On the Metro we met some young men from the West Bank who were in Shanghai studying Chinese medicine and seemed eager to practice their English. I asked them how many languages they spoke, to which they replied: “Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew, English, and… just a little German”. I translated this to mean that they probably spoke French and Spanish as well.
Mohammad, the taller of the two, inquired: “So what kind of business do you do?”
But before I could share with them the dazzling details of my life as a professional geographer, Mohammad’s friend and colleague Bahir replied on my behalf:
“I think that she is probably busy with this job.” He smiled and pointed down to young E, whose tiny mouth was poised to suck the subway rails (seriously).
E was overall a trooper but the high temps (90 F) were fraying his emotional edges. Despite having worn him out in the Belgravia’s “Baby Haus” playroom before the trip the boy wanted to RUN, but we were, uh, now rather inconveniently traveling on a train at 300 km/hour. Nevertheless, we reached the airport in a flash. I unleashed the little monster and watched him run/toddle over and strike up a “conversation” with the airport security guard. These chats are hilarious to watch as they usually involve wild gesticulations on E’s part – such as his pointing at abstract items in the sky – followed by his newest victim kindly responding with an agreeable and serious head nod. For those balking at the cost of a roundtrip ticket (80 RMB) on the Maglev I would argue that while the price is steep compared to a tofu lunch, it’s still a way better deal than the observatory deck in the Jin Mao tower (88 RMB). Plus, babies ride the rails for free!
3 comments:
The Jade Buddha can wait for another day and I do think interaction with various persons is easily much more fun. On the other hand, you really are much more well adapted than wcc. With Molly, wcc is always on the look out and gets twitchingly nervous in crowded places such as train/metro/bus stations, airports, etc. Perhaps I still inherited some refugee mindset. Regarding language, we heard about some funny literal-Chinese-translated English signs and I personally spotted several back in Taiwan... I wonder if Shanghai, the new international metropolis, may have its share of interpretation of English?
Hey WCC: I completely know what you mean about being "twitchingly" (love that expression) nervous in public spaces with a young one. I'm overjoyed that people here love kids, but sometimes wish my baby was more invisible. Sometimes I have to inconspicuously reorient E's stroller so people aren't tempted to touch (or even photograph) him. I'll keep on the lookout for funny translations! Thanks for following our blog, WCC!
I heard it was really hot yesterday. Keep that little boy cool and safe! XOXO, MM.
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