As I step into the City Centre area this weekend, I’ll no doubt run into reminders that it’s Chinese New Year. Invariably, I’ll also be part of, or bear witness to, a number of local residents struggling to communicate with one another.
And so, it’s heartening to read about a group of Chinese seniors who have taken it upon themselves to learn English at Richmond Chinese Community Society with volunteer teachers. (See page 19.)
There are good arguments on all sides as to where we stand as a “community” and what a common language means for us. Are we divided? Do our differences make us stronger? How connected are we, really?
I’ve lived here most of my life and admittedly struggle to find definitive answers. Or, maybe not struggle so much as continuously reassess the ever-dynamic situation.
There can be a lot of finger-pointing as to how someone can come here and not speak English for 20 years. A likely culprit is our governments, for either not ensuring someone can speak English before arriving, or not providing adequate programs to learn the language, once settled. But, obviously, personal responsibility also plays a role.
For two years, I was like those seniors at RCCS learning English — only, I was in Korea, learning Korean.
I could have holed up in my English-speaking circle of friends; that was the easiest thing to do. Instead, I turned to friends and books to begin learning my neighbour’s language.
Eventually I could count, read a menu, take a taxi with broken words. For personal reasons, my wife and I returned to Canada before I reached proficiency. Even so, just trying to speak Korean allowed me far more positive interactions with Korean residents. And because my aim was connection, I was also always grateful to the natives who said “hello” to me.
It was in that spirit of fostering communication that I took a beginner’s Mandarin class, last year, through the Richmond School District’s Continuing Education program (online at CE.SD38.BC.ca).
It was fun and trying to learn the pinyin system was a challenge.
I was struck at how many different kinds of people took the class and their reasons: A young man from Hong Kong, who spoke Cantonese, liked Chinese TV shows, which were in Mandarin; an older German man wanted to travel to China; and a woman working in hospitality wanted to make her guests feel welcomed. But for all of them, the overriding objective was to get to know their new neighbour, just as I’m sure that neighbour wants to get to know them too.
-Graeme Wood is a Richmond News reporter
