Words and expressions

1 perforate 打孔，穿孔

I was operating on my cousin Bulelwa’s ear with aset of matches when I accidentally perforated her eardrum.

e.g. The explosion perforated his eardrum.爆炸震破了他的耳膜。

2 lenient宽容的，仁慈的

I was given more lenient treatment than the blackkids.

A lenient sentence/fine从宽的判决／罚款

3 Spare the rod, spoil the child.不打不成器。

She believed if you spare the rod, you spoil the child.

4 give sb a leg up 帮助，援助（改善出镜）

If you’re black in South Africa, speaking Englishis the one thing that can give you a leg up.

它还表示用手托脚帮助（某人上马、翻墙等）。这个短语是英式英语且非正式表达。

5 get suspicious looks怀疑的眼光／神情

I’d get suspicious looks from people just walkingdown the street.

我们可以把suspicious换成其他的形容词，比如：Get a good look仔细看

Thoughts

Like Trovir, I was also a chameleon. Almost six years ago, I received an offer from a university in Hangzhou. I had some opportunities to travel to southern cities in China when I was a girl, but memories about traveling to those cites becomes blur. Meanwhile, before I went to college I did not realize that there were significant differences between northern and southern cities in China. Then I went to the university and assumed that I could fit in the new environment quickly. Things are quite the opposite in the southern city. When I talked to my roomies, they told me that they could not understand what I said. Firstly, I did not know why, because I thought I was speaking Chinese. I said it slowly, and they could understand me. Then they repeated it by their language, which was a little wired for me. After that, I knew I was speaking Chinese with the Beijing dialect. Speaking Chinese with erhuayin is the main character of the Beijing dialect. But for some southerners, it is hard to understand me. However, it was not the main reason that I chose to be a chameleon. Hangzhou is a neighboring city of Shanghai and Jiangsu, and I traveled a lot during my campus life, for I could get tickets discounts in tourist attractions by the student card. Every single time I traveled to a new place, local people could recognize me as a northerner, and some of them even could say I am a Beijinger. During the time traveling to a famous tourist attraction near Hangzhou, I was fleeced in a local shop. I understood that there were tourist traps in some places, but I could not believe that it happened on me. When I came back to my dormitory, my roomies told me that if I could say Mandarin Chinese or even southern dialects, some people would assume me as a local. Then some shop owners might consider you can understand what they say. Then I made up my mind to learn some southern dialects. After that, a southern taxi driver truly considered me as a local, and I think my efforts pay off. I took advantage of speaking a southern dialect to make sure that I am considered to be a southerner.