AMERICAN HISTORY BETWEEN JACKSON AND WASHINGTON

Yesterday I got a late start on my jaunt to Chinatown for tea and a snack. And besides that, I wandered around once I got there to purchase this and that (炸豆腐兩塊，一簇蔬菜 'jaa daufu leung faai, yat chuk so choi' -- fried tofu two lumps, one bunch of veggies). So it wasn't till around six o'clock that I headed over to a friendly place.


從昃臣街到華盛頓街。
['chung jak san gai dou waa sing dun gai']

Once I turned into the alley, I heard a squeaky girlish voice saying "and there was also one named John, John Aaah-dums!" It turned out to be someone less than half my height holding her mom's hand as they walked. The mother said "hai maa" (係嘛 "is it, huh?"), probably merely to indicate that she was indeed listening. As they walked it became clearer that the little child spoke English as a first language, the parent English barely at all. Yet at first it really seemed like they were communicating. "Yes, and he was a lawyer (律師 'lut-si'), but not like sook sook ("uncle"), a REAL lawyer". The mother indicated profound astonishment: "m-hai-a maa (唔係吖嘛 "oh surely not?")?"
"A lawyer!!!"
The little girl pronounced it 'loh yah', with a certain relish. So far she had enunciated almost everything clearly and distinctly, but this may have been a concept that was more intelligible if kept in the correct accent.
The mother said "waa" (嘩 "wow") in feigned amazement.
The kid probably didn't even hear the pretense.
Almost everyone is familiar with lawyers.
They aren't a modern invention.


As I walked behind them I could only be surprised that a child so young, obviously of kindergarten age, was happily spouting American history. When I was her age -- five at most -- I didn't know beans about American history. That didn't come until I had turned my ever-growing skill at reading Dutch into an ability to read English, when I was almost nine.
This kid probably already knew how to read.

"And after Aaah-dums there was Jefferson, who was big, and rich, and also owned slaves!"

And that, clearly, was too much. The mother snorted "jan-ge (眞嘅)?!?" as if to express 'you don't say'. Slaves, indeed. Whatever those were.
I too was surprised. What on earth are they teaching kids these days?
No one needs to know that a Founding Father had a dark side.
At least not until later; it's a complex situation.

The kid halted and pulled at her mother's hand.

"But you have to learn this, it's important!"

It was at that moment that I realized what was going on. The child was reviewing what she had heard in school, so that her mom's English would improve. And mom, when she picked the kid up, had finished putting in a full day and was probably both pre-occupied and tired.
Likely the process was something that both of them had worked out.
Though perhaps not with such a clearly stated purpose.
The kid was just being conscientious.
She had a task to do.

Was the child really as young as I think she was? Maybe not. She could have already been in grammar school. But she looked very small, and sounded extremely young.

Unless the mother starts paying attention, she risks her daughter eventually no longer understanding her.
If you don't speak your children's language, you end up alone.


When they turned the corner I could still hear the little girl saying "Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson, you must remember!"

She sounded serious.


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METALEGOMENON

Across Washington Street from the alleyway (德和街 'dak wo gai'; Wentworth Place), the warm light of the bakery beckoned. Even though the restaurant section was full and hub-bubbly, the tables in front of the baked goods counters were unoccupied.
When the boss-lady saw me come in she asked "ah, nei seui-yiu naai chaa, ha?" (哦，你需要奶茶，啊？Hey, you need milk tea, eh?)
Yes want, please, hot" (要，唔該，熱嘅。"yiu, m-goi, yit ge.")
"Jo-dai sin, ngo lo bei nei" (坐底先，我攞畀你。"Sit down first, I'll bring it to you".).

When they know you, it's like coming home.

Their milk-tea is really good.

Note that 'jo dai sin' is a strictly Cantonese way of expressing it, and 'lo bei' is quite nearly unintelligible gibberish to a Mandarin speaker even when written. Trust me, it makes NO sense outside of Cantonese.


The fried tofu and fresh vegetables I had purchased were later used to make a hot pot, with dried mushroom slices, a little sausage, and a broth flavoured with abalone extract, soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, sugar, and five spice powder. Plus a squeeze of hot sauce.
Fried tofu can be bought at Wo Chong company, Inc. (和昌芽菜豆腐 'wo chung ngaa choi dau fu'), 863 Washington Street, just down from Stockton. They make their tofu fresh daily, and the fried tofu squares are a beautiful addition to a soup or stew.



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