Much the same as anywhere, when you live in the same area
for a little while you tend to get to know the cashiers/staff etc. who work at
your local shops and restaurants. Whilst at home you may exchange small talk,
if you can’t speak Chinese this goes out of the window a little bit when you
come out here. Nevertheless you find that quite soon everyone near where you
live knows you and you end up being familiar with quite a few people (typically
not by name but more by descriptive epithets like ‘corner shop guy’ ‘fried rice
woman’ or ‘security guard man’). As a helpful offshoot this does typically lead
to better service, particularly if you tend to buy the same things from a given
vendor. For example there is one person that I buy breakfast from regularly,
always buying the local re gan mian noodles. Before I even enter the shop the
woman has started making them. Of course this does mean that if I ever decide
to order something else she just assumes I misspoke and makes re gan mian
anyway. Along with this woman, one of my other favourite people near me is
‘fried dumpling lady’ who is always really friendly. Last year I was talking to
her about my plans to go home for Christmas and in the same conversation
mentioned that I liked the home-made pickle they put on the fried rice. No
sooner had I mentioned that, than she promised to make me a big batch (for
free) which I could take home to the UK for all my family to try. True to her
word she did actually make a big bowl for me and I did end up bringing it back
to England – it went down a storm.
Another of my favourite people is ‘water vendor woman’ who
has a stand near the entrance to the Metro. I buy bottles of water from her
daily on my way to work and she is without doubt one of the smiliest people I
have ever met. I mentioned to her once that I had done some teaching which
absolutely made her day, she thought it was such a great thing that she tried
to give me the water for free that day. She is also convinced that I only drink
one brand of water and even when her husband is working there she always
reminds him which brand to give me (in truth it’s the only brand that I know
the Chinese name which is why I asked for it..). Most apartment complexes will
have security guards at the main entrance, most of which I recognise by now.
With most of them I am very much on smiling and nodding terms with, but my
favourite is definitely the guy who booms out a big ‘Hello!’ whenever I go past,
accompanied by a massive grin. Another person I come across pretty often is
‘grizzled street cleaner man’ who speaks the thickest most unintelligible
dialect which I have great trouble understanding. This does not mean we are not
fast friends though and I’m always keen for a random conversation in the street
with him. Definitely my favourite thing that he did whilst we were speaking was
casually throwing his empty cigarette packet onto the floor after he’d smoked
the last one – despite the fact that he was standing there with a broom and bag
and that it was his job to pick up such litter.
Talk to anyone who lives here and they will have the same
kind of daily interactions. One of the great things about spending time here is
getting to know all sorts of people, even if the actual conversation you have
with them may be limited. It is these interactions that really make you feel at
home and very much part of a community.
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