Have you ever been going merrily along in the language you’ve been learning only to hit a big bump when you discover that a word you’ve been using for forever doesn’t mean what you thought it meant?

That happened to me with one of the most basic words in Mandarin: xie xie. I had been taught that it means thank you, and had been using it accordingly.

Then I found out that xie xie and thank you are not 100% equivalent, and I’d been annoying the socks off at least one Chinese friend by saying [what I thought was] “thank you.” Whoops.

To read the story, check out my post on Taking Route today, Stop with the Thank Yous!

And guess what? For those of you who’ve been waiting for the print version of Home, James to come out, today is your lucky day! Home, James is now available in paperback! Get yourself a copy, and send a copy as a gift to your favorite expat family, or to non-expat friends to give them an entertaining peek into the world of a kid in global transition.

And if you’re curious to see my very first piece of author fan mail, sent to me by a young fan, pop over to www.emilysteelejackson.com.

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