In college I walked into a Mandarin Chinese restaurant and asked the owner for a job. I told him I wanted to learn to cook. He asked if I knew how to wash dishes and I said yes. So Friday (that was his name, Friday Yin) gave me a job and promised me that he would train me as openings came up. My chef was from Beijing, her name, Lin Tsao, and she was bright and articulate, but only in Mandarin. She handed me a chicken and a large cleaver and said Che Gee - Cut Chicken. Then she gave me an onion and said Che Tsong - Cut Onion. And that's how it started. The owner, a Boeing engineer by day and restauranteur for all the other hours, spoke English, Taiwanese and Mandarin. The chef spoke only Chinese, and the waitresses, Cantonese and enough English to take orders. That was the beginning of my Chinese journey.
I later went to work for a Chinese import-export company and was the first Gwai Lo (foreign devil) they hired. So the adventure continued and still does today!
Here is an
article that you'll enjoy about 10 people who have learned Chinese well enough to be famous for it, including my hero Da Shan.
Mark Henry Roswell is a Canadian living in China and is actually a stand-up comedian in a very difficult style of humor (called "cross-talking") that often involves him memorizing long strings of works like menu items or countries.
Watch this interview on YouTube as he tells his story and demonstrates his Chinese skills.
Mark Henry Rowswell (aka Da Shan) on Wikipedia
Sometimes all you need to know is that someone else has done it -- so why can't you?
Thanks for listening!
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