Daily Life - The Trouble with English

A few random observations from everyday life here:

• When I am out shopping with a Chinese student, the experience is very different than when I'm with Don. This exact scenario has happened twice now, that I know of. Yesterday, I was in a shop with Sunrise, who was helping me shop. We looked around and left since they didn't have what I was looking for. To my surprise, she told me that the storekeepers had commented that we were showing offs. In their opinion, since we were Chinese, the fact that we spoke entirely in English was just showing off. I told Sunrise that it didn't bother me because I didn't understand but I felt bad for her. Clearly, these people didn't care that we overheard them since they thought that we both would understand.
  

• We were out for dinner last night with one of the Japanese teachers, Yoshi. He and I are in similar boats since we both look Chinese but can't speak Mandarin. Well, in his case, he has studied it for years and knows the script because many are similar to the Japanese characters. Still, he has difficulty communicating just as much as I do. The waiter came over and tried to talk to Yoshi first then me. It's soooo funny when the two of us speak English in response and Don is trying to tell them in Mandarin that we don't understand.

• It's ironic. Don thought that by coming to China, I would have to step up and take care of the little things like ordering at restaurants. Ha ha on him:) We have found that it's much easier to accomplish things when he tries to do it. When he speaks Mandarin, they make more of an effort to understand. When I try, they get confused by my lack of proficiency and it just makes the situation worse. For instance, if we go to KFC, they put out the English menu for him to order from as soon as they see him approach. If I go first, well they expect me to order in Mandarin like everyone else. And so, it's just easier if I hide :)

• When I am walking around with Don, I know that the people around us are thinking that I nabbed myself a foreigner. Ha ha ha:)

• Despite our lack of progress in learning Mandarin, it is amazing what you can accomplish with knowing the numbers (1 to 5 we know down pat, 6 and 7 are a bit sketchy, 8 to 10 is a snap though), asking "how much" and saying things like "Hello" , "Goodbye" and "The bill please". The funny thing is though that we often order 8 of things. Next up, maybe I'll try learning the colours.