lated to my identity as it may seem , I had little idea of what the teachers were teaching about the country . In one lesson , students were asked to create their own Terracotta Army ( 兵⾺俑 ) out of clay . The children were overjoyed , constantly asking me for help . What they didn ’ t know was that I had no clue about how to make their soldier seem like a real terracotta warrior . I simply gave a little squeeze to their soldiers and told the children , “ See ? It looks identical to the real one !” However , if you were me , you would be amazed . Some students truly had artistic talent – – talent that not even a 20-year-old could replicate . On the other hand , there were those who were less artistically inclined . Understandably , not all students excel at arts .
Then I heard , “ That ’ s not bad .” At the moment , I thought , “ Yeah , I know some pieces of art are bad . You teachers did a great job in protecting the children ’ s esteem .” But , when I turned and looked , I saw an unbelievably beautiful clay soldier made by a 6-year-old . Was my standard too low ?
Not until I saw the picture did I realise the teacher was saying the soldier was good . In the English sense , “ not bad ” means “ good ”. On the contrary , it does not mean , “ I know you ’ ve tried . Just forget how bad it is ,” in the Chinese sense . In my opinion , the fact that “ not bad ” means good is probably related to the positivity in English people too . The way they talk is more about complimenting than comforting .
“ You must come for dinner .” ( Or , in my case , for the movie .) What others understand : “ I will get an invitation soon .” What the British mean : “ It ’ s not an invitation , I ’ m just being polite .”
After school , the students went home and the class teacher stayed to finish some minor work . We chatted about what we would do over the weekend and talked about movies . She said she was going to watch Passengers , a blockbuster featuring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt . Having been trained to be positive and engaging all the time since my arrival to England , I responded , “ Have a great time watching Passengers . Remember to tell me how good it is .” Out of the blue , she said , “ You must come for the movie with me at the weekend !”
A million dollar question arose : I already said I wanted to watch Passengers , but our relationship was not so close that the two of us could hang out . Plus , we had a three-decade generation gap ! So , what could I say to reject her ? As I was coming up with an excuse , in that millisecond , the edge of her lips raised an inch to form an intimidating smile .
According to the Cambridge Dictionary , “ must ” means “ to show that it is necessary or very important that something happens in the present or future ”. Most English-as-second-language ( ESL ) in Hong Kong , including me , learnt “ must ” in this way , as in , “ You must do that .” In that situation , turning down the invitation was like disrespecting the teacher and making her lose face . I , therefore , tried extra hard to work out a strong excuse to dodge such a determined invitation . For I am not a tactful liar , my excuse was studying for my upcoming IELTS exam . Again , not until I saw the chart did I learn that the instinct of asking people to go to an event is in English people ’ s blood . Most of the times , the “ must-go ” invitation means no harm and can be regarded as a ordinary invitation , rather than command .
The above sayings are simply part of how Brits communicate . Before learning their speaking habits , I must have looked strange when casually commenting on how the lesson was and mentioning how much weight my foreign friends seemed to have gained . ( Notice : “ must ” here means “ very likely ”.)
Ida , my Hong Kong aunt , helped me understand English culture during my trip . I can imagine how hard it was for her when she got married and moved to England alone with Ian , a proper Englishman .
However , Ida and Ian could not seem to stop their bickering . In the coffee shop , Ian wanted to tip the shop one pound , but Ida argued that one pound was too much for a three-pound-fifty hot chocolate . When inviting a friend , Ida wanted to treat him to a quick and easy meal , but Ian argued that they should have a proper meal , including a main course , a drink , and a dessert . It was as though one person ’ s way of thinking was a 180 degree reversal of the other ’ s .
JANUARY 2018 14