jung man dim gong'a?

i am trying to learn Cantonese from Cecilie Gamst Berg, a Norwegian Cantonese teacher (she also knows Mandarin). i have downloaded all Naked Cantonese to my iTunes. i absolutely love Cecilie!

as you may or may not know, all my teammates, except for one, are Hong Kongees. they incessantly converse with each other in Cantonese. our clients are also Cantonese. they will start talking in English only when they see the consternation on our faces. needless to say, we miss out on all the jokes and small talk.

Hong Kongees are infamous for discouraging foreigners from learning the language. nonetheless, those who don't know English will talk to you in straight Cantonese.

so now i am trying to learn the basics. and i think i may be able to get by in dire circumstances when English may never be an option. of course, i have a feeling i will forget everything i learned next week.

a couple of hours ago, i went to 7-eleven to buy bottled water and green tea. after punching in my purchase, the cashier asked me something which i made out to be, "Do you want a plastic bag?"

I said "m'saai.."

There you go, my first Cantonese conversation. :D

Gei hou... gei hou...