realized I understand some of what he was saying in Mandarin. He began
again speaking in Cantonese and I told him that one of the teachers at another
table could understand Cantonese. I thought he would be excited.
Instead he continued spouting off in Mandarin. I wasn't sure if I
understood what he said but what I thought he said was confirmed when he said it
in English..."I can't speak any bad words!"
2. I was so worried I'd be ignored by the new students. After all,
I'm not faculty, staff, or student. But I was wrong. After I
introduced myself at orientation (the school had allowed us to come announce who
we were and our weekly activities) there was a break between the orientation
time and the meal. I wandered up to a group of students speaking to Loren
and asked them what their names were. They were happy to meet me.
One was a Masters in Business student, the other two were freshmen. All
were from China. Later I met two boys. They too were
excited to meet me, happy to understand Mandarin, and eager to get help in
searching for an apartment. After dinner I walked home with yet another
MBA student who spent 7 years studying in Britain. She lives just down
the street from me and her English is excellent. Her international
experience far surpasses mine. She told me she quit her job and then
began applying for MBA schools. I told her I was surprised at such a big
leap of faith. She'd make a good Christian...