My grandfather is a retired principal. Once, when the whole
family was having dinner together, the phone rang and my
grandfather picked it up. He said ,” Mr XXX,
........” ( in chinese it was XXX lao shi).
On instinct, I asked my mother whether it was the teacher of my
grandfather. I guessed my mother did not really understood what i
meant and so she replied yes, probably just to prevent me from
probing further. I immediately exclaimed loudly, ” Whoa, so old
already, haven die yet ah?” I think the person at the other end
could hear lor. Come to think of it now , i think my grandfather
probably addressed his teachers as lao shi even though he was their
principal.
