As I've described before on my other blog (flowerspickthemselves.blogspot.com), I spend at least five days a week, if not more, with a small and delightful group of Asian people. They are each wonderfully gifted, driven musicians, and I am so pleased to call them my friends. One of my dear little friends is a girl from China named Miranda. She spent her first year of college taking an intensive collection of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses. She writes beautifully, but her conversational language skills suffer from a very thick Chinese accent. While her practice of the English language has sometimes been a stumbling block to her communication skills, she is the first to tease about the language "barrier" which has elicited some very funny moments in our friendship.
A fairly recent episode follows. Just a few details to remember, dear Reader: 1) Miranda is currently attending graduate school in Ohio as a master's piano student with Italian wonder-pianist, Antonio Pompa-Baldi. 2) Miranda loves Mozart (so her compliment really meant very much to me). 3) Miranda was visiting Utah (her self-proclaimed adopted home) on break from school when this happened.
I was practicing a Mozart sonata (K. 333, for anyone who might be interested) for an upcoming performance when the practice room door opened.
"Neeeeeeeeeee-c! Yoo prae Moh-tsah vihdy soh-gooh! He can be yo hooss-banh!" Miranda wailed in her cheery way. "Bach? He be my fee-oh-say, but you ken meh-dee Moh-tsah. He be soh-gooh foh yoo."
"Oh, Miranda!" I replied, "I don't know if I want to marry Mozart, but I'll keep playing him. How are you?! How is graduate school?"
"Eez soh-gooh! Eez so hard. Too much pieces to prae aur time."
"I'm so glad to hear that it's good. I imagine it's difficult, but worth it. How are you studies with Pompa-Baldi going?"
"He eez soh gooh. Make mos bee-yoo-ti-fur pianissimos. His Engrish berry bad, though. Too much Itarian accent."
"So, between your Chinese accent and his Italian accent, how do you communicate in lessons?"
Miranda giggled, "Wear, he rissen to me prae, and he smire oh he frahn and he prae foh me, den I prae again."
"Wow," I said. "I guess if that works..."
"Eez soh gooh."
Miranda and I caught up a little bit. She giggled and blushed a bit when I commented on her fabulous clothes and her uber-trendy haircut. I asked her about her boyfriend (who stayed in UT) and if she'd seen him yet. And, as we were discussing boys, she asked a question I couldn't quite decipher on the first--or even second or third--hearing.
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