After my boyfriend and I got engaged, I went to his family home for Little New Year. Since I couldn't understand his local dialect, we'd agreed beforehand to speak Mandarin whenever we visited his hometown. But as soon as I walked in, his mother cursed at me in her dialect: "Ugly freak, you shameless hussy who seduces men into spending money on you." I turned to ask my boyfriend what his mother had said. He patted my head. "Mom said you're beautiful and virtuous." I gave a cold smile. He had no idea that my college thesis was about the study of regional dialects.
