There are definitely days I feel like Bill Murray being paid to sell a fancy whisky, just nodding and smiling at most of what’s being said. My Mandarin is enough to get by but is seriously lacking when it comes to having a full conversation. I can order food, give directions to the cab driver, ask where the bathroom is, but I’m a long ways away from discussing politics or even what I did that day. I can understand the gist of what most people say to me, but struggle to respond. I know a fair amount of vocabulary but not the structures to put it all together to make a coherent sentence. I’m starting to pick up characters; recognizing important ones on signs at food vendors and businesses. I’m far from fluent but I’d say I have my survival Mandarin down.

Usually I enjoy the anonymity not speaking the language affords me. At a certain point, Mandarin becomes a calming white noise and grants me the ability to tune out conversations I would usually eavesdrop on if they were in English (sorry not sorry, I respond easily to stimuli). Also, being a foreigner, people assume I don’t speak the language so they won’t talk to me much unless I engage. Some days this is a welcome respite when just talking feels like too much (introverts, you know what I mean).

Other days, I appreciate the influence of Western culture and the English language in the East. Airports and subways stations have sign in English to guide foreign travelers from one place to the next; many restaurants have English on their menus now; usually one or two people know a few English phrases and can at least greet me with a welcoming “hello”when you enter a business. China is becoming an international country and the influence of the English language is far from slowing. Frequently I’ll see the use of English phrases on billboards, signs, and T-shirts, and I can’t help but smile. Some are impeccably translated, almost sounding like poetry. Others might sound a little strange to an English ear but are no less poetic.

I’ve compiled some of my favorites thus far. Not as a joke or to make fun of, but to highlight that meaning goes far beyond words and grammar. A big vocabulary and proper syntax are certainly helpful, but in the end words are only meaningful when we humans apply meaning to them. As an English teacher and human living in a foreign country, I’ve realized there are a lot of ways to communicate that have nothing to do with following the rules of language.

Finally, a country that recognizes the gentlewomen and not only the gentlemen.

Still pondering what this one might mean. Definitely open to any suggestions.

Honestly one of my personal favorites. Short and simple, and perfectly conveys the mindset of youthful indiscretion. I probably shouldn’t be taking pictures of random kids in the mall but this one was too good to pass up. Just before I snapped this pic, these boys had dumped a bag of ice in a plant. I’d say they were playing a prank but the plant probably appreciated the future water.

“Man zou” (or “walk slow”) in a nutshell. One of my favorite English translations, and always an excellent reminder on my walk home from work. If you know me, I walk with purpose and speed. Here in China, I’m learning to walk slow, eat slow, take time with my words, and enjoy the view.