in presenting to a large group to teach something, I felt like it was a horrendous experience for me and my audience.  Another reason is that an English teacher in a foreign country does not earn much.  When I was having these fantasies it was pre 2008 and my 401k was looking very fruitful.  I thought maybe I could work for experiential reasons versus pecuniary.

Now the real kicker for me is Continue reading “My Chinese Nightmare”