There were some annoyances last week with the new apartment, which is often the case when you first move in to a place. It was silly stuff like, the toilet seat hadn't been properly installed and the dryer stopped every five minutes for no apparent reason. Yes, these were somewhat insignificant, but try dealing with them in Chinese. I thank my lucky stars every night for Mike (and his ability to speak the language).
My frustrations were contrasted with a lovely lunch I had with the ladies in my Mandarin course -- Robin, the American who has lived in Ireland most recently; Ayla, the Turkish-born German; Nannapat, the Thai married to a Brit; and Anna, the Russian engaged to a German. One day after class, we took the opportunity to get to know each other a bit better and grab lunch together. We chatted about our families, our homes, our professions; about the difficult decision to move to China; about the sacrifice we (happily) made for our partners. I looked around the table and saw four smart women, ambitious and adventurous, excited and eager to immerse themselves in their new culture. Even though I had just met them, I felt as if I had more in common with them than my fellow countrywomen, many of whom relish their lives here as "taitais" (=wife in Mandarin, but with the negative connotation of a wealthy housewife). By the end of lunch, they had convinced me to join them for an additional month of Mandarin classes. Although the session will end right as I leave to go back home (for our wedding!), I'm looking forward to spending more time with these seemingly fabulous women.
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