My co-workers’ English have improved a lot since I’ve started working at Robuchon. They’ve never really had to speak in English before. I am the first non Chinese person work in their pastry kitchen. Everyday, they are practicing their English with me.
As a result, I have been a little less motivated to learn Cantonese. The number of words I officially know how to say has been stagnant at 20. They’re still mostly kitchen words.
My verbal English skills on the other hand, have been steadily declining.
My co-workers are the people I talk to most in a day. I adjust my English when I am talking to them. I speak significantly slower, and am selective with my choice of words.
People in Hong Kong add a lot of “la’s”, “ah’s” and “ar’s” to the end of whatever they say. It stretches the sentence or word into a sort of song. I used to make fun of my co-workers all the time. I’ll tact on those words to my sentences on purpose, and it will make them laugh.
Janice ah, you want me to help you la? I need that mixer after you ar.
But now, I can’t stop.
When Bruce and I are able to have face-to-face conversations, the decline of my verbal English is more apparent.
Most notably, the recent miso paste incident. We had finished a simple dinner at home with miso, noodles and vegetables. I opened the fridge to find the package of miso paste unwrapped, exposed to air. It wasn’t the first time he’s forgotten to wrap it.
I huff at him and proclaimed, “Omg. Why don’t you wrap?! It crusses!”
He paused, looked at me and bit his lip, holding in a laugh. I heard it too, as soon as I said it.
“It crusses.”
He’ll never let me live it down. And he hasn’t.
Growing up, my mom was always proud of how well (she thought) I spoke English. I simply speak it really fast. Not really impressive I don’t think, but to my mom it was.
She’d always tell her friends that I spoke English “like wind”- a literal translation from what she said in Vietnamese.
Much like the still humid air in Hong Kong, there has been no evident “wind” in my spoken English lately. It’s been reduced to a barely there, light breeze.
My goal by the end of our year working here, will be to speak Cantonese like a barely there light breeze.
Hopefully I’ll be able to get my English back to wind status.
avec chantilly 
You are awesome! When you were in France did you ever take on that blow of air they do when they express frustration? If you combined that with all your ah’s and la’s…that would be interesting. You’re a global citizen now!