I woke up late this morning. No time to drink coffee before I left the house. On the way to the bus station I stopped by the bakery to buy some breakfast. The people at the bakery are starting to recognize me since I often stop by in the morning now. I order in Cantonese and it makes them smile. Although the last time I was there, I asked for a BBQ pork bun and the woman replied with “Tunafish bun? OK!” Now I know I have a terrible accent, but it can’t possibly be so terrible as to confuse “cha siu” with “tu na yu”. The words are simply not at all similar. But anyways I took the bun that day, and this morning I decided to go for tunafish again. (Luckily the woman didn’t confuse it with BBQ pork.) Since I use them to practice my Cantonese, I guess it’s not surprising one of the women there likes to use me to practice her English. After she gave me the bun she switched to English with sign language and told me “Tomorrow (point to watch), ??? (point around), off (palms out).” I caught on and responded with mixed Cantonese and English, ” Tomorrow closed?” and she nodded enthusiastically. She switched back to Cantonese “Mid-autumn festival!” and then back to English “Eat mooncakes!” I smiled, still in morning daze.
Back to daily commute… I hopped onto the bus, second deck like usual, and started to stare blankly off in space. I was staring at the ponytail of the woman in front of me when I suddenly realized I knew that ponytail! “Sensei?” My Japanese teacher turned around a little startled or maybe she was a bit sheepish because she already saw me? Actually we often run into each other because we live in the same neighborhood. But it’s always quite awkward. She only responds in Japanese to me, but I have forgotten most of the little Japanese I once knew. When she sees me, she smiles and asks me something about the time. I guess she is asking me what time I go to work. I respond slowly with a mix of Japanese and English for the words I have forgotten. We smile and both chime together “Nemui!” (Tired!). As much as I wish I could talk to her, I hope that’s a cue for us to cut conversation. The rest of the bus ride I worry about how we’re going to negotiate the transfer to the train, since we both are clearly going to the same place. When the stop arrives, we both wait for the other one to leave first. I finally remember “Dozo” (You first) and we smile again. On the way out, I walk a few steps behind waiting for another cue. Sensei turns to me and says something in Japanese with a smile and small wave. I really don’t know what it is, but I nod, smile, and wave. Then try to walk really slow while Sensei tries to pick up the pace in high heels.
At work, the room is strangely empty today. The phone rings and I realize I am the only one to answer it. I don’t make any attempts to practice Cantonese at work. I answer the phone with “Hello” but the woman on the other line doesn’t have any intention of practicing English either. She asks in Cantonese for a name that sounds vaguely familiar to me. Half-trying to figure out the person and then realizing it doesn’t matter if the room is empty, I stutter “He’s not here” in Cantonese. A short while later, the phone rings again for the same person. I’m slightly quicker on my feet now and ask if they would like to leave a message. “Um, can you speak a little slower please?” Now to figure out how the names map together. I have his Cantonese name, and my brain is plugging away at pattern matching. This person has five names that I know of: his nickname within the lab, his English name, his Mandarin name, his Cantonese name, and his Mandarin name produced with a Cantonese accent. I run to the next room to find my other colleague. I ask in English about his whereabouts and use his name with a pronunciation not quite Cantonese nor Cantonese-accented Mandarin. Oh, you mean …? “Yeah…” and then I switch to Mandarin and ask, “Can you write down his name for me?”
Back in the office, the phone rings again. Another request in Cantonese, but this time the name is not familiar. I repeat it dumbfounded… the caller says “Oh, I must have called the wrong number.” Less than a second goes by, the phone rings again. I’m ready this time to respond in Cantonese, “What’s his English name?” The English name I recognize right away. Well, what does it matter. No one is there anyways. And actually I realize that I don’t really know his English name. Because of the Chinese accent in English, he has two possible names: Calvin or Kelvin.
By one o’clock, I’m a little jumpy. With every face I see, I’m not quite sure what language we’re supposed to be talking.
Oh yes, and this afternoon I got a phone call from the university personnel department. The work visa was approved. That’s a good thing of course. But the funny part is that last I heard I needed to send them some more paperwork justifying how I can study and work at the same time. I didn’t even send that paperwork out yet, but they’ve approved it regardless. Did someone just pull a string for me? Behind my back?
