A guy threatened to kill me tonight. Like, SERIOUSLY.
I was in the laundry room and there was this asian woman there. i thought she was crazy, to be honest... i mean what is she doing there at 2:30 in the morning? So i put my clothes in, and left (i was there this late because i'd been up watching a movie. I'm still up, typing this.). I came back to put my stuff in the dryer and she was there again. She asked me how to get to a certain metro stop and i gave her directions. I was about to leave, but her accent was so thick so i asked her what language she spoke and sure enough, mandarin chinese. I was suddenly very excited, because i know VERY little, but i've been learning from a teacher at school who's from beijing, and i'd learned a little bit like ten years ago from an exchange teacher who also taught me tai chi. So she and i started talking, and teaching each other how to say different things in chinese and english.
So after an hour, my clothes were about done, and she was getting tired (she asked what time it was and i tried to remneber how to say it in chinese but she reminded me. I asked her if she has an email address so i can write to her and maybe she could teach me more; i gave her mine, and right then her husband came in right as she was writing her email address down in my notebook, he snatched it away from her and tore the page out, and they started yelling and arguing. Really fast paced chinese, of course.. i could only pick out the general meaning: "what were you doing? why were you talking to him?" etc. She told me he was her husband right when he came in, and when he snatched the paper i apologized immediately, in chinese, of course ("i'm sorry" is something know like the back of my hand).
They were still arguing all the way down the hall, and i thought "if i hear anything that's not speaking, i'm going to have to say something." And sure enough there was some scuffling; he was trying to get my little piece of note paper out of her purse, and she was having none of it. Of course, i wasn't the only one watching at this point. One of the neighbors heard everything and came out to check (big dude. said "AHEM."). I took my laundry out of the dryer (dry by this point) and i had to walk past them to get to my place, and i said again "duibuqi" (i'm sorry) and then in english. and tried to explain that i just wanted to learn more chinese. Then he asked to talk to me outside, and i was like "oh boy here we go. if he takes a swing, i'm sorry"
So, he asked me what i was doing keeping her there for so long, and i explained everything as best i could: that she'd been there since i went in and that i'd left and came back and that she was still there and that she had asked me for directions, etc. And, most importantly, that i had no intentions other than to learn more chinese. He started grilling me about how old i am, am i married, do i have a girlfriend, etc.
Then he was like "you know, we chinese ae very friendly people. But if someone was to cause a problem with us, we'd hurt them, and if someone were to cause a problem with my family, i'd kill them." I apologized again, saying that it was never my intention to cause any problems.
"You've caused a lot of unhappiness between us" (more apologies)
"I trust you. You seem like you are a decent person, but i hope i don't see you talking to my wife again, becuse if i do, very bad things will happen."
So... good thing i'm training again.
I was in the laundry room and there was this asian woman there. i thought she was crazy, to be honest... i mean what is she doing there at 2:30 in the morning? So i put my clothes in, and left (i was there this late because i'd been up watching a movie. I'm still up, typing this.). I came back to put my stuff in the dryer and she was there again. She asked me how to get to a certain metro stop and i gave her directions. I was about to leave, but her accent was so thick so i asked her what language she spoke and sure enough, mandarin chinese. I was suddenly very excited, because i know VERY little, but i've been learning from a teacher at school who's from beijing, and i'd learned a little bit like ten years ago from an exchange teacher who also taught me tai chi. So she and i started talking, and teaching each other how to say different things in chinese and english.
So after an hour, my clothes were about done, and she was getting tired (she asked what time it was and i tried to remneber how to say it in chinese but she reminded me. I asked her if she has an email address so i can write to her and maybe she could teach me more; i gave her mine, and right then her husband came in right as she was writing her email address down in my notebook, he snatched it away from her and tore the page out, and they started yelling and arguing. Really fast paced chinese, of course.. i could only pick out the general meaning: "what were you doing? why were you talking to him?" etc. She told me he was her husband right when he came in, and when he snatched the paper i apologized immediately, in chinese, of course ("i'm sorry" is something know like the back of my hand).
They were still arguing all the way down the hall, and i thought "if i hear anything that's not speaking, i'm going to have to say something." And sure enough there was some scuffling; he was trying to get my little piece of note paper out of her purse, and she was having none of it. Of course, i wasn't the only one watching at this point. One of the neighbors heard everything and came out to check (big dude. said "AHEM."). I took my laundry out of the dryer (dry by this point) and i had to walk past them to get to my place, and i said again "duibuqi" (i'm sorry) and then in english. and tried to explain that i just wanted to learn more chinese. Then he asked to talk to me outside, and i was like "oh boy here we go. if he takes a swing, i'm sorry"
So, he asked me what i was doing keeping her there for so long, and i explained everything as best i could: that she'd been there since i went in and that i'd left and came back and that she was still there and that she had asked me for directions, etc. And, most importantly, that i had no intentions other than to learn more chinese. He started grilling me about how old i am, am i married, do i have a girlfriend, etc.
Then he was like "you know, we chinese ae very friendly people. But if someone was to cause a problem with us, we'd hurt them, and if someone were to cause a problem with my family, i'd kill them." I apologized again, saying that it was never my intention to cause any problems.
"You've caused a lot of unhappiness between us" (more apologies)
"I trust you. You seem like you are a decent person, but i hope i don't see you talking to my wife again, becuse if i do, very bad things will happen."
So... good thing i'm training again.
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well i'm glad he didn't start anything. i'm sure u could've taken him, but he could've over reacted and pressed charges. thankfully that did not happen tho.
drama...