Glass half...
Something in the Chinese culture or disposition lends itself to brutal honesty. I've experiencd this firsthand many times in the past. Seeing an aunt for the first time in ages, I've been greeted more than once with, "Wow! You've sure put on some weight. You should work out some more, maybe skip dinner tonight."
With my Americanized sense of tact, I can only smile sheepishly and reply good-naturedly, "Yeah, hah hah."
On my flight back from Beijing to Newark today, the American pilot came on as we descended into New Jersey, "The weather's a bit overcast, so we may experience a bit of turbulence on our descent."
He was followed by the translation into Mandarin from the Chinese stewardess, "The weather in the Newark area is very bad, hot and stormy. The descent will probably be very rough. Please get to yoru seat and buckle your seatbelt immediately!"
After we'd survived our landing, we pulled a stop on the runway.
Pilot, in English, "We've been informed that our gate is still occupied, but it should be clear in 10 to 12 minutes, so we'll just sit here for a brief moment."
Stewardess, in Chinese, "There's another plane at the gate. We'll probably be held up for 15 to 20 minutes until we can move."
Of course, the stewardess was right. I wonder what Chinese stewardesses say about departure delays in China.
"Ladies and gentleman, we're being held up while we wait for the pilot who's sitting on the toilet right now. That's what happens when you have one too many of those freeze-dried monstrosities we call meals, one of which will be sitting on your tray table shortly, if we ever take off. Please turn off your cell phones. I'm supposed to tell you that they'll interfere with the airplane's communications, but that's a lie, we just don't want to listen to twenty-nine businessman jabbering away in the cabin about pointless nonsense."
With my Americanized sense of tact, I can only smile sheepishly and reply good-naturedly, "Yeah, hah hah."
On my flight back from Beijing to Newark today, the American pilot came on as we descended into New Jersey, "The weather's a bit overcast, so we may experience a bit of turbulence on our descent."
He was followed by the translation into Mandarin from the Chinese stewardess, "The weather in the Newark area is very bad, hot and stormy. The descent will probably be very rough. Please get to yoru seat and buckle your seatbelt immediately!"
After we'd survived our landing, we pulled a stop on the runway.
Pilot, in English, "We've been informed that our gate is still occupied, but it should be clear in 10 to 12 minutes, so we'll just sit here for a brief moment."
Stewardess, in Chinese, "There's another plane at the gate. We'll probably be held up for 15 to 20 minutes until we can move."
Of course, the stewardess was right. I wonder what Chinese stewardesses say about departure delays in China.
"Ladies and gentleman, we're being held up while we wait for the pilot who's sitting on the toilet right now. That's what happens when you have one too many of those freeze-dried monstrosities we call meals, one of which will be sitting on your tray table shortly, if we ever take off. Please turn off your cell phones. I'm supposed to tell you that they'll interfere with the airplane's communications, but that's a lie, we just don't want to listen to twenty-nine businessman jabbering away in the cabin about pointless nonsense."