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Feeling like a bull in a China shop

By Katherine Danks (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-23 10:24

It was while shopping for meat in the supermarket that I realized that my reliance on pantomime was getting out of control and that I must become more diligent with my Chinese language study.

It was a Sunday afternoon and I had a craving for something simple and familiar to my sensitive Western stomach - like steak and green salad. I had also done little cooking since arriving in Beijing and after eight weeks of black bean pork and noodles, I just didn't know how much more Chinese food I could take.

So I made a mental note of the Chinese word for "beef" and walked off to the supermarket. But after managing to get the attention of the attendant and greeting him in Chinese, I suddenly became nervous and forgot the word "niurou". "Um, beef?" I said in English, to which he shook his head.

Feeling helpless, I pointed to some reddish-looking meat on the counter and said "er, moo?" while gesturing in the general shape of what I thought resembled a bull's horns. The attendant laughed and shook his head before saying something I could not understand in Chinese. He then pointed to a few trays of meat further on.

"Beef?" I repeated, my humiliation deepening as a few bemused onlookers stopped their shopping to look at the struggling laowai trying to buy her dinner. The attendant looked at me and began to laugh before pointing again to a section a short distance away.

Somehow, my elaborate pantomime had worked. The attendant had understood and pointed me to the correct section where I found a lovely steak for my dinner. But as I walked out of the store I promised myself that I would be more committed to my Chinese study and would never again imitate animals in the supermarket.

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