We live in an age where most major cities worldwide will have some degree of English guidance. Unfortunately, sometimes the language used in signage is in common use and may lead to some unnecessary confusion!
![[Taiwan] Please Pay on Alighting](https://travel.kavp.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Pay-on-Alighting-670x300.jpg "[Taiwan] Please Pay on Alighting")
![[Languages] Is 6 Months of Mandarin Enough?](https://travel.kavp.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/6-Months-e1509616723374-670x300.png "[Languages] Is 6 Months of Mandarin Enough?")
[Languages] Is 6 Months of Mandarin Enough?
Well, it’s been a while!
I’ve been studying Mandarin at National Taiwan University for six months and am now on a break in formal studies. This seems like a good time to reflect on what I have actually learned in this time.
![[Languages] Why Taiwanese Mandarin?](https://travel.kavp.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Taiwan_Chinese-e1490793603497-670x300.png "[Languages] Why Taiwanese Mandarin?")
[Languages] Why Taiwanese Mandarin?
Want to learn Mandarin? Find out if Taiwan is the right place for you to learn it!
Impostraveller Syndrome
Times they are a-changing.
Sukiyaki Westernised
I decided that the only way I could really get across the beauty of Kyu Sakamoto’s “Sukiyaki” would be by translating the lyrics myself. I learned a lot.
![[Argentina] A Rude Linguistic Awakening](https://travel.kavp.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Kav-Language-670x300.png "[Argentina] A Rude Linguistic Awakening")
[Argentina] A Rude Linguistic Awakening
She asked me the name of my new Spanish school, and I proudly responded.
I wasn’t expecting her face to drop.
Don’t Mention the War!
As part of my homework for the weekend, I was asked to write an essay detailing the international relations disaster that is the Japanese government’s method of dealing with past war crimes. I was thrilled. However…
![[Argentina] Big in El Pasaje](https://travel.kavp.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/El-Pasaje-Video-670x300.png "[Argentina] Big in El Pasaje")
[Argentina] Big in El Pasaje
I thought I was being asked to have a photo taken to promote my Spanish school, but I found out last-minute that it was actually a video and had to think of something pretty quickly.
![[Argentina] Speak to Me, Buenos Aires!](https://travel.kavp.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/14223761301_0562a59382_o-670x300.jpg "[Argentina] Speak to Me, Buenos Aires!")
[Argentina] Speak to Me, Buenos Aires!
After a long stint in Japan, I arrived in Buenos Aires to live in mid-April, 2014, and it’s been odd starting to live in a country where I don’t speak the language so well.
![[Japan] Ah, the things that make translators chuckle.](https://travel.kavp.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Kikyuu-Club-Sono-Ato-353x300.jpg "[Japan] Ah, the things that make translators chuckle.")
[Japan] Ah, the things that make translators chuckle.
Sometimes I put silly place-holder words and phrases into translated texts, so that I can immediately know the literal meaning in English without having to recheck in the dictionary. I go over the text a few times, revising it until the word or phrase sounds natural and acceptable, so normally the place-holders are replaced. There are times when I grow attached to them, though!