Our family friend is visiting from Taiwan, where Yen-Hsun Lu is from. Our family friend is a professor, who, like many people, assumes that I'm more intelligent than I really am.
(except for the italics, we're speaking in Chinese)
Friend: Have you read L'Elegance du Herisson?
Moi: ... (I don't know what she's saying)
Friend: Have you read 刺蝟的優雅? (says book title in Chinese)
Moi: ... (I don't know what she's saying)
(We discuss how to say "herisson" or "刺蝟" in English for a few minutes. After a minute, I blurt "porcupine." "No, it's hedge something." "Hedgehog!")
Friend: Have you read The Elegance of the Hedgehog? (finally, with words I understand)
Moi: No.
Bested in three languages. My ego has seen better days.
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PS. Dear Sportscasters, you do realize that 'Chinese Taipei' is not a physical place? It's just the name of sports teams representing Taiwan. You must. It's a factoid you read off every time you talk about anyone from the team. What you need to realize is that this means that people cannot grow up in Chinese Taipei, that Chinese Taipei does not have 'local' practices, and you can't have debates about the language people speak in Chinese Taipei. Because it's not a place. Mm kay?
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