Griffin's Post:
September 9, 2010
I have a four day weekend because of Hari Raya. We are going on a 3 day trip to East Malaysia. It is a two hour flight to get there. We are going to see caves. People used to draw on the caves. They didn't draw with blood. They could have. I don't know what they used to draw because in the old days what kind of ink was there?
School is pretty hard. It's hard to get around the school. There are such long lines in the cafeteria. The only things I look forward to are snack and lunch and playing soccer at recess. I had Mandarin class today. "Nu hi qui qui de pao" means the girl quickly ran. "ting" means listen. "ting" means stop. There are two different types of ting. One is long and one is short. The listen ting is long and the stop ting is short.
"Shuo jung wung" means speak mandarin. All of these might not be spelled correctly but I don't know how to spell them. There are a few symbols. But I can't remember them.
The symbols are important. In fact, if you say the wrong symbol (character). Like, if you say I want dumplings but use the wrong symbol, then you might actually be saying I want sleep.
From, Griffin
Oh Grif - I can't believe you are learning Mandarin. It is soooo hard! A different alphabet and all those new sounds. wow. Are the cafeteria lines worse than the subway in New York??
ReplyDeleteHave fun in the caves. Maybe they used hard rocks to draw. Let us know.
love gma
Grif-Uncle Bruce here-I love your postings-your writing is beautiful and fascinating. Please keep posting when you have the time-it is great to hear about all the interesting things you are doing.
ReplyDeleteWe miss you
love uncle bruce
G- this is i-man what kind of food do you have at school ? Have fun at the caves send some pics and keep on posting.
ReplyDeleteI MISS YOU SOOO MUCH!
Hope to hear from you soon.
Grandma - The thing that they used to draw on the cave walls is red hematite, a form of iron that comes from the earth. And, the lunch lines in the cafeteria might be worse might be not than subway lines in NY.
ReplyDeleteHi Isaac! G-man here. The caves were amazing. It's a two hour hike to the painted cave. And one hour hike to the great cave. It was so dark that you couldn't make it through without a flashlight or a torch. I saw bats on the ceiling of the cave. I found durian seeds. Durian is a kind of fruit that does not grown in America. A few others are starfruit, jackfruit, and snake fruit. I also found limestone coated with white mud. And, I have to hit something on it to get the mud off.
ReplyDeleteHow was your birthday? Where did you go? How many of your friends came? I am having a great time in Malaysia. How are you doing?
Love, Griffin
Hey Grif - I don't know if I ever told you, but I took Mandarin in 7th grade for three months. I still remember how to count to ten, and how to say how are you, I am fine thank you (Nee how ma? Wo how sye sye? I think). So maybe we can have a conversation in Mandarin! Love and miss you, Lisa
ReplyDelete