Across the cultures

Tu Tangata, Issue 34, 1 February 1987, Page 47

Across the cultures

na Ropata Pakai

( ( I f ia Ora,” I said to the old Chinese man behind the I X.counter of the fast food shop. “Ki ola,” he replied. I gave him my order and he turned to do it, after taking my money. I stood at the counter and asked him what an old man like him was doing working, instead of staying at home by the fire. “Haven’t you got any mokopuna to do this work for you?” I asked. “Yes, I have mokopuna, but they go home to do work, got to study.” “Oh, what do they study?” “My mokopuna he going be a lawyerman. The other one he going be a lawyer too.” “Any others?” “Yes, two grand-daughters one are nurse, one want to be a doctor, fix up cats and dogs.” “You mean she is a vet?” “Yes, that right.” “Were you born in NZ?” “No, I born China.” “Did you come here as a young man?” “No, I come with my parents.” He dished up my meal, and still

seemed inclined to linger, so, I invited him to join me as things were so slow. He looked at me and shook his head in affirmation. “My father came to NZ first then when he had enough money he send for my mother and us children. Three children. Me, my big brother and our sister.” “How did you come?” “By ship. The ship it sail to Auckland. “My mother she cook when we come in ship. We not have enough money to get ticket to have them cook kai for us. My mother she better cook than the cook on the ship. We not get sick like other passengers. Very small space on ship for us. Other Chinese come on the ship.” “When you and your family arrived in Auckland, did you have much.” “No, I only have two lots of clothes, same with my brother. Mother had a few more things, but not much. She bring cooking pots from China, and a red robe with a dragon on it. The dragon, it was gold and it breathed smoke and fire.”

“It sounds like it was beautiful.” “Yes, my mother only wear it for good times. She look lovely. “Little lady my mother. Little feet, tiny wee feet. Not big feet like now.” “Did your wife have little feet?” “Yes. . . My wife she come from China. They not allowed to do that to their feet, now.” “Did your sister have little feet?”

“No my mother would not wrap her feet. My father he not worry if Chinese man not want sister. “My father he say leave that custom in China, we in a new land now.” “When you and your family arrived in Auckland, what did you do?” “The ship it get to Auckland early, two days early. My father, he not there to meet us. “My mother she sit down with us children about her, and she say we wait. Old Chinese man, he come along wharf, walk away from us, my brother and I wanted to speak with him. Mother say no. But the man came back, asked big brother what he doing sitting on the wharf, on our bundles. Old Chinese man not talk to mother (Chinese people are formal, he had not been introduced). He told us to come and stay with his family, until father come to get us. They had lot of food, plenty, much. Vegetables growing in the back yard.

“First fresh food for long time. His wife nice lady, she come from next village to my mother. “My mother ask her why her boys not have pigtails, like us? “She say, no need. NZ Chinese boy no need pigtail. Husband chop off boys pigtail. She tell mother this a good place. Only down south Chinese have hard time. “Father come, he work on the road, big brother work on road. Mother she wash clothes for the white ladies. I sweep floor for the man in the shops. Little sister she stay home cook and clean the house. We all work hard, save money to buy land. “Three years we all work hard to save money to buy land. One day Father go to town, get money and buy land.

“The land it had a small creek, father and us build small hut for family to live in. We have two more children then. Mother she work in garden and look after babies. We owned 5 acres. Cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, lettuces, redbeet, silverbeet. We all still work, dig roads, come home and work in garden. Mother sell vegetables, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We had some chickens, sell the eggs, raise chickens, for meat. Catch eels in creek to eat.” “Was it a good life? You and your family had to work so hard. Did you ever do anything besides work? How old were you when you came to NZ?” “Oh, yes, velly good life, we used to catch eels in the creek, take them home for mother to cook. Nobody can cook eels like my mother. Twelve years old, we not talk pakeha when we come to NZ.” “Eh! Not talk english.” “No not talk english”

“How did you get on?” “Velly hard for parents to learn to talk english, but we listen, listen to the men that dig the road, listen to the Maori men talk. I talk a little bit Maori. Not use it now, but I learn to talk Maori. Maori men laugh and talk all a time, sing, play what you call, act the goat. Laugh a lot. “I went to Maori wedding, lots of kai, get fat, eat too much Maori kai.” “How did your mother get on with the language? “How did she get on with the money?” “Lady from next village show my mother how. “Father went to work in the gum fields, big brother and I had to stay and help mother work the land.” “The land, why did you leave it?” “The pakeha, they wanted it to build a road. “The city wanted to build a road, so they took the land.”

“You mean the Public Services Act.” “Yes, they took the land. My father he was lost, angry, but they gave us land in Pukekohe. Good land, but no creek.” “You did not stay with the land?” “No, my big brother he stayed and worked the land. His sons worked the land.” “Did they also have other jobs?” “Yes, they had other jobs, the family had a shop then.” “Vegetable or food?” “Vegetable.” “When did you start working in a food shop?” “We all worked to get a shop. I helped my mother and sisters, my father helped, we cooked and cleaned.” “You worked, eh!” “We all worked, we all worked hard.” “Do your children work hard?” “Yes, but not as hard as we had to.” “Did you teach your grand-children to speak Chinese?” “Yes, and they go to school when they finish school for the day.” “They go to school after school? “What do they learn?” “Chinese. “They learn how to use the abacus, how to count and divide, you never make mistakes with the abacus. Adding machines make grand-children lazy.

The old man’s younger grand-chil-dren who had been quietly serving their customers, came up to speak in Chinese to their grandfather, who then looked at the clock on the wall, and realised that we had talked 20 minutes past closing time. My host then bid me goodnight. I never even got a chance to thank him for the meal.