Context.

The stench of stale cigarettes exudes from his clothes. And the smell of a fresh cigarette releases from his mouth each time it opens. He is chubby by Chinese standards. His round cheeks reveal a constant state of happiness in his demeanor. He wears black framed glasses on his eyes and a five o' clock shadow on his chin line. His head is topped with not as much hair as once belonged there; this is evident from the circular balding spot just past the widow's peak hairline. He is probably mid forties. His name is Ming Grui Lu.
He starts bits of conversation with me and I respond as best I can. I asked if he spoke English and he said a little, followed by the list of things he knew: thank you, do you know, goodbye, my name is, and a few more basics. I then responded (in Chinese) that I know the same amount of Chinese like: how much is this, my name is, I'm American, thank you and goodbye. We both let out a little chuckle at each other's expense. We were having a conversation neither of us were certain the other could understand, ha.
Nonetheless, we are quick to become friends (péngyou) even though I speak little-to-no Chinese and he, little-to-no English. But this is a common experience for me in China. Most Chinese adore foreigners. They are fascinated by us. We're exotic and mysterious creatures to them, just as they are to us. It's just curiosity, as I've said many times before. A lot of foreigners find it annoying that Chinese stare and frustrating when they attempt communication, even after we tell them we don't understand (wǒ bù míngbái) or that we don't speak Chinese.
Because Mandarin is a very complicated language to speak, the Chinese are blown away when lǎowài (foreigner) speak it. If you can carry a conversation past ni hao they often mistake you for fluent. It's flattering to me and I've actually learned a lot of my Chinese this way.
In the blog I wrote a few weeks ago about communicating with my Chinese and Columbian friends in their language I believe I mentioned that, although I can't always respond, I understand a lot of what they are saying based on context.
Meeting Ming Grui Lu on the train today reminded me to write this blog. He reminded me how much two people can communicate if they simply listen and are patient enough to wait for understanding.
Since most conversations between a foreigner and a local are pretty routine I can now carry an entire semi-decent conversation with cab drivers and my neighbors in elevator rides (I live on the 25th floor).
Keeping in mind that the part of Local is said in Mandarin and the part of Laowai is said in very butchered Mandarin, here is a rough script of the average conversation:

Local: "hello!"
Laowai: "hello. How are you?"
Local: "you speak Chinese?"
Laowai: "a little"
Local: "beautiful girl," or "you are beautiful."
Laowai: "thank you."
Local: "what country are you from?" (And sometimes they will just ask, "are you American?")
Laowai: "I'm American."
Local: "what are you doing here?"
Laowai: "I'm a teacher."
Local: "English?"
Laowai: "yes"
Local: "teacher. Very good." (With a thumbs up.)

And then they usually ask something else and I just say I don't understand.There are very few other conversations I understand in Chinese as of now. If I'm lucky, I arrive at my destination before the conversation reaches this point. Either way, I always say goodbye in Mandarin and they always say it in English. It's a nice exchange. :)
Going to the grocery store is also really good routine context knowledge. The clerk always asks if I have a member card, I say no and then she asks if I need a bag and I say no or tell her how many. It's a nice moment of competence for me, even if it's just memorization or routine.
A few weeks ago when I first started to realize how much I understand from my students when they speak Chinese, I began to keep a list.
In class, there is a "no Chinese" rule. However, when you are teaching students as young as four, they are still learning their own language so obviously they don't know how to say certain things in English. With my younger students I'm not too strict on the Chinese rule because communication is part of teaching. Often I will use my minimal Chinese skills to communicate what is expected (only if I don't have a TA). Anyway, by doing this, and by the sheer fact that the students instinctively speak Chinese first I have picked up many helpful contextual clues in the classroom.
1. When they need to go to the bathroom (there are many ways to say this in Mandarin and I only know how to say "toilet," ha). This one is easy because it is typically accompanied by a facial expression of urgency. Or, the crossing of the legs, "tee tee dance" movement.
2. "Look at this." The kids love to show you their stuff. I learned this from Luke because he brings a new toy car to class every Monday. Also, my Wendy is always showing me her newest bracelets. This one is mostly helpful in the personal aspect of my teaching and in those moments before class or during breaks when we bond.
3. "It doesn't work." This one is usually in reference to the markers that are always out of ink. The TA and I are trying to get them to say, "no ink." It'll catch on eventually...
4. "How do you spell?" This one has been my most successful so far. Once I understood what they were asking I was able to teach "How do you spell?," and that was a proud day for me!
In my beginning days in China, it was extremely frustrating teaching and communicating in the only language I know and not being understood. My students would speak Chinese to me and I would say, "I don't know" or "English please," with the older students and that was it. I didn't bother to stop and listen or look at what was being said. I was not patient, and I also was oblivious to the fact they might have been trying to tell or ask me something important. Now I will spend 15 minutes of class time understanding, then answering my students if I have to. Patience was something I thought I would never possess, and although I still lack it most days, I have at least managed to find it in my communication skills...

When Ming Grui Lu woke up from his five-hour nap, and I'd written all of the above part of this blog, it was night out. The only light outside the train windows were the vibrant sparks of color coming from the fireworks being shot in the distance.