I scared and embarrassed the utter and complete shite out of a total stranger today.
Today I decided to try out a quick Chinese one-liner on a xiaojie (not for flirtation, just small talk practice) while in an elevator, going downstairs from Alexander gym. It was just the two of us. I said “What an impatient elevator, it tries to close every two seconds” after it did exactly that while we waited for people to get off. She doesn’t look at me, and doesn’t respond for a few seconds. Then she says, without a shred of interest in her voice, “a very what? (in chinese)”. I repeated what I said. She responds in her best impression of Cruella DeVille. “How do you say impatient in English?”
I told her but now I wish I wouldn’t have. Or I should have told her “blowjob”. After her little free English lesson she walked away, still not even so much as looking at me. A cold xiaojie if I’ve ever seen one.
What impresses me is that this is the first person I’ve met like this in Taiwan. 1 out of maybe 500. Beats any American city I’ve ever been in.
So, you’re upset because you gave a free English lesson by telling someone how to say impatient in English? And you’re calling her cold?
You have never asked someone how to say something in Chinese? Or did you always give them a tip for helping you?
[quote=“Tyc00n”]hahaha, my guess is that she can speak english reasonably well, but she thought u must have meant something else and wanted to catch you out.
nevermind, you’ll be over it by tomorrow, but she’ll be the same bitch pissin’ everyone off.[/quote]
Of course I have nothing against her asking me how to say something in English. It was the tone of her voice and the fact that she didn’t make any comments on what I said (mundane as it was), let alone look at me. I can’t really get across how bad it was so you’ll have to take my word for it.
This happens to me quite often in the states, because I always seem to find a way to make some sort of joke about everything, sometimes they don’t go over the way I intended. Once you have to repeat the joke, its usually dead…
I think it’s interesting to analyze it that way - what about this xiaojie’s individual existence? Many a time a guy has tried to give me a one liner and I’ve reacted that way simply because I have other stuff going on - LSATs, deadlines, relationships, etc, and then some random weirdo butts in on my day like that. What if she’s saying “Annoying Adogah!” in some forum right now?
She’s in her upper 40’s, so I guess I figured (as a 27 year old) she wouldn’t think I was hitting on her, which I certainly wasn’t. But even if she was just put-off by what in her mind was some horny lao-wai trying to get fresh, it doesn’t explain the way she interacted with me… I can’t explain it, really - I actually agree in just reading my little synopsis it paints me as the weirdo. I’m not even sure why I posted this haha.
I think you’re looking at this the wrong way.
What you said makes sense in English – we say things like that. People don’t often say things like that in Chinese. When you, as a foreigner, say something like that in Chinese, people have to stop and think, “Huh?” It’s not a matter of understanding the words or not – people just don’t tend to make that kind of comments in Chinese. So she was probably doing her best to come back with some sort of answer or response, and asking about the English word was probably friendly in her mind. You’re an expert, after all.
Chinese language humor is just not the same as English language humor.
[quote=“ironlady”]I think you’re looking at this the wrong way.
What you said makes sense in English – we say things like that. People don’t often say things like that in Chinese. When you, as a foreigner, say something like that in Chinese, people have to stop and think, “Huh?” It’s not a matter of understanding the words or not – people just don’t tend to make that kind of comments in Chinese. So she was probably doing her best to come back with some sort of answer or response, and asking about the English word was probably friendly in her mind. You’re an expert, after all.
Chinese language humor is just not the same as English language humor.[/quote]
This sounds accurate to me. I often make these sorts of dumb comments and they are almost always lost on my foreigner friends. Its just not the kind of joke they tell. Even when they understand it they are kind like ‘okaaaay.’
[quote=“ironlady”]
Chinese language humor is just not the same as English language humor.[/quote]
I’d bet on it. Even telling jokes with my Kurdish friends got a little strange - usually when I’d get to the punchline (or when they did in one of their jokes) the other parties would say “Huh?”
[quote=“necroflux”]Today I decided to try out a quick Chinese one-liner on a xiaojie (not for flirtation, just small talk practice) while in an elevator, going downstairs from Alexander gym. It was just the two of us. I said “What an impatient elevator, it tries to close every two seconds” after it did exactly that while we waited for people to get off. She doesn’t look at me, and doesn’t respond for a few seconds. Then she says, without a shred of interest in her voice, “a very what? (in chinese)”. I repeated what I said. She responds in her best impression of Cruella DeVille. “How do you say impatient in English?”
I told her but now I wish I wouldn’t have. Or I should have told her “blowjob”. After her little free English lesson she walked away, still not even so much as looking at me. A cold xiaojie if I’ve ever seen one.
What impresses me is that this is the first person I’ve met like this in Taiwan. 1 out of maybe 500. Beats any American city I’ve ever been in.[/quote]
So, you took this idle conversation as a request or conversation concerning oral sex. This was a woman you had never met and had her alone in an elevator. Yet, you found it convenient to talk about a sexual encounter. Nice! Why not just go with the flow? She didn’t bring up a sexual encounter, according to you, so why did you?
All in all, she should have slapped the fuck out of you and continued on her way.
Interesting point, Ironlady, I think that definitely could be it. I wasn’t going for humor, really, just kind of a random remark. But I think the same differences probably apply, in terms of what goes for small talk in one culture vs. the next. But again, my shitty Chinese has never been met with this type of attitude. Which probably says more for the patience of everyone else here rather than how this particular lady acted.
For the sake of staying motivated, I try to remain ignorant of the fact that at my current level I’m basically the American equivalent of Borat…
Lol@Enigma for totally misreading my post… try again my friend.
OK! I was overly harsh. I went back and read the previous posts. You were conducting idle conversation in an elevator but was rebuffed. I guess most of my post applies. Why did you even address this woman? From a male perspective, we know you were hitting on her. No problem. But on the other hand, when she gains the upper hand by ignoring you, why badmouth her by suggesting that she is nothing but a cold “bitch”? Or did I miss this whole thing again? Hey? If it was my daughter, I know what my thoughts would be. How about you?
Enigma wrote [quote]But on the other hand, when she gains the upper hand by ignoring you, why badmouth her by suggesting that she is nothing but a cold “bitch”? [/quote]
What are you talking about? The OP never referred to the woman as a bitch.
