January 2, 2018

The airport was walking distance from my brother’s place. However, I was afraid that I would miss my flight anyways because I hadn’t stepped out of the door until an hour before departure. I walked up to the check-in counter and told them I was going to Portland, with a transfer at [xxx]. They commented on how London was kind of far. I quickly realized the mix up and said I was going to the Portland in Oregon.

“I’m not sure if we still have seats”, they said.

“I already have a ticket. I’m not too late, am I?”

“Not at all!” They handed me my boarding pass.

I was on time after all. I was confused however when there was no one to check our IDs as I continued to the boarding gates.

–

I had fallen asleep outside with my phone in my hands. I wasn’t sure how long I slept but my mother had come to wake me up for dinner and the ground was now covered in ice. Wanting to enjoy the rare opportunity, I jumped onto the sloped path and slid down the hill. Realizing just how strange the ground looked, I started from the top of the hill again but with my phone recording this time.

When I finally got back into the building, I overheard my dad talking to my mom about the distinction between 很多 and 好多 and why one was more appropriate to use over the other. I admitted that there wasn’t really a semantic distinction between the two for me and asked if that meant I had learned the language incompletely.