Beijing doesn’t speak your language, it dances it

The first time I tried to buy a fridge magnet in Beijing, I failed completely at speaking, not because I did not know what I wanted, but because none of the words I had were useful in that small souvenir shop.I was standing in front of a small painted tile that said ‘Beijing’ in neat characters, pointing at it while an elderly woman watched me from behind the counter, and when I asked, “How much?”