"Language Lessons" Part II

We have started to joke that soon we will all speak Chinglish... the odd combination of Chinese and English words. As I said before, many of the players have a great interest and learning English. They enjoy it very much when they can respond to me in English. The other morning I started my morning chalk talk with "Zao Shang Hao" (Zow Shahng How) to which the team replied, in english, in unison "GOOD MORNING!" (which is of course what Zao Shang Hao means). At any rate, our language efforts have led to some comical interchanges.

Yesterday evening I was "conversing" with Tan An Qi (hiding from the camera on right) and she said something that resembled the word Black followed by Russia but came out like Blike Russia . Trying to connect I said the Chinese word for Black (Hay Zuh) back to her. She shook her head and said Bu - Like Russia, "Bu" being the Chinese word for NO... she was trying to say she did not like the Russian team and knew the english word "Like" but not the negative. Hence Chinglish...

Coach Ji (pictured with me) is very funny. The other day he said to me that he knows 8 english words. Actually, he understands quite a bit more than that and can understand me most of the time. He likes to throw out the words he knows at the right moments to make us all laugh. Him and I have actually started a little challenge to see who can know more words in the other's language. We think he is up to 12 or 15 now and I am at a similar number. This evening, Peter, my translator, was late and I called him to ask when he was going to arrive for our staff meeting. I got a recorded repeating message on the phone. It was obviously in Chinese and I thought I understood the first phrase, but after that.... He saw my puzzled look and grabbed the phone from me and listened. In perfect English, and mimicking the recorded lady's tone, he said "I'm sorry, blah, blah blah blah" It was hilarious... he could translate the first word, which I did understand, and then just spoke gibberish because he could not translate the rest... He had all of us dying. It was also the first english word that I had heard him speak all day.

Anyway, I am sure I will have many more funny anecdotes from my language encounters, especially as I get better and try to speak more Chinese. So now too, I am caught up on my blog-a-day! Goodnight from Harbin....