Cantonese or Mandarin?

The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." (Genesis 11:6)

When my husband and I met at Berkeley, our only common language was English, even though both of us were Chinese born overseas.

He came from Taiwan and I from Hong Kong. In my senior year, we met at a EECS class a few months before he got his masters degree. When four people did a team project together, one of his friends invited me. That gave us time to know each other as we have to do the design of a disc controller together. He asked me out after the project was complete. Soon he proposed. It was only three months from the time of our first real date to our wedding! Soon we had our first argument, and the honeymoon was over. Whether out of love or self-protection, he started learning Cantonese and I Mandarin so that we can figure out the other person better. Now we have three common languages! Our accents do not stop us from communicating.

Tonight, I gave two talks on EQ to a Cantonese speaking church at their fellowship gathering. While I was speaking with the youth (in English), my husband spoke with the adults; then it was my turn to speak to the parents on EQ. When I walked into the sanctuary, he was answering questions in Cantonese about being a husband and a father. Praise the Lord for a chance to learn from each other.

Copyright © 2006 Winnis Chiang, Parenting ABC