How did you successfully learn Chinese being a non-Chinese speaker?

Yesterday I was waiting for the elevator in the office building with my manager and a few other managers. My manager was excitedly telling me about the bag she wanted to get during the big CNY sales and I was talking about the Clark shoes that caught my fancy that were double the price here than they were in England.

Suddenly, a tap on my elbow.

It was a woman who worked in another company on the same floor.

“Sorry to interrupt but…are you not Chinese?”

We all burst out laughing.

With my extremely pale skin, green eyes and light brown hair, I still get this question sometimes.

My Chinese is not perfect, even after growing up here, but I’m told my pronunciation and my accent, the slang I use, sets me apart. I didn’t go to Chinese primary or secondary school, just did the three years in uni. I know other non-Chinese who have lived here for years but just know a handful of words.

My secret is: being incredibly nosy.

I am a very curious person. Curious about other people and their stories and their lives. I have some bad habits. Like eavesdropping in public. I can get so immersed in other people’s conversations I will find myself subconsciously turning my head slightly from one person to the next. (Hey, after being stared at and talked about all these years I can get away with giving them similar treatment now and then 😉

And this is how I learned my Chinese. The more you listen, you get exposed to different terms and tones and it starts to sink in and become a natural reaction, so you start saying it right out of habit.

So go out, be nosy, and be surprised by how much you learn!

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