A dialogue with my son / 与儿子的对话
One day my 5-year-old son Mukdembu was playing his game in the stipulated time, fully immersed in the world of Super Mario, while I was busy with my preparatory work for some small oil paintings as well as the invitation cards and posters ready for a personal exhibition in Oct. Then we had the following dialogue between my son and I :
I, in Chinese: Denbu, have you drunk the water on table?
My son, in Dutch: Ja (yes)
I, in Chinese: Time for fruit now. Help yourself with a banana!
My son, in Dutch mixed with his broken Chinese: banana…I not eat …
I , in Chinese: Why not ?
My son, still in his broken Chinese: no good taste
I, in Chinese : ok, come over here now!
My son, in Dutch: ik eerst doen de mario pause (let me pause the Mario first)
Then he reluctantly walked towards me.
I, in Chinese: You know, dad had no banana to eat when I was at your age. But Dad really wished to have a banana then. And it was until I reached my teenager did I see for my first time a real banana…Do you understand what I said?
My son, in Chinese: yes, I do.
I, in Chinese： look, Denbu. Banana is delicious and nutritious. And how happy you are that
you can have it everyday! Do you know how many children there are in the world who have no banana or other fruits to eat now? Those children are too poor that they have no money to buy banana. And for them it is just a dream to have a banana each day …
My son looked doubted. Then quietly he put the peeled banana into my hand and said in his broken Chinese mixed with Dutch: I not eat this banana, andere kinderen kunnen eten ( give it to other childred )
I: … … ( I felt at a loss)
I, in Chinese: Enough talking now! Don’t pretend to be innocent, eat this banana!
My son, in Dutch: oky~~~~( it sounded helpless and reluctant )
-------When we are back to China next summer, I ought to find him a teacher special for Chinese then. And if it is possible, I intend to let him learn some Tungus language, as after all it is the language of our ancestors.