Virginia

I take a break from studying in a cafe today and go outside for some air. There's a guy with a small fruit stand right in front, and I see he has some oranges and a press for making juice. I ask him for a cup of orange ( 柳橙; liu cheng) juice. As he is pressing the juice, I see that his sign reads 柳丁 (liu ding).

"What's the difference between 'liu cheng' and 'liu ding'?" I ask him. As usual in Taiwan, I am pretty good at asking questions, but I don't always manage to fully understand the answer. I think he says 'liu cheng' is more sour. I pick up an orange and decide that 'liu ding' is a valencia juicing orange. I know 'liu cheng' is not a tangerine, because that is 'ju zi', so maybe 'liu cheng' is a naval orange. It might take me a few more years to get all the different kinds of oranges. As you can see, Chinese is hard.

An old man with grey hair is standing and watching me get my Chinese lesson on oranges and he has a kind, grandfatherly smile. I look at him.

"You speak Chinese," he says.

"A little, but not as good as your English," I respond. As you can see, I am becoming Taiwanese, developing my flattering ways. "Where did you learn?" I assume he was a professor who did graduate work in Ohio in 1957, or an engineer who was trained in Michigan in the 60s. Or something like that.

"I was in the army and I worked in the States, in Virginia," he says.

I wonder what was going through his mind as he was looking at me before I noticed him. Did I remind him of an American soldier he once knew? Was he thinking about his life when he was younger, stronger, full of hope? What did he hope for back then? What has he lost since then? What has he gained?

He raises his hand and says "goodbye" in a soft, polite voice.

"Goodbye," I say, and smile at him.