Press "2" for English

Admittedly in the U.S., when calling different phone numbers for the bank, airlines, credit card, etc., I would roll my eyes at the “para continuar en Espanol, marque dos” ( to continue in Spanish, press 2 ) at times, thinking “if you are living in the US, you should know how to speak English.”

Well, a girl can change her mind, right? Being a non-Mandarin speaking resident, and have a new found appreciation of the “Press 2 for English” option. Or “Reply E for English” in texts. Or best of all – the English option on the ATM.

I have been doing my best to learn Mandarin, it takes a while to learn – especially while working full-time and still running a business back home. But I can ask how much something costs, give a taxi driver directions, common phrases (please, don’t know, where’s bathroom, excuse me) know left & right and other directions (further, here, there), numbers, colors, days, and some different foods. I want to know more – lots more. Fluent one day if possible. Actually, I’d like to be fluent in multiple languages. Or half-fluent at least. That would be a start. Mandarin, Spanish, Italian, German and….well, that’s probably enough for now.

Shanghai has such a large population of Westerners, that you really don’t ever need to learn how to speak Mandarin (as long as you stick to the expat venues), and it’s a shame, really. Menus in many places (even smaller local restaurants) are written in Mandarin and English, and have photos of the food too. All Europeans use English to communicate as well. It seems to be second language in Shanghai.

I overheard one loud American girl in the bar last night — who was the epitome of why people don’t like Americans — speaking loudly about how she finally got to use her “Chinese” when she went to Taiwan, and how she never has to use it in Shanghai because “everyone speaks English”. All I could think was “since you paid so much to learn Mandarin, why not just use it?” So what if you don’t have to, just do it because you can. Anytime I successfully say something in Mandarin and the person understands me, I’m happy! Like the time I got into a cab, told the driver “Wo yao qu, ba yi er Changde Lu” and he repeated it once (standard), I said yes, and he started to drive. Yes!  I was stoked! Typically we go back and forth 3-5 times to confirm the address, and they speak to me like I have a clue of what they are talking about. I usually just answer “hao” (good) until they start to drive. Haven’t been lost in at least six weeks, so must be doing something right. 😉

Understanding what people are saying is more difficult than speaking. But sometimes I pick up a couple pieces of what someone says and I do a tiny mental victory dance because for that second, I was no longer just staring into space, but (almost) a part of the conversation.

Until I can understand Mandarin Chinese, or read a menu, I appreciate the English options. And the English signs, or pinyin sign. And won’t be rolling my eyes when I call a consumer line when I’m back in the US, or having to take that extra step on the ATM to pick out English. Because here, I’m the migrant worker — just trying to live and succeed, and hopefully develop a vocabulary that will enable me to chat with the woman at the fruit stand about the weather one day.

Wǎnshàng hǎo. Yǔ zàijiàn.