I am on my way home and about to negotiate the stairs that will take me to the subway exit at the corner of St Nicholas Ave. I notice a young African American man at the foot of the stairs who turns around and makes eye contact.

He smiles and says to me: Ni Hao (Hello in Mandarin)

Taken aback, I hesitate and then respond – virtually exhausting my Mandarin vocabulary in the process – with: Hao (Good)

I decide to continue our conversation and toss back: Ni hao ma? (How are you?)

We smile and share a private joke when he replies: Wo hen hao (I’m very well)

He is on crutches with a medical boot on his left foot and two flights of stairs to climb to the street.