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September 27, 2005
Mrs. Gu
Yesterday evening I got another “Hello!” from a “grandma” (that’s the polite way to call/refer to women of that age here, and she does, in fact, have a grandchild). It was the second one in three days, and is pretty unusual, as the hello-ers are usually obnoxious younger or middle-aged men, and the “hellooo” is howled at your back, not said to your face. But this lady actually wanted to talk to me.
“You country?”
“I’m an American.”
“America! Me, Canada, seven years!”
“Oh, you’ve lived in Canada for seven years?”
“Yes! Come back, finished, Canada!” (vigorous waving of the hands)
“You’re finished in Canada? You’re not going back to Canada?”
“Yes! Three months, finished, back Canada!”
“So you’re going back to Canada in three months?”
“Yes! You here do what?”
“I’m an English teacher.”
“You singerrr? No married?”
“Yes, I’m single.”
“What’s your name?”
I told her and she repeated it carefully, replying, “I’m Ying!” (tracing the letters on her hand) “Y-I-N-G, Ying! You call me Ying! Family name, Gu!”
“Do you like Canada?”
“Yes, yes, like Canada! Very beautiful, very crrean! Not like here, here not crrean!”
Melody (whom I was walking with) asked her, in English, how she had the opportunity to go to Canada.
“My daughter, teach at university! I stay help her, cooka Chinese food!” (with a stirring gesture)
“A traditional Chinese mom,” Melody suggested, before parting with us for her evening class.
“In Canada I study English, free! Because I…immigration!”
“Oh, because you immigrated, the Canadian government gives you free English lessons?”
“Yes! I in Canada, me speak, people no understand!” (Mrs. Gu, I find that quite easy to believe) “So…the body language!”
I laughed, thinking that explained the spirited hand gestures, which are rare in your average conversation with a Chinese person.
“In Canada, live P.E.I.!”
“You live on P.E.I?” I asked, incredulous. “Prince Edward Island?”
“Yes, P.E.I. Island!”
“I think that must be a very beautiful place! It’s very famous, you know!” Something in the picture of Mrs. Gu living on P.E.I., cooking Chinese food for her university professor-daughter, made me inordinately happy.
“Yes, very beautiful! People not many, not crowded, like here!”
We commiserated for a while on the differences between English and Chinese, and she told me she had a grandchild at university and that she was currently staying with her "big son", who is a computer instructor at the university. Her second son is an electrical engineer. When it came time for us to part ways, she said, “N-….next week five – Friday, I go to-- to dance!” (little boogie to demonstrate)
“Next Friday you’re going to a dance?”
“Yes! No, this Friday! At…at Teacher’s Home!”
“Teacher’s Home?”
“Yes! 教工之家!”
I repeated the Chinese name; it did in fact mean “Teacher’s Home.”
“You go too?”
“I don’t know, maybe,” I replied, thinking I might just have to find this place to make sure I see little Mrs. Gu again.
“Nice to meet you,” she said, shaking my hand enthusiastically.
“You too, Mrs. Gu,” I replied, “Good night.”
| By huzzlecoo | 04:09 PM
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Comments
It's my pity I missed this encounter. I would have loved to see the...body language.
Posted by: Naomi at September 27, 2005 10:01 PM
