my very patient teacher
一般说和在国外学习中文比起来，在北京纯粹的汉语环境中练习中文有好多好处，特别是无限与当地人聊天的机会。我觉得这样的道理辩解我常常坐出租车的习惯。虽然很多与司机的闲谈有点儿像，但是我几次有过很有趣的对话。比如，有一次我遇到了一位对国外非常感到好奇的司机。我告诉他我来自英国以后，他先问我是否在英国每一天都有24个小时。我向他保证在英国每一天的确都有24个小时。接着，他想确认在英国每个星期都有七天，星期一到星期日。我又使他能够放心。然后他问我英国有没有四个季节。这次我开着玩笑说，英国只有两个季节—一个很长的雨季和一个很短的阳光灿烂的季节。不过，我意识到他可能会相信我，所以我决定通知他英国其实也有四个季节。顺便一提,他是一位能够的驾驶人。我向另外一个司机学习，在北京所有开出租车的司机都要考上一个包括英语部分的考试。这个消息让我吃惊，因为大多数外国人对北京司机的英语能力没有很好的印象。她笑着解释她什么外语都记不住。最后，有一位司机敬烟给我，但我不抽烟；并不是说这个事提高了我的口语水平。
过去一个月我旅游到了很多不同以前没去过的地方。其中，云南是我最喜欢的省份。这不仅是因为那里的气候一直很宜人，还是因为尽管我不常欣赏自然风景，在大理和丽江的风景仍然给我留下了很深的印象。一个特殊的亮点就是在大理的山上，在一个茶园做普洱茶。在云南我甚至抽空锻炼：我在丽江的虎跳峡爬了几个小时的山，在大理的洱海骑了七个小时的自行车（我迷路了）。上个月我也享受在日本一边放松一边吃太多日餐。
我最近从河北的石家庄回到了北京。为什么会有人要去河北呢（在中国污染最严重的省份）？当然是为了参加一场国际象棋比赛！我参加了中孚杯的公开组，通过5.5/9的表现得到了个奖金。排在前10名的棋手都很厉害，我认可了几位代表中国的特级大师。除了主要的公开组以外，还有各种年龄组—大概300多个孩子参加了这样比赛—对中国国际象棋的未来看来令人鼓舞。
最后,春节的时候，我和几个朋友从我们位于27楼的房子里看到了成千上万的烟花无休无知地燃放。在北京的表演真壮观，我们一时甚至以为世界毁灭开始了。而且春节时北京几乎没有人，所以使用公交时不用担心人太多。不幸的是，现在我没有坐出租车的借口。
I went for a walk in Kunming
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
It’s said that compared to studying Chinese in England, practising one’s Chinese in a pure Mandarin speaking environment confers a great many advantages, in particular the limitless opportunities to have conversation with locals. For me, this kind of reasoning justifies my habit of frequently taking taxis. Although much of the small talk I’ve had with drivers has been a bit samey, I have had a number of interesting exchanges. For example, I once came across a driver who was particularly curious about the world abroad. After telling him I was from England, he first asked me whether the English day has 24 hours. I assured him that English days do indeed have 24 hours. Following that, he wanted to confirm that the weeks back in England have 7 days – Monday to Sunday. I reassured him they do. Then he asked me whether we have four seasons in England. I joked that we only have two seasons – a long rainy one and a short sunny spell. But realising he would believe me, I decided to inform him that we do actually share another similarity in the form of four seasons. He was, by the way, a very competent driver. I learned from another driver that all Beijing taxi drivers have to pass a test that includes an English language section. This surprised me, as most foreigners’ impressions of Chinese drivers’ English are not very positive. She smiled and explained that she’d already forgotten any English she’d ever known. Finally one generous driver offered me a cigarette, but I don’t smoke; not that this exchange contributed much to my spoken Chinese.
This past month I travelled to a number of places I’d never been before. Yunnan province was my favourite among them. This is not only because of the perpetually pleasant weather, but also because of the beautiful scenery in Dali and Lijiang, which is normally the kind of thing that doesn’t affect me very much. A particular highlight was making Pu’er tea at a plantation in the mountains in Dali. In Yunnan I even managed to find time to exercise: I went hiking in Lijiang’s Tiger Leaping Gorge and cycled for seven hours by Erhai Lake in Dali (I got lost). Last month I also enjoyed a week in Japan, relaxing and eating too much Japanese food.
Recently I returned to Beijing from Hebei’s Shijiazhuang. Why would anyone want to go to Hebei (China’s most polluted province)? To play in a chess tournament obviously! I entered the tournament’s open section, where 5.5/9 was enough to win me a modest cash prize. Those finishing in the top 10 of the event were all serious players, a number of whom I recognised as top Chinese grandmasters from before. Apart from the main open section, there were also various age group categories where around 300 juniors were playing – an encouraging sign for the future of Chinese chess.
Finally for New Year’s, a few friends and I, from our apartment on the 27th floor, watched an endless display of thousands upon thousands of fireworks being set off all over Beijing. The scene in Beijing was truly spectacular, and it even felt at times that we were in the middle of an apocalypse of sorts. During the spring festival in China, Beijing becomes relatively empty, so one does not need to worry about it being too busy on public transport. Unfortunately that means I presently lack an excuse to take a taxi.
You won’t find ‘selfie’ listed under ‘skills’ on my CV!