Living The Vida Canto

Every Wednesday I meet these two delightful women, Ah Bek and Ah Wai, plus three others, in a Jau Lau （酒樓，Chinese restaurant) for tea, dim sam and Canto. All the waiters and waitresses love us! They come up and, without warning, spring questions on my group such as “What kind of tea would you like?” “What’s your name?” “Are you drinking jasmine tea or Water Fairy today?”

Two months ago, the women in this group didn’t know a word of Cantonese, except their address, “Morning!” and “Here, please.” Now they’re ordering food with authority, having conversations with waitresses, taxi drivers and dustbin collectors, as well as people like … oh, high court judges.
That’s right, after two months you’ll be able to discuss criminal law in Cantonese, if you take my course.

The dear girls still don’t really trust themselves: “If I say this to a Chinese person, will he understand it?” but with a bit of encouragement, regular practice and a tiny bit of violence, I will soon make them believe in their own abilities. Oh yeah. It’s just a question of confidence. Pretend you understand everything and one day it will become true. After all, that’s how children learn languages.

Failing that, you could always buy my Cantonese “DWD” for beginners. Everything you need is there.