I'm sorry I've never been to China. I said this to a man I met after a lecture. He was a true hyperpolyglot. He said beautiful things to me in French, then Arabic, English, Spanish, Mandarin. He drank beer and I took little sips of each description of the places I'd honestly made no sincere effort to visit. What I assume are the clouds above the mountains in Canton. The smell of tea leaves roasting in a wok. I think he took offense at how little I understood, despite the pains he'd taken to learn to communicate. I took offense at the way he spoke to himself through me, though I, too, love to sing a little louder in the shower if I know someone's listening in the next room. And we knew that we would never see each other again, and it is meaningless to apologize to all the people you never finish revealing yourself to.