Point and Click Communication

There have been a few times when we've really cursed our lack of skill in Mandarin. Those times have included whenever we have visited doctors (however thanks to friends such as Brett's colleague Linlin, and his students, including Wang Nan and Shi Jin Rong we have been able to surmount most translation concerns there) but there are also times when we've just muddled through ourselves. These times are helped greatly by the use of a digital camera.

Originally Sebastien and Alex had been playing with the television remote control (back in September) - now remember that we didn't have a tv in the States so this was a new and wonderful thing to them...even if it was in chinese! We weren't sure whether we needed to pay a fee for television (cable) or not or if we'd irretrievably broken the appliance. A photo later and we worked out how to get back to the regular programming.

For instance, there was the time when a fuse blew in the fusebox - no electricity in any circuits in the apartment - only we couldn't work out how to fix this. A photo and a visit to the security guards later and we had a Mr Fixit from the complex in our apartment helping us out.

Then there was the time when our sink cracked and we had water pouring into the undersink cabinet everytime we pulled out the plug (not good in an environment of mould). Several photos laterand we had a new sink installed whilst Mummy and Sebastien were in Australia.

Of course, Mummy used this option when the back of the toilet was leaking. A photo and a quick visit to Mr Fixit and our toilet had a new pipe!

Now if only "point and click" worked with ordering in restaurants...