Chinese in the Dining Hall

I was waiting for my sandwich to be cut at the deli when I heard one of the dining hall workers say to the other, "We're out of cheese." Or, that was the point, that's what we would have said in English. Because, after understanding, it came to my attention that the workers had been speaking in Chinese. I blinked. Chinese is different enough that I sometimes have trouble feeling that it is a language in the same way that German or Spanish is. I didn't really believe that I had understood. I could barely even remember the words that had been used. Mei you, I think, 'there isn't'... It struck me that I remembered the meaning more clearly than the syllables. But, I thought, I'll wait and see what happens.

One of the workers hurried off. She returned with a fresh stack of pepperjack.

Interesting.