this one isn't too bad, really, and i only report it here because i like the ring of it. and because i don't want to do my homework.
i've mentioned before that i have good pronunciation. i really do. my vocab and sentence structure are at approximately the 3rd-grade level, but my pronunciation is solid. not native, but solid. the problem is that i don't really have any control over it. when i'm out and about, trying to improve my fluency or just trying to pay for my lunch - like today - i simply cannot control every rise, fall, and jiggle of my voice. if i spoke..... like..... this..... then maybe, but i've yet to meet anyone with the patience required to indulge that sort of obsessive perfectionism (believe me, i've looked)
anyway today, instead of telling my waiter that i wanted to pay for two bowls of bun (rising tone) bo (falling tone) or beef noodle soup, i handed him 100,000 dong for two bowls of bun (falling) bo (rising), otherwise known as "mud bunch."
"excuse me sir, i'd like to pay for two bowls of MUD BUNCH." i'm pretty sure it's a specialty of the mekong delta region.
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Where are all the comments??!?? Why is no one stating, on the record, what a top-flight, interesting, amusing and educational blog this is? With pictures to boot!
Well, I will step up and do just that. I am *loving* being able to follow you on this trip, Leslie. In fact, I have bookmarked your blog at work so I can check it daily. And it sounds like, buckets of sweat aside, you're having a great time!
Keep the entries coming!
Mud Bunch for everyone!!
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