From my encounter with a telemarketer

I learnt that I can't converse in Chinese.

The girl rang when I was home alone. At this point, I recalled Mum's frequent advice regarding telemarketers: "Don't entertain them, you're just wasting your time and theirs. Just hang up. Done!"

But for the heck of it, I decided to continue talking anyway.

Her first question was, "请问你会讲国语吗?" ("May I ask if you speak Mandarin?")

That's an odd question, as it would be impossible for anybody to knowingly answer "No", but I digress.

Confidently, I answered, "会呵." ("Yep.")

To my horror, the next few string of words sounded like an alien language. Well, I could recognize that they were Mandarin words, but couldn't give them much meaning. I think it was something about a discount card.

Embarassed, I explained that I only studied Chinese till the end of Primary 6, and tried to get her to repeat herself in simpler words. We got nowhere.

So I said goodbye.

And hung up.

Done.