Dictionary Moments from Suzhou to Shanghai

Few days ago, I had to go to Shanghai to renew my passport. It was my first time to take the train from Suzhou to Shanghai alone. I was a little nervous since it was peak season for train travel. When I got to the train station, the first thing I noticed was the group of people coming in and out from the station. I immediately went to the ticket counter. It was a long line and although most of the people tried to follow the long queue some just managed to squeeze in or push their way to the counter. Well, the teller tolerated them anyway.
Dictionary moment 1: At the train ticket counter.
When it was my turned my gave her 50 rmb and said that I needed 1train ticket for Shanghai. In my chinese (wo xuyao yi ge huoche piao, wo qu Shanghai) (I need 1 train ticket, I will go to Shanghai). I don't know how to put them together but at least she understood. Then she asked for the time so I said,"jintian" "today". She asked another question and pointed the clocked at her back. I wrote 9 and said "dian" and she made an inaudible sound and looked at me saying something with a word, "meiyou" that mean's "don't have". I knew I wouldn't get a seat with those people coming home and students going back to school after the Chinese Spring holiday. So, I still decided to buy a ticket even if I had to stand. I said "meiguanxi" it's okay", I will just stand. I got a ticket for 9:10am and I was surprised since it only cost 15rmb. Then I realized that it was not a D train or the new bullet train which only take 35 minutes from Suzhou to Shanghai. I bought a ticket for the slow train to Shanghai...grrrrrrrrr.
Dictionary Moment 2: On the slow train.
Since I didn't have a seat, so I decided not to follow the right car or platform on my ticket. I just got in the nearest car since I would be standing anyway. When the train arrived, a lot of people were getting off while the passengers outside tried to get in. I got annoyed again for the zillion times, why these people won't wait until the last person would get off? The lady attendant tried to block them but failed. I waited until everyone got on the train and that moment the lady checked my ticket and asked me to go to the other car, way back to car 15 and I was on car 3! no way! I waited long enough and was scared that if I had to change to car 15 the train would leave, so I followed the rest of the passengers, just pushed my way in. The slow train is different from the bullet train. It didn't smell good and it was also dirty, a lot of litters around. There were no individual seats, but tables and a couch that is good for 3 or 4 persons. I saw one woman in one couch so I was hoping that nobody would sit beside her. The train started and the old woman saw me standing so she called me and let me sat beside her.  The old woman said, "wo gei ni" which means "I give/gave you" and I said, "xie xie ni" "thank you'. I don't know how I said it, but she immediately said, "ni bu shi zhongguoren ma?" "you're not Chinese?" "Wo bo shi zhongguoren." She continued asking other things which I managed to answer for one or two words. But she didn't stop there, she found it interesting that someone who looks like Chinese doesn't speak Chinese. She asked about where I live, what's my job and my stay in China. I was so thankful that I took the little Chinese-English/English-Chinese Dictionary from Randy. I felt that I somehow connected with the old woman and she was so kind in trying to understand me. She gave me some Chinese cookies and cupcakes, perhaps to thank me for my effort in trying to speak Chinese. After eating our snacks she continued on asking more questions and I figured that she was asking about my trip to Shanghai, what would I do there? If I had a friend there, If I'm going back to Suzhou that day. I understood some of it, but I needed to give her quick answers so I turned around and since everyone around us were listening, I turned to the next table and said, "Hi, can you help me out here, can you please translate what she is saying?" I assumed that one of them could at least speak English, luckily a young man immediately translated her questions. Whew! Perhaps they had fun listening to our conversations since every now and then I would hear them mimicked my Chinese. The dictionary did a great job and although the ride was longer than the bullet train, it was fun.
Dictionary Moment 3: With a taxi driver in Shanghai.
I thought that going to the Philippine consulate was easy since I had the English and Chinese address with me. I took the metro line 4 from Shanghai Railway Station. It was quite a long walk going to the transfer station, I thought I was lost in the underground city of Shanghai. I felt scared and hungry but I kept on walking following the sign that says line 3/line 4. After my long walk I finally found the metro station, wow again I felt that I was in China, in the middle of the crowd. I had to choose which way since there are two lines for line 4. I already knew it was going west since it is in West Yan An Road. But the other line also says it would go to Yan An Road. Good thing I had a nice subway experience in Beijing so I had to count the number of stops. I chose the road going to Zhongtan Road since it has only 6 stops to West Yan An station. When I got there, I took the address from my phone and gave it to the taxi driver. He said, he didn't know the place. A taxi driver in Shanghai doesn't know where No. 1168 Metrobank Plaza Building in West Yan An Road is, so I'm in trouble. I didn't want to waste another minute waiting for another taxi driver who would tell me the same line, 'I don't know." So, I asked him if he knew the road, he said yes. So I got my dictionary and told him, to drive me slowly around West Yan An Road and I will check the number of the building. Finally we got to a place where it the number runs from 1000, the taxi metered showed 30 rmb and I didn't care if he would charge me more as long as I would get to the right place. But he stopped and dropped me off near a big building saying that, "ni qu" "you go". I was confused the building says, Shanghai bank and not Metrobank. So I asked if this is the building and he said, "due-yes". So I paid and got off. I went inside the building and went to the information only to find out that Metro bank building is still 10 minutes walk away and it was on the opposite road...grrrrr. I had to walk on a very cold and windy day in Shanghai and I just wanted to hide from the angry weather. Finally, I found the building, but unfortunately it was almost 12noon so they just got my requirements and gave me the form which I had to submit in the afternoon. It was a long day for passport renewal, but I am glad I did it in one day and I just need 6 weeks until the new Machine Readable Passport will arrive from Manila.
With those difficult and funny dictionary moments, now I'm thinking about buying a dictionary for my ipod touch. I hope I can find a good one.