Funny Signs

Whenever we're out and about, stopped at traffic lights or in a traffic jam, I'm always scanning the signboards. There are some seriously funny signs about this place.

Sometimes, when there is a dry spell (as in, no funny signs) I tend to just stare at something absentmindedly. Like this particular one, until I found myself reading and re-reading the third line. I couldn't stop laughing afterwards. Little things like this make me laugh loud and long. These little errors sure make sitting in never ending traffic a whole lot more fun!



I'm still wondering what 'Grease Up' is.

Amanda's Indonesian

My Indonesian has been improving quite a bit lately and I think I'm even starting to develop a bit of an accent. Vocabulary is on the rise but my grammar is still pretty awful. Something new that I've has picked up recently is speaking in the third person. I'm not sure if this is even refered to as 'third person' speak. Its just the substitution of names instead of 'I' and 'You'. I have some examples further down.

For some reason, people make that substitution a lot over here. Its a safe habit to adopt because I am never sure of which 'you' word to use. There are a few words that mean 'you' and are used for different people depending on the relationship with the other person (I think).

At the gym today, I was chatting with one of the staff there. Here name is Nia and she was asking me if she could come visit me at home some time. The conversation ended with her saying something like "OK. Nia will come over to Amanda's house on her day off". We were both right there and there was only the two of us in the room. I ended up texting her my number with the message "Here is Amanda's number for Nia."

Anyway, I find it a little strange to say things like "Amanda will be going for a walk with Aaron now." But, I'm starting to get the hang of it.

On a side note, it may feel strange speaking this way now but I wonder if this is how we all start out talking. Aaron often speaks in the third person. Aaron walk. Aaron play now. Aaron change pants. Etc etc etc.....

Aaron's Tongue

Aaron has started talking a lot. Plenty of words and these days, short sentences as well. We have been fairly successful at sticking to the plan of Richard speaking Mandarin to Aaron while I speak English. Since I spend most time with him, English comes more naturally than Mandarin. Thats not surprising.

What is surprising is that we've noticed that it is the Indonesian sounds that he most likes to make. He doesn't spend that much time interacting with people who speak Indonesian but the language is floating about him all day long. And these days, he seems to actively look for opportunities to speak Indonesian.

Even though his Indonesian vocabulary isn't as broad (yet), I think he even asks more questions in Indonesian than in English. Who is that? What is that? Where is it? What is this? Have you eaten? With the local accent that he's acquiring, he's going to be better than me in no time.

Yesterday, when Aaron was talking to himself in Indonesian, my mother said to me "Its so strange. Thats not even his mother tongue".

He says, "No. Aaron's tongue." And sticks his tongue out.

This little guy always has his ears pricked up and listening to the conversations around him. Its no wonder he's absorbing so much language. I wish there was some way that I could surround him with more languages. It seems so effortless to him at the moment but I'm sure this sub conscious absorption will fade with age.

Kemarau Island

Yesterday, we decided to go to Kemarau Island. This is a small island where people flock to during the last two days of Chinese New Year to pray. That was last Wednesday and Thursday but I didn't want to join the crowds. Supposedly, people from as far as Singapore would make the pilgrimage to this place. There is a temple there dedicated to Toa Pek Kong. He is a minor Taoist deity in charge of looking after households, villages and rural lands.

We hopped on a little 'speedboat' to get to the island. The trip lasted about 2 mins and it cost us IDR50,000 (USD 5.45).

I sat in the middle of the boat. Here's the view looking in front:


And here's the boatman behind me:


The alters were all locked up so we couldn't get a closer look and other than the temple, there was only the new pagoda that is still under construction. The island itself was full of shady trees so it would have been pleasant to walk around if it wasn't for the rain that started when we were there.


My favorite part of the excursion was this sign at the base of the pagoda that was under construction.

Translation:
1. It is prohibited to go up. (Probably just while still under construction.)
2. It is prohibited to take photos on top of the dragon. (Two large dragons lined the stairs leading up to the pagoda)
3. It is prohibited to 'go on a date' in the pagoda.
4. It is prohibited to deface the pagoda.
5. Beware of 'Garong' cats. I can't find 'Garong' in the dictionary but it definitely doesn't refer to any type of feline. From what I have gathered, it refers to either perverts or people who supposedly try to seduce strangers. I'm not sure if they are flashers or not. I wish my Indonesian was better so I could have a better understanding of this type of words that no dictionary is going to define.

What were they thinking?!

Earlier this week I had a post about language. Today, I would like to share this photo of a road sign in Brunei. A friend of mine is working over there at the moment and sent it over.

Translation : King Silly Road

They also speak Malay in Brunei so the name of this road had me laughing immediately. Dungu is actually quite a common word. I say it all the time (even though it didn't make my top eight list). The effect is probably lost on most of my blog's readers but I wanted to share it anyway. Perhaps some of my family and friends will find it amusing.

Who is the teacher?

For the zillionth time today, I heard the words 'Its such a waste that she's staying home to look after the kids'. Bah!

Anyway, I am a stay at home person and with each passing day, I am learning about Aaron and more about myself than any other time in my life (except my own babyhood I guess).

Its all about communication now. Aaron tries so hard to communicate what he wants, what he's being playful about and how he feels. He uses plenty of words and sounds but we just don't understand them all yet. Nevertheless, we are communicating. I find that with 100% attention on him and a genuine interest in what he is saying, I eventually work out what he means. Sometimes it takes a few minutes, other times a few days. Patience definitely plays a big role here because until I get it, the sounds escalate to high pitched annoyances. Its easy to get frustrated and dismiss him but that doesn't solve anything. Sometimes I am guilty of it but, thats life - I get tired.

We have also been teaching him to sign and its starting to pay off. He has been using several signs that I taught him. His favourite is pointing his index finger to the palm of his other hand indicating 'more'. The real payoff is that he is starting to make up signs of his own and teaching them to me. Today, I learned the sign for glasses. He pats both his ears! I deserve an 'A' for picking that one up.

Aboriginal Words

I've mentioned suburb names in recent posts and have never really wondered what they meant until I thought of how strange some of the words may seem to readers in different parts of the world. I looked up the Origin of Brisbane Suburb Names for the meanings.

Indooroopilly: This is corruption of either the Aboriginal word Yindurupilly meaning gully of running water or Nyindurpilli meaning gully of leeches.

Toowong: This is another Aboriganl word meaning place of doves.

15 August

This is the Lunar Calendar date for the Chinese Mooncake festival. Sometimes, it is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is believed that on this day, the moon is the biggest, roundest and brightest!

I came across a much funnier meaning today though. We were at Ming Court (famous breakfast venue in Ipoh) for Dim Sum when one of the waitresses said to me "You'd better sit further back in case somebody accidentally kicks your chair. It will give your 15 August a good bump" HUH?? What was she talking about???

My BEHIND! Bum. Butt. Backside. Derriere. Rear-End. Now you can add '15 August' to it. If you want to say it in Cantonese, "Bat Yuet Sap Mm"

By the way, here is the Latin way to say '15 August': 'Nates'.

Pusing!

"Pusing" in Indonesian means headache. In Malay it means to turn around.

Anyway, I have a headache from all my excitement. We're going back to Ipoh for a few days today and all the adrenalin about the trip must be pooling in my head! Perhaps I might go for a drive to Pusing. That word is ALSO the name of a small town near Ipoh.

Politically Correct

Was wondering about this as I was putting Aaron to sleep....

There are several references to the 'Chinaman Company' on this blog. Its a common enough word amongst chinese Malaysian and Singaporeans but it occured to me that it could come across as racist to other people in this world. I'm chinese so obviously I'm not using it in the racist way but I can't think of what the term is for this type of company.

Does anybody know the politically correct term? I've turned the comments back on so let me know.