Good-enough English

You don't have to be fluent in English to live a good life in America. I know a Mr. Liu from Changle of Fujian. He sought asylum after crossing the river in a raft from Mexico and settled down in NYC. He found a job to man an assembly line of a mattress factory and has been working there since. He only knew a handful of English words back then. In the first day at the work he wanted to go to the bathroom and didn't know how to tell the foreman in order to have his position covered. He ended up getting the message through by gesturing and making "shih, shih" sound. Now a foreman himself and a much better English speaker, he often makes lengthy comments in meetings and finds his co-workers entertained. When he retires, he will be remembered as a great worker, an entertainer, and an inventor who has coined several jargons including "shih-shih": Everyone in his factory shih-shihes for going to the bathroom.