I've enjoyed listening to her tell me about family - both from the past and current. There are certain topics that come up over and over, and others that are unique. Most of the conversation is one way, with some slight interruptions from me saying I don't understand (wo ting bu dong) or to ask for clarification (xx shi shen me?). Occasionally she will stop herself and ask if I understand. Other times she seems happy to have someone to talk to and will continue even though I clearly have no idea.
She sometimes gets frustrated with me for not knowing what she's talking about, but for the most part exhibits incredible patience and will describe things another way until I do understand. She knows the words get stuck in my head and one time she told me to just say it in English. It seemed strange for me to spout out my native language for a good 20 seconds knowing she couldn't understand - but she seemed to realize it would give me some relief to just get it out of me in one go.
One thing I don't understand is her adamancy in staying at home at once in opposition to us going out tonight. Yesterday, I thought we were going to go out together for her to show me a place to get dau jiang (breakfast soy milk) nearby -- and then before I knew it she was saying that she was full and didn't want to eat it. (The dau jiang topic also provides confusion for me since she talks about how good it is and where I can get it, but then says I shouldn't have it because I'll get fat.) I had ended up going out around the corner to pick up some freshly made bao-zi and brought them back. She thoroughly enjoyed one I gave her and today requested that I get more for her. I asked that she join me (truly because I thought a short walk outside would be good for her, but also because the people treated me like I was an incomprehensible alien and she would do a better job of ordering exactly the kind she wanted and I could learn by example), but she insisted on NOT going out. I think she said something about not wanting to talk to the neighbors about her children being in America and then them asking for money to buy houses**. So I ventured out on my own, but being Saturday, just about all of the normal lunch shops were closed (sadly).
Fast forward to 4 pm and she had clearly decided to go out with me. I couldn't be sure for exactly what, but I jumped on the opportunity and grabbed my purse. I thought at first we were going to buy fresh vegetables, but then I realized she wanted to go to a restaurant to buy some cooked food. Anyways, again, it being Saturday, the place was closed. So we walked around some, stopping in a small pharmacy that she insisted used to be a grocery store. At each shelf, she pointed out what they used to sell there. A good memory I think. We continued on and on, with her noting how much had changed. I think she even said it had been 3 years since she'd walked on one section of the street. We then decided to go to the Liaoning St Night Market.
At the first stall, PoPo spotted something that she wanted and could eat. There's a lot of things that she would enjoy, but there are only so many things that she can have given that so many of her teeth have fallen out and the rest are somewhat loose. So she sticks to soft things and soups. I'm not sure what she even bought, but as usual, it was cheap. We continued down the street, stopping in a hardware/knick-knack type store (where she spoke Taiwanese to the shopfolk and ended up with a heavy can of liquid, paintbrush, and a prayer dish). She marvelled at more shops of food, stopping to examine some or even buy some. Then after talking to one shopwoman, we turned around and headed for Da Lu Hua to get some laundry detergent. But every few steps, she would seem to not know where she was going and ask a nearby woman (Xiao Jie) where it was. We ended up following someone with a cart on her way there.
Holy Moly! Da Lu Hua is a HUGE underground store. I'm not sure I would have ever discovered it on my own. It's amazing how much exists underground here (yesterday I happened across the Underground Shopping Mall on Zhongxiao E Rd). This was a Bed, Bath and Beyond combined with Safeway and Circuit City - a sort of super Fred Meyer - but it being underground made it even more impressive. We got some detergent and toilet paper (which wasn't really toilet paper but looks like large travel Kleenex - PoPo didn't want the toilet paper roll because we don't have a roll dispenser) and stopped ourselves from buying more since we didn't have any bags and too many heavy items (I forgot to mention the bag of free dirt we had picked up along the way).
[post edit: Da Lu Hua in English is RT Mart, which is apparently a hypermarket - much like Walmart, but I've never seen a Walmart with its own bakery and fresh produce section. This seemed like a Walmart+]
[post edit2: The real name of "Da Lu Hua" is in a later post.]
**Note: Anything I write that someone has said should not be taken as truth, but only as my interpretation of their Chinese, which is often times wrong. These early posts are bound to be filled with mistakes and naivety as I accustom myself to this new land and language.
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