M'LYNN - I didn’t expect to see Kanyon’s teacher in the accountant’s office when I showed up to pay his April tuition (that’s a big word for preschool). Her presence caught me off-guard and my Chinese couldn’t recover. “I can’t speak Chinese today,” I told her, forgetting the word for morning as I tried to communicate that Kanyon would only be coming in the mornings this month instead of all day like he tried last month.
Walking away, I laughed as I thought of what she was probably thinking, “You crazy foreigner. You can’t speak Chinese any day, not just today!” Oh, and I couldn’t count, either. I gave the accountant 100 RMB more than he needed and I didn’t even notice. Good thing he’s honest and returned my overpayment!
When I arrived at the frozen foods section of the small market I frequent, I tried to collect the correct amount of cash from my wallet for my purchase and it took forever to get the right combination of bills. I looked up at the shopkeeper and explained “I’m sleeping! I can’t wake up today!” He grinned at me and said “Wake up!” I took my purchase, shook my head and headed back home to drink more coffee.
2 comments:
Days like that are tough enough when you're using your home language and currency! Hope the coffee helped!
That's so true! Coffee changes everything!
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