1When I was in Brazil I had struggled to learn the local language, and decided to give my physics lectures in Portuguese. Soon after I came to Caltech, I was invited to a party hosted by Professor Bacher. Before I arrived at the party, Bacher told the guests, "This guy Feynman thinks he's smart because he learned a little Portuguese, so let's fix him good: Mrs. Smith, here (she's completely Caucasian), grew up in China. Let's have her greet Feynman in Chinese."

2I walk into the party innocently, and Bacher introduces me to all these people: "Mr. Feynman, this is Mr. So­and­so."

3"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Feynman."

4"And this is Mr. Such­and­such."

5"My pleasure, Mr. Feynman."

6"And this is Mrs. Smith."

7"Ai, choong, ngong jia!" she says, bowing.

8This is such a surprise to me that I figure the only thing to do is to reply in the same spirit. I bow politely to her, and with complete confidence I say, "Ah ching, jong jien!"

9"Oh, my God!" she exclaims, losing her own composure. "I knew this would happen ­­ I speak Mandarin and he speaks Cantonese!"