PLAYING WITH FOOD

And that's why I got the shrimp cheung fan, and you didn't! A day or two ago I was at a dim sum counter purchasing snackiepoos. As usual, I ordered in Cantonese, because it facilitates communication.
Do you have steamed pork dumplings? Three please, and one of those glutinous rice balls, and fried taro dumplings, and are those fresh shrimp rice flour noodle rolls? I want! Thank you, and see you again!

Fresh dim sum is good for the soul.

[Dim sum: 點心 ('dim sam'). Do you have steamed pork dumplings?: 你有冇豬肉燒賣？ ('nei yau mou chyu yiuk siu maai?'). Three please: 三個唔該 ('saam go m-goi'). And one of those glutinous rice balls: 同埋糯米飽一個 ('tong maai luo mai baau yat go'). And deep fried taro dumplings: 同芋角 ('tong wu gok'). Are those fresh shrimp rice flour steamed noodle sheets?: 嗰啲係鮮蝦嘅腸粉嘛？ 'go di hai sin haa ge cheung fan maa?'). I want!: 要！('yiu!'). Thank you: 唔該晒 ('m-goi saai'). See you again: 下次見 ('haa chi kin').]


After I left, an elderly Caucasian gentleman chastised me for speaking Cantonese, because apparently that only encourages those people not to learn proper English. I was taken aback, as I just wanted to purchase food. In a place where Cantonese is the logical language. And simply better understood than English. Where they were keen to sell food to me.

Other than the damned Barbecue Pork Buns which white people always buy. Precisely like his purchase.


See, I do not claim to be Chinese. Nor do I think in Chinese. But I can converse enough in Cantonese to get what I want, and get along with people.  It cuts me some slack. Usually.

Plus, they had food to sell, and I wanted to buy it. Talking to them in Cantonese made it easy for both sides, and simpler too.

Also, I needed to speak to them about antidisestablishmentarianism (反動盪主義 'faan dung dang jyu yi'), existenz angst (存在性焦慮 'chuen joi sing jui luei'), and identitätskrise (身份危機 'san fan ngai gei').


Å være kraftig motarbeidet mot motstand mot å etablere en statsreligion. Samt eksistensiell angst.
Og identitetskrise.


Yeah, I threw all that in just to confound the old fellow.



I have never discussed those things in Cantonese.
Hardly even in English or Dutch either.
I doubt that I could do so.
Intelligently.




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