Share

From this page you can share If I Could Speak Chinese to a social bookmarking site or email a link to the page.
Social WebE-mail

Thank you for spreading the word about Narrative Magazine.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 10 recipients
(Your Name) has forwarded a page from Narrative Magazine

(Your Name) thought you would enjoy this story from Narrative Magazine.

If I Could Speak Chinese

A Story

by Elizabeth Benedict

If I could speak Chinese, I would talk to the women who give me massages in the basement shop for a dollar a minute on Eighty-fourth Street off Columbus. I know I go there to relax, to relieve the tension from all the stress of the blah blah blah, and not to make small talk with strangers, but for me it wouldn’t be small. The girls are Chinese, after all, and so is my daughter, Lily, and it would be lovely to let them know that I am very nearly one of them. Aren’t I part Chinese if my daughter is 100 percent? I don’t see why not, in a spiritual sense, though I keep my mouth shut about spiritual anythings in New York these days.

Please log in to view or print the full story online or in PDF format.
If you are new to Narrative, signing up is FREE and easy.