THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 23, 1996 TAG: 9602210223
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 11 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY XIAOHONG ZHANG SWAIN, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Patrice and Patrick Lappert and their three children were wide-eyed with expectation as I entered their home. They all had the same question in their minds: Can Rita, a Chinese orphan recently adopted by the Chesapeake family, speak any Mandarin Chinese?
To test their assumption that Rita might have been speaking Mandarin, they welcomed me, a native of Beijing, China, to their home on Waterwheel Road.
I was as excited as the Lapperts were. It would be thrilling to coax the first Chinese word out of Baby Rita. I wondered how she would react to someone who has the same Chinese features as she and who speaks her native language.
``Ni hao (Hello),'' I said cheerfully to Rita, as we sat at a dining table.
Rita didn't respond. She was fully focused on a bowl of instant noodles.
``She loves noodles,'' said Patrice Lappert.
``Ni xi huan mian tiao ma (Do you like noodles)?'' I asked.
Rita ignored my question and kept working on her lunch. In the end, she picked the bowl up and tilted it close to her lips, licking up the last piece of a noodle. Finishing her meal, Rita looked content and began sending a few glances at the visitor.
``Ni jiao shen me meng zi (What's your name)?'' I asked.
Rita smiled and looked at me for a brief moment. Then, she got away from the table and began to play.
Throughout the rest of the hour and an half, Rita played and laughed hard. She apparently enjoyed being spun by Daniel, her new big brother, and being lifted by her adoptive Daddy by the ankles for a few dips. She was hugged and held, held and hugged by one after another. At times, Rita screamed with joy.
``Jia Xiao,'' I began to use Rita's Chinese name. ``Jiao ma ma (Say Mommy),'' I pointed at Patrice.
Rita still didn't respond. She came once in a while to me and extended her arms upward, gesturing for a hug. While I was holding Rita, I looked at her cute rounded face and issued a series of questions in Chinese.
Rita would look up and smile at me first, and then, she cast her glance downward, as if she was embarrassed that she couldn't understand me.
``I assume she's too young to have learned speaking Chinese,'' I told the family after several more attempts to get Rita to speak. ``If she could speak Mandarin, she should be able to say `mommy,' `daddy,' `auntie' and `I want' in Mandarin. These are most common words for a Chinese child to learn to say first,'' I explained.
``I really want to see if Rita can speak Mandarin,'' said Patrice. ``So she can tell you whether she likes here.''
``Of course, she likes here,'' Patrick assured his wife. ``Just look at her, see how happy she is.'' MEMO: [For a related cover story, see page 10 of The Clipper for this date.]
by CNB