KaM-YoU-nI-cA-tIoN

Blue blistering barnacles.. I am not even able to spell that right. Just a week of gesticulation and am already forgetting to spell words!!

It’s amazing how people just don’t understand what someone wants. It’s been a typical monkey-behaviour in the past week in Shanghai. In India, though we have different languages we can still talk in English and most people would understand, or maybe hindi in the north is comprehendible to all. Am talking about public places like Shopping malls and transport. But people here are completely clueless about what we need.

Taxis and buses are completely out-of-touch with any other foreign language and at shopping malls, maybe 4 out of 14 counters may have an attendee who knows a bit of English(very lil believe me). In the past week, I have realized my inbuilt ability of gesticulating to people and get what I want. This could be typical of me, ‘coz am not very much bothered about what people might think if I do something funny. People who are very conscious about their behavior would be out of place here. Below are some of the funny experiences…

To get a potato peeler, I literally had to get a potato and act as if I am peeling it to make the market girl understand what I wanted.(ha-ha.. market girl)

To get a rope for drying clothes, I had to do the cowboy thing to swing the rope and draw something closer but that didn’t work and then I had to show them how I dry clothes on ropes and finally got it.

The best part which happens everyday is to find out if it’s vegetarian or not. We have to show them a chicken (paak-pak) and a fish and a cow and what not.

If it’s a big shopping center or a super market there are name-boards in English which shouldn’t be a problem but then every product has a whole lot of Chinese on it and very little English. Something like the “Conditions apply” case… everything in Chinese is BIG and there’s a small part written in English.

And the funniest part of kamyounication is with the Taxi drivers. They keep talking to you in Chinese and any other language you talk in, they don’t have a clue. We learnt a few Chinese words, at least the directions and for a week kept giving the drivers the wrong words for the right directions and we used to screech halt and use the signs to communicate better….phew I got it right this time!

It’s funny, it’s necessary, it’s nice to communicate… just like how would say ‘I would like to buy a Ham-burger’.