Four days until Pam, Camryn and I return home.
By Terry R. Cassreino
GUANGZHOU, China - As the wait inside the Bank of China inched closer to 30 minutes, the security guard walked over and struck up a conversation.
“Hello, I’m Jimmy,” he said in clear distinct, perfectly pronounced English.
“I’m a security officer at the bank. I work from 9 o’clock in the morning until 5 o’clock in the afternoon. I like to have drinks with friends in the evening.”
I laughed. I had to because I knew Jimmy figured I was from the United States and, therefore, a perfect way for him to practice his limited mastery of our language.
You see, Jimmy is like many Chinese we’ve met since we arrived in the country on March 28. As soon as they realize you are American, they want to know all about you.
With English taught in many Chinese schools, residents in Beijing, Nanchang and Guangzhou - the cities we’ve visited so far - want to practice what they’ve learned.
And that gets repetitive, especially with everyone saying the same phrases that include “I speak a little English”; “What would you like”; and “We are pleased to meet you.”
Similar story
It’s probably no different from what I’ve done since I arrived. Pam and I came to China after trying to learn a little Mandarin using a compact disc audio language course.
Pam and I chose the Pimsleur method, which teaches conversational language skills. We used the same method to learn Spanish before we traveled to Mexico; it worked perfectly
But Mandarin Chinese is difficult to learn because it is a tonal language. The same word can have different meanings depending on the tonal pronunciation.
Pam and I could never master even part of the language in the two-month span before our trip. So I’m sure our limited vocabulary and ability speaking Mandarin quickly grew old.
Among the handful of phrases I know are “Do you speak English?”; “I speak a little Mandarin. But I don’t speak Mandarin well”; “I don’t understand what you are saying.”
So back to Jimmy’s story
I needed to convert U.S. cash into Chinese currency, and the White Swan Hotel wouldn’t help me. So the front desk clerk sent me outside to the Bank of China.
Offering help
I stepped inside, took my place in line and then met Jimmy. He pointed me to a table and explained in sign language that I needed to complete a form for my transaction.
When I finished, I got back in line and waited almost 30 minutes for my turn. During that time, Jimmy walked over, smiled and struck up a conversation in broken English.
“Hello, I’m Jimmy,” he said. “I’m a security officer at the bank. I work from 9 o’clock in the morning until 5 o’clock in the afternoon. I go to university to learn English.”
I told Jimmy I was from the United States and my wife and I were here to adopt. He then pulled out a sheet of paper and proudly handed it to me; it was his hand-written script.
“Hello, I’m Jimmy,” it read in clear but rough handwriting and followed closely what Jimmy told me earlier. I complimented Jimmy and told him his English was good.
He smiled, thanked me and did the very same thing I’ve been doing the past two weeks in China: He repeated his English again, just like I have repeated my Chinese to interested people.
“Hello, I’m Jimmy,” he began again, repeating the entire cycle.
“I’m a security officer at the bank. I work from 9 o’clock in the morning until 5 o’clock in the afternoon. I like to have drinks with friends in the evening.”
Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.
Good story!! I liked it!!
ReplyDeleteDavid