Fran's Mission Moment #4

Mission Moment #4
Nov. 16, 2007

Every Friday, I have Mandarin Language class with Mrs. Lu.  She is incredibly patient and encouraging to this “very old, slow to learn” student.

In the past week, due to my need to purchase some new eye glasses, I have learned how to say in Chinese such words as: eye glass frame, eye glass glasses, pair, eye Dr., prescription, eye glass Dept., eye glass store, and eye glass company.  Now I also learned how to explain that I need one pair for “looking at the computer”, one pair for “looking far away”, and one pair for “looking nearby”.  You got it, the eye Dr. recommended, that due to suffering from severe eye strain, I should use 3 pairs of glasses.

However, in all these (new to me) Chinese vocabulary words, my language skills did not include enough vocabulary to communicate what I really needed to say when I actually went to an eyeglass store (near our home) to order the “looking near” pair of glasses used for reading.  I failed to get the words for the type of glass to put in the frames, and as a result the actual glass is a very thick piece of glass.  (Ugh.)

The good thing is, at another eyeglass store (located in the hospital), the clerk speaks good English! I have placed orders with her, and we have hashed out all the details so there is no misunderstanding on the other pairs of glasses. (Sigh.)

So, this “mission moment” is written to relay, how language barriers arise, even after one has attempted to get all the vocabulary possible for a very important purchase!

Another mission moment with:
Fran