The other day, I can home to the above scene in front of my house. Everywhere on the compound, hedges and playgrounds were closed off with tape – resembling television crime scenes – with a note that pesticides had recently been applied to the “lawn.” In the ten months I’ve been here, I’ve never seen anything like it. Talk among other residents was that the building administration had done it in response to complaints. Last year a dog died from ingesting pesticides on the property, and more recently, another nearly succumbed to a similar fate.
I was glad they had chosen to let us know that pesticides had been applied but wondered exactly what was used. Last fall, after my daughter had been playing in the grass, I noticed her exposed skin was covered with a fine white powder. I went to the service center of our building complex to ask that pesticides not be used around our house. While our compound’s marketing boasts English skills among employees, I have found this to be a stretch – at best – but I, too, am guilty for not having mastered the language of the country in which I have chosen to live. As often happens when two people who do not speak the same language try to communicate, our conversation quickly descended into the ridiculous:
EK: Hello, I wanted to know if it were possible to stop putting pesticides on my lawn. I have a small daughter, and I want to be sure our home is safe for her.
Service Center Rep: You want more pesticides? Huh?
EK: No, no. I don’t want pesticides on our lawn. Bu (“no” in Chinese) Pesticides! I have small daughter.
Rep: A dog? Huh?
EK: No, no. Bu pesticide! Bu pesticide on grass? Is possible? You Xiao nuer! (“I have a small daughter” in Chinese spoken with – I am certain – the wrong tones)
The conversation went on like this for some time. In the end, there were lots of nods and even a phone call. A couple of weeks later, I rubbed my hand around in the grass and found no white powder. Was I successful in my communication? I’m not so sure, but perhaps this new warning meant that others – who speak Chinese – had been better able to request the building be more transparent in its lawn care. Of course, with each of these experiences and exchanges, I learn something new – and so does my daughter. In her case, a new word has been added to her vocabulary: “pesticide.”