Have you had your breakfast?

"Have you had your breakfast?"

"No, not yet...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ...  "  (no response, nervous laughing)

"(nervous laughing ) .... um well ok ...... so I'll see you then..."

Every morning people would be ask me in English if  "I've eaten my breakfast."... and usually the answer is "NO" I thought that people were going to invite me to eat with them or offer me a bun or something but no.... we just stand there nodding...  until I realized that they were just trying to make conversation by directly translating the Cantonese greeting of....."sic fan may?" So lesson learned...now regardless if I have eaten or not-- 

"YES ... YES I have had my breakfast"  ( and being the polite person that I am I asked them)  ....and you... have you had your breakfast?" 

"Yes , thank you  ....  ... ... ...  ... (nervous laughing) "

 "(nervous laughing ) .... um well ok ...... so I'll see you then..." 

oh well ... maybe they didn't eat breakfast either  and were waiting for me to leave before wolfing down their "pei dan sau yuk jook"




VMC