This one is out of order, sorry. But I forgot that I had selected a Weekly Mandarin for week 39, but slacked terribly in posting it.
Before it gets painfully hot, most elementary schools host a kind of field day event for their students. Usually, these are just little weekend events at the school's campus, where the kids do a their bi-weekly workout dance together and run races. But, because my school at the time had more students than the high school I attended, it was in the local soccer stadium.
It was MESMERIZING to watch over 2,000 children do roughly the same dance at the same time (the younger students have a simplified form of the dance). And the kids more than filled the soccer field they were placed on.
My job for the day was to sit in the stands and watch their little backpacks. Challenging, I know. But I'm a Fulbright Scholar;) But luckily, the art teacher I've become friends with brought her son to practice his English on. And his wide range of knowledge related to... the Yan Ki Shi.
This kid knew his baseball inside and out. He knew facts about different players, and the logos of the teams, and probably learned all of his US geography (because Taiwanese students learn some of that, unlike American students) relative to baseball teams. But this kid was a rabid Yankees (Yan Ki Shi) fan. He absolutely went above and beyond the usual "I'm from Taiwan and so is Wang Chien Ming, so you bet I'm a Yankees fan" thing. Beyond watching the YES channel with Mandarin subtitles. This kid was like Raymond from the Rainman as far as baseball trivia was concerned. We had a great time.
Yes, within a few days, I'm hoping to replace that plain blue baseball cap with a proper Yankees cap. (Thanks to my Dad!)
No comments:
Post a Comment