mom, look! i did it!

i did it! i put it to the test. you see for my last six months in china (minus my extended vacation time) i have had chinese tutoring once a week. the experience has been one of quite mixed feelings. i will share a few...i think our (i have lessons with a friend that works with the same company) tutor is incredibly awkward at times-in a not all that warm, encouraging, socially aware, etc kind of way. she isn't what i would say is the ideal person to practice a freshly learned language with. but in the end, not a big deal, i get over it. but there's another thing. i don't really study. i usually just cram right before the lesson. and one last block worth noting. often, when i do attempt to use my newly acquired language skills i am either a.) corrected by my student who has encouraged me to speak a little bit or b.) spoken back to in the local dialect. when you have a hard time listening to the real deal, the local dialect doesn't even approach the radar screen. but this all brings us to today. having recently cleared my schedule to go on a trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge i was in need of a train ticket to Kunming. knowing i would be traveling by myself during the trip i realized i would need to be able to book my own transportation and i figured if i can't do it in my own city, than i might as well not go because i surely won't make it. so i studied my words and said to myself, i just have to control the situation (really my listening is that awful). so i went to get the ticket, waited in line, then started having doubts, saying to myself, "wait, the last time i bought a ticket (was with my chinese friend who bought my ticket), i went to other window. am i in the right line? can i buy a ticket at this window? how do i ask if this window sells train tickets? maybe this isn't such a great idea" and i left the line. i had lost the battle. i looked at what time the window closed and went on my way to walmart. it was a nice day so i walked the mile to walmart (i figured i better start preparing for this hike one way or another) and on my trip convinced myself again, that it was completely necessary to buy the ticket myself. so i rushed through my shopping, walked the mile back to get the ticket. this time, there was a line for the correct window. i waited, i approached the window, i said, "wo yao qu kunming" (i want to go to kunming) answered his questions and only had to do my 'speak jibberish and hope they just take care of whatever questions they are asking you themselves' routine once. i did it. i successfully bought the ticket. after i inspected to make sure it really was the ticket i wanted, i was beaming like a small child, as if saying, "mom, look! i did it! i spoke four sentences and nodded my head, all by myself!" haha, wow. i suppose it is the simple things sometimes that amuse us. hopefully i will be able to get the other 4 tickets i need now to get back home (don't worry mom, i am sure i can, and if not i can always just call a friend, ptl for technology). so yeah. that's my language learning process for ya. i am definitely not quiting my day job.