The banner reads "One World, One Dream"

Puja and I are in a nearby restuarant for lunch; it was crowded so the waitress asked if we minded sharing a table with other people. We didn't so she sat us at a table across from a man who was already seated with a big bowl of noodles. I was finishing a phone conversation in cantonese with my mom as I sat down and when I hung up, he asked: 你是香港人吗? "are you from Hong Kong?"

"Yes but I was raised in Canada" I replied, surprised. "I am from Shenzen" he said switching to cantonese "and when I heard you speak, I knew you are from Hong Kong." It turns out he's sells earphones ("the newest models" he said, pulling out samples for us to see) that are produced in Shenzen. He has an office in Chongqing and one in Beijing so he is often in town for business.

He noticed my wariness in the conversation and said 你别怕我.我不是坏人 "You don't need to worry, I am not a bad person" and told us he is a family man, with a wife and son in Chongqing. His son is 13, very smart, and starting to learn english. This gradually led into a one hour conversation over his noodles and our 饺子 jiaozi (dumplings) in mandarin, cantonese... and english when I would translate for Puja. We talked about development in Beijing, travelling in China, the advantages of knowing english and chinese, the difficulties learning either language. I asked him whether the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics has increased demand for learning english. He told us it's about the same as before but now taxi drivers really want to learn english too.

I told him Puja and I are both students at BLCU and are in Beijing to study mandarin for one year. I studied mandarin for 2 years in university but Puja is a beginner. He told us when he first came to Beijing several years ago, he could not speak mandarin - specifically 北化 beihua, Beijing mandarin - at all. Only by practicing with his Beijing friends did he pick up the language. "So you see, I know how hard it is to learn mandarin" he said with a smile. "Your mandarin is quite good, you communicate very well" he remarked "and in one year you will be very good. But do not be afraid to speak mandarin". He gave the table an emphatic thump. "Do not be afraid of Beijing people, you must practice. Only then can your mandarin improve."

He pulled out a pen and paper and announced "I am giving you a test! Can you write 汉字 hanzi (chinese characters)? What are your chinese names?" Puja and I wrote our names and slid the paper back to him. He read our names out loud (mine is 马淑恒, pronounced mah-shoo-hung) and said "好!写得很好 - Good, both of you write very well!" He passed two business cards to us.

"你是曾先生 - you are Mr. Zeng". I was reading his card aloud.

"Yes, my last name is Zeng, but you can call me 曾叔 Uncle Zeng. This is my cell phone number. You must call me if you need help in Beijing since I know this city very well. You should also come to my store to practice your mandarin! I can help because with our cantonese we can certainly communicate."

"But will you remember us if we call?"

"Yes, I will definitely remember. I'm going to call you 小河 xiaohe and 小马 xiaoma (Little He and Little Ma - He is Puja's chinese last name, Ma is mine). Just say it is 小马 when you call and I will know it is you."

He even insisted on paying for our lunch before he left!