Shared Table, New Friend

周末下午，我在校园附近的小面馆等位，人多得要排到门口。

Zhōumò xiàwǔ, wǒ zài xiàoyuán fùjìn de xiǎo miànguǎn děng wèi, rén duō de yào pái dào ménkǒu.

On a weekend afternoon, I waited for a seat at a small noodle shop near campus, and the line was so long it reached the door.

老板见我一个人，就把我和一位外国旅客拼到一张桌子上。

Lǎobǎn jiàn wǒ yí gè rén, jiù bǎ wǒ hé yí wèi wàiguó lǚkè pīn dào yì zhāng zhuōzi shàng.

The owner saw I was alone and seated me at a shared table with a foreign traveler.

他叫马丁，从智利来，中文带口音，但说得挺流利。

Tā jiào Mǎdīng, cóng Zhìlì lái, Zhōngwén dài kǒuyīn, dàn shuō de tǐng liúlì.

His name was Martín, from Chile; he spoke Chinese with an accent but quite fluently.

我们先点了牛肉面和凉皮，他问我北京的辣度是不是都这么“豪迈”。

Wǒmen xiān diǎn le niúròumiàn hé liángpí, tā wèn wǒ Běijīng de làdù shì bù shì dōu zhème “háomài”.

We first ordered beef noodles and liangpi, and he asked if Beijing’s spiciness is always this “bold.”

我笑说，得看店家，虽然我能吃辣，但这家不太刺激。

Wǒ xiào shuō, děi kàn diànjiā, suīrán wǒ néng chī là, dàn zhè jiā bú tài cìjī.

I laughed and said it depends on the shop; although I can handle spice, this place isn’t too strong.

他说自己刚到中国第三天，地图用不顺手，却被街边的蒸汽和香味吸引得停不下来。

Tā shuō zìjǐ gāng dào Zhōngguó dì sān tiān, dìtú yòng bù shùnshǒu, què bèi jiēbiān de zhēngqì hé xiāngwèi xīyǐn de tíng bù xiàlái.

He said it was his third day in China; maps didn’t work smoothly for him, yet the street steam and aromas kept stopping him in his tracks.

说着说着，他拿出一本小本子，里面记着每天学到的词语，还画了简单的图。

Shuōzhe shuōzhe, tā ná chū yì běn xiǎo běnzi, lǐmiàn jì zhe měitiān xué dào de cíyǔ, hái huà le jiǎndān de tú.

As we chatted, he pulled out a small notebook with the words he learned each day, and he had even drawn simple pictures.

因为我也在学西班牙语，所以我们一会儿中文一会儿西语，聊得热闹。

Yīnwèi wǒ yě zài xué Xībānyáyǔ, suǒyǐ wǒmen yíhuìr Zhōngwén yíhuìr Xīyǔ, liáo de rènào.

Since I was also learning Spanish, we switched between Chinese and Spanish, and the talk grew lively.

面上来以后，我们一边吸溜面条，一边交换旅行见闻，他说南美的夏天像一首长歌。

Miàn shàng lái yǐhòu, wǒmen yìbiān xīliū miàntiáo, yìbiān jiāohuàn lǚxíng jiànwén, tā shuō Nánměi de xiàtiān xiàng yì shǒu cháng gē.

After the noodles arrived, we slurped while trading travel stories, and he said summer in South America is like a long song.

我告诉他，等春天到颐和园划船，风一吹，心情会轻得像风筝。

Wǒ gàosu tā, děng chūntiān dào Yíhéyuán huáchuán, fēng yì chuī, xīnqíng huì qīng de xiàng fēngzheng.

I told him to go boating at the Summer Palace in spring; when the breeze blows, your mood feels as light as a kite.

吃完结账时，他认真地说：“今天不仅吃饱了，还交到朋友。”我也点头，说真是缘分。

Chī wán jiézhàng shí, tā rènzhēn de shuō: “Jīntiān bùjǐn chī bǎo le, hái jiāo dào péngyou.” Wǒ yě diǎntóu, shuō zhēn shì yuánfèn.

When we paid, he said seriously, “Today I not only ate well, I also made a friend,” and I nodded, saying it really was fate.

后来我们加了微信，约好周末去胡同里逛逛，看老房子，顺便练口语。

Hòulái wǒmen jiā le Wēixìn, yuē hǎo zhōumò qù hútòng lǐ guàngguang, kàn lǎo fángzi, shùnbiàn liàn kǒuyǔ.

Later we added each other on WeChat and planned to wander the hutongs on the weekend, look at old houses, and practice speaking.