(T.D. Polo-Sanchez' letters to his brother in America -
pasteurized somewhat for Magic City Readers.)
Greetings A Ge (a Chinese term of edearment for an elder brother),
In Amercan when Chinese children are adopted it is always a beautiful thing. Do Chinese people adopt from America? Abolutely, and I am living proof. I was recently adopted and it was decided upon after a few beers. My name is now Wang L. Da Hai. Let me tell you the story.
Raphael, one of my students, invited me to dinner at his house. It was always his dream to invite a foreigner to his home. He settled on the first foreigner he knew- me. I had dinner with his father, mother, and his father's parents. His parents are middle aged folks and his grandparents are now farmers in a nearby village. Don't ask me what I ate, I stopped asking myself after eating duck's blood one time.
After dinner the father said that it would be his honor if I lived with them. From my limited understanding of Chinese culture, a person offers you much and you must reject much. Later something smaller is offerred. So I said ''no.'' He then told me that I could have breakfast at his house every morning. I told him, through Raphael, that I ate like a pig and lived like a slob so it would be a major inconvenience to do either. Besides, my contract with the school indicated that I would receive such things from them.
In the end he offered me an expensive pack of cigarrettes. His son acts as my occasional interpreter and guide. He was the one stopped by the gate keeper that one night.
So now I have a grand-pa Wang, a big brother Wang (Raphael's father), a Wang in-law (Raphael's mother), and a grand-ma Wang. Grand-pa Wang, like our grandfather also worked as a electrician. I am Raphael's uncle, so I can order him around. I usually go to dinner at their place.
Mrs. Wang is always very attuned that I am well taken care of. For example, during dinner she noticed that my ''chop-stick put into your mouth technique'' was mediocre. She insisted then, as she does now, that I use mei-guo kwai-zi (a.k.a American chopsticks). This is pretty much a big spoon which saves my fingers some wear and tear. Since then I also notice that the floor near the table is a lot cleaner.
Wang is the Chinese surname which goes first. Da Hai means ''big ocean.'' In China the family unit is above the individual and the way people first identify themselves. The given name comes last, unlike the west. The ''L'' is a new tradition that I brought to China, I think, which is that of having a middle name. In order to distinguish myself from the who knows how many people in China who are named Wang Da Hai, the ''L'' stands for ''lao-wai,'' or ''foreigner.'' The term ''lao-wai'' would be like a person from the United States being called a ''gringo'' in Mexico. Take care.
T. D. Polo-Sanchez
Assembled in the United States from parts made in Mexico and exported to China, T.D. Polo-Sanchez (pseudonym) has taken a year of absence from his post at an American high school to teach Oral English in China.
He hopes that you enjoy his posts and remember that he writes with a deep love and affinity to the Chinese people. In this world while we laugh at others and at ourselves, we laugh together. T.D. Polo-Sanchez Email: eslinstructor33@yahoo.com
