In addition to learning the language, it's important to learn about the culture(s) that use the language. Here are some of the things I have learned.
My like or dislike of a place is rooted in two things: the physical beauty of that place and the food. For all it's visual faults (and here I'm thinking specifically of the horrible Verizon logo wrecking a perfectly good skyline) New York delivers on the dinner table like almost no other place in the world. I have to say almost; one step above is the island nation of Taiwan.
When I visited Taiwan, one of the national holidays I learned about was 2-28 (February 28th). For people living in Taiwan, this date is could be compared to December 7th 1941 for Americans. It is certainly a day of infamy. For Taiwan, 2-28 has also been a day that, for some time, was unremembered. This day (and the reasons it was for a time forgotten) is the subject of the recent movie "Formosa Betrayed" from writer Will Tiao and director Adam Kane.
Last night, with the help of 女朋友, I translated a message she received from her mother. In Taipei, the city has decorated the main park (大安公園) with poinsettias in preparation for the Christmas celebration.
To assist with my language education, my girlfriend's mother has been sending small bits of text for me to translate. Recently, she sent along a piece that illustrates some of the difficulties in Chinese listening comprehension.
For those who aren't familiar with the Chinese language, there are two writing systems. The first is the traditional script: characters that have evolved from ancient pictographs. It was used in Mainland China until midway through the last century and is still used in Taiwan, other Chinese island territories, and in by Chinese immigrants in other nations. The second system is the simplified script, introduced by the Chinese government in the 50's as a way to improve literacy.