As China gains ascendancy in the global arena, more and more Americans find themselves across the Pacific, trying to make sense of the foreign and often very confusing society around them. Author Deborah Fallows was one such expatriate; she and her husband, the acclaimed writer and journalist James Fallows, spent three years living and working in Shanghai and Beijing. Upon returning to the States, she found a need to organize, in her own mind, her diverse experiences – a project that eventually became the book “Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love and Language.”

Embarking upon a cross-country tour promoting her memoir, Deborah Fallows spoke at the Stanford Bookstore on Wednesday evening to a modest but enthusiastic turnout. She chose to read only a few short passages from the book, instead relying upon her dynamic and humorous stage presence to engage her audience. She explained that most of her peers – fellow foreigners in China – found their own unique ways to approach the daunting task of learning how to live in China. Her particular avenue was language.

Fallows, despite her doctorate in linguistics from Harvard, had her share of awkwardly funny, sometimes surreal encounters with both the Chinese language and its speakers. She recounted, complete with hand gestures, the first time she attempted to order takeout from a local restaurant: the waiter taking her order could not understand a word she said and ended up calling for backup. He and most of the kitchen staff, after having her repeat herself over and over, concluded that she was asking for a big hug.

Fallows’ book is full of similarly amusing anecdotes laced with enduring compassion and fondness for the ordinary people she encountered on the street. Unlike many other authors who write about China, including her husband, she only briefly mentions politics, economics and sweeping social reform, focusing instead on the rhythms of everyday life and interpersonal interaction. She tells stories of matchmaking mothers and street vendors hawking bootlegged handbags, of Chinese learning English and Americans learning Chinese, of life, and love, and language.

“Dreaming in Chinese” is a timely work by an author well-placed to write it. Fallows offers readers a glimpse of modern Chinese culture unclouded by preconceived notions, portraying the laobaixing, the ordinary Chinese, simply as they are.