I'm a 3rd generation Cantonese-American and have pretty much forgotten the
language. Hey, I wasn't even raised with it spoken in my household, but I live
in a predominantly Asian neighborhood anyway. Well, Mormons, whom we all know
and love(*cough*), have to save their money during childhood so that they may go
on missionary expeditions when they hit seventeen years of age or so. Some even
become Urban Mormons, where they trek to distant(?) parts of Suburbia, seeking
converts.
So, one day, there was a knock at my door. So upon answering, Lo! And Behold!
Who should be standing there, but two young, aspiring Jehovah's Witn-... I mean,
Mormon Missionaries. Both were Caucasian, and one was holding a copy of
Halston's Mandarin/English Dictionary. The Mormon holding the dictionary greeted
me in a foreign language, presumably Mandarin, which I didn't understand.
However, I chose to say nothing; I merely furrowed my brow and intensified my
gaze. Astute, as they were, the missionaries were quick to realize that I had
not comprehended a single word they said, so they squabbled:
Missionary #1: I told you he wasn't Mandarin.
Missionary #2: Apparently not. He's probably wondering what we're trying to
say.
Missionary #1: Maybe he's Vietnamese.
Missionary #2: (Pulls out Vietnamese/English Dictionary.) Perhaps. The Word
of God was meant to reach all tongues.
So the second Missionary repeated his greeting in Vietnamese. I only shrugged
my shoulders. The other Mormon pulled out a Japanese Dictionary, assuming that I
might have been the same. Again, I merely shrugged, and we ran the same gauntlet
for the Korean language.
I had to admit, though, that I began to tire of this game. Taking a deep
breath, I shouted, "YOU DAMN FOREIGNERS! WHY DON'T YOU GO BACK WHERE YOU
CAME FROM AND STOP TAKING OUR JOBS?!?"
With that, I slammed the door in a grandiose fashion and couldn't stop
laughing for two hours afterward.
T.S. Elliot (who wrote the book that Cats was based on) had a more novel
method of dealing with door-to-door missionaries. One day, some Jehovah's
Witnesses showed up on his doorstep with a can and said, "Money for
Jehovah?" To which Elliot responded, "Great! I'm Jehovah! How much
have you gathered for me?"
They left in a huff.
More Ethnic Chinese
Learn To Speak Chinese In 5 Minutes
Likey Chickee
A Cursive Hand
A Fool For Bean Curd
A Joke From Peking University
A Matter For Regret
A Mysterious Letter
A Snake On The Twelfth Moon Doesnt Bite
American And Chinese Conversatio
Amnesia
Ancestry
Begging Alms
Big Talk
Blind Faith In Geonomic Omens
Borrowing A Cow
Borrowing Tea Leaves
Cake Made Of Distiller Grain
Captain And First Officer
China Says Ants Can Spice Up A M
Chinese
Chinese Athletes Put Back Into Storage
Chinese Baby
Chinese Barbie Song
Chinese Cuisine
Chinese Cure
Chinese Detective
Chinese Dog Treat
Chinese Farmer
Chinese Guy And Black Guy At Liquor Store
Chinese Heaven
Chinese Jew
Chinese Laundry
Chinese Light
Chinese Menu
Chinese Subtitles
Chinese Translation
Chinese Virgin
Chinese Voodoo
Chinese Words
Chink And Nig
Choose Your Man
Civil Examination
Cold War Talk Between Russia And China
Comparing Cultures
Condom Color
Crash Course In Speaking Chinese
Da Niu
Daredevils
Dedicacy
Ding Dong Deng Dead
Disneyland
Dongfang Shuo A Witty Man
Drink Toast
Driving In China
Elixir Of Life
Everything Is Fine In Netherworld
External Medicine
Fair Judgment
Fish From Well
Fowl Play
George Bush And The President Of
Getting The Job Done
Ginseng Decotion
God Of Target
Grandson
Having Cake
Henpecked
Hong Kong Kong
I Will Make Your Son Suffer And Catch Cold Too
It Doesnt Matter If It Is Leaking
Jail
Kind Hearted People Are The Ones You Can Bully
Leaky Roof
Learning Thievery
Liar
Lion
Liver And Cheese
Longivity
Make Me Scream
Marco Polo
Marriage By Kidnapping
Missionary Position
Name A Pussycat
Naming Chinese Kids
New Year In China
No Entertainment
No Problem
No Use Chanting Buddha
Not A Pair Neither
Old Chinese Proverbs
Olympic Spectator
One Eyebrow
Oy Vey
Poor Boy
Punishment For A Rascal
Real Skill
Recommendations
Red Glutonous Rice
Sam Ting
Same Age Next Year
Same Illness
Selling Coke In China
Selling Wine
Sem Ting
Sex Chinese Style
Should Someone Ask Your Father
Sick About Money
Smooth Talker
Some Chinese Translations
Some More
Stoli With A Twist
Sun Vs Moon
Supplies
Taxi Driving In China
Tell Me The Color
The Pussycat Had Turned Vegetarian
The Bronze Rat
The Chinese Paid Off All Of Their Debts
The Chinese Torture
The Comfort Of A Good Book
The Crabgrass Connection
The Farthest And The Nearest
The Hoe Story
The Idiotic Assistant Of The County Magistrate
Thieves
Three Brothers From China
Three Sentences Spoiled A Banquet
Traitor
Two Chinese Women At A Bar
Want Rice With That
Wearing A Felt Hat In The Summer
Whom To Depend On
Wine Of Eternal Life
Wings And Wongs
Wu Xa
Yo Mamma
You Are Probably Chinese
You Never Know When You Will Nee

