Mature Mahjong

By Ethan Wang

The first time we walked into the Changning District elder care center, the group of 30-odd octagenerians wasn't sure what to do with us.We popped open the new boxes of Jenga, bilingual Monopoly and card games, and a small group of us sidled over to the mahjong room. We had come to volunteer with the elderly at this center to brighten their day, show them that they're important and have a laugh ourselves.

We partnered up with a few of the elderly residents already chi-ing and pang-ing at the tables. To our surprise, we were largely ignored. Further, a man with a cane pulled four chairs aside, shuffled the tiles, and set up a mahjong game at a separate table. "This is for you," he explained in Mandarin,  "We'll sit here and you can sit there."

We weren't completely sure how to react because we'd never been rejected from a volunteer project. Sure, plenty of charities don't want to work with a group of foreigners and Chinese people on weekends. Most need donations or supplies – not more people hanging around trying to make themselves useful. But this was our first time to have visited a project, made agreements and then been rejected flat-out by the people we were trying to help.

"You guys play mahjong like retards," one grandpa told us, using the bad word for "mentally handicapped", which we would call "retarded" in English is "er bai wu shi", 250.

Abashed, some of us sat down at the table he had set up and started playing, laughing nervously about what we should do. After an animated game in which we shouted our calls loudly to make sure they knew that we are, in fact, sophisticated mahjong players (at least by laowai standards), a few kindhearted grandmothers let us join in their next round.

And the most foreign looking of all the volunteers there, a Dutch leader named Dirk, proceeded to relentlessly beat those sweet grandmothers time and time again. From then on, we were welcome in their games.

When we come, we're greeted with a round of applause, red-carpet style. We cuddle up, rub their necks and shoulders, tell them we've missed them. They ask us how work is going, coach the shy among us on how to join in their games, tell us when we've lost weight or our faces are looking fat. 

“The old folks really enjoy their time with the BEAN volunteers. They ask me all the time when the volunteers will come again, and whether or not the volunteers could stay a bit longer,” says Director Chen, a retired police woman that now spends all his time managing this elder centre. 

In the back room where a few mahjong tables are spread, loud clinking noises from the washing of the mahjong cubes are good indicators of who just won or lost a game. Volunteers often find themselves at the mercy of these grandparents who have had over 20 years of experience practicing the game.

When not playing games, some take the time to gossip and try to play matchmaker. “You must be close to 30,” one grandma asks a volunteer. “Why aren’t you married yet? Shall I introduce a good girl to you?”

At 88, grandma Ding jokes to a volunteer, “Don’t call me grandma. I’m only old enough to be your sister!” She then proceeds to tell stories from her youth while beating another volunteer at a game of spades.

Just as the laughter seems to reach an apex and the clatter from the collapsing Jenga towers pierces our ears, the 4:30 pm deadline hits the clock and the volunteers pack up the board games. However, partings aren’t always so difficult especially when the grandparents share their genuine smiles with the volunteers while waving goodbye.  “Come back soon!” they all shout. 

To join BEAN’s next trip to the elderly care centre, check out their event calendar at http://shanghai.beanonline.org.