A Slice of Life in America
The air outside had a peaceful feeling when I walked out to get the newspaper this morning. The newspaper headlines and pictures remind everyone that a year ago, Hurricane Ike blew into town and changed the local landscape. Instead of us hunkering down with no electricity, Ping spent a good part of the day yesterday slicing and dicing and mixing in preparation for a visit from Uncle Andrew and family this afternoon. The pool is even standing ready for Lil' Alex.
Have you seen this movie, Papa? Cici patted the sofa last evening to invite me to join her so I sat down with her. I saw two freckle faced, red headed girls who looked alike, but nothing came immediately to mind. After we watched for a bit and I got a flavor for the story line, I asked if the movie was Parent Trap. I don't know the name of the movie, but I have watched it several times, Cici told me. Here, click on "guide" and it will show us the name of the movie, I showed her.
Sure enough, that was the movie. I sat with Cici and we watched it together to the end. Twice during the movie she asked me if I wanted anything to eat. During the commercial breaks we talked about school and homework. Ping joined us briefly but was busy in the kitchen. I am just checking on the two lazy people in our family, she joked with us. I found it interesting that with six Chinese stations available, Cici chose to watch this movie in English with me. The Disney channel is her favorite place on TV.
Cici and I surprised Ping with a new laptop computer when she returned from China. She loves the laptop she already had, but it is getting a little long in the tooth. She set the new computer up for wireless access in our home, but still needs to configure it for Chinese. Now she leaves her other laptop at the office so she can use it there. Cici, on the other hand, uses both her laptop and my desktop as she multi-tasks in our home. Sometimes if we are rushed for time, she dictates over my shoulder as I handle the keyboarding chores for an essay paper. Sometimes she reaches in and keyboards with me to speed up the process.
This is one reflection of the cross-allocations of time and responsibilities that show the trust that has developed among us. Ping has completely delegated the responsibility for Cici's education to me, and Cici looks to me when she has questions or problems in that part of her life. I have delegated to Ping the responsibility to design, decorate, and maintain our offices, and to manage clients who come to visit us. She also runs our home. She is a natural in these roles. She also helps manage our growing base of Chinese clients both here and abroad.
Ping takes her roles seriously. This morning I will go to the office to meet a new client about an investor visa for her mother, who lives in India. Ping volunteered to go with me, which I appreciate. She wouldn't have time to do this if she hadn't worked ahead yesterday, getting everything ready to cook this afternoon. She was up early this morning, talking to people in China, still managing things for us there. I asked her if she has called her good friends in Houston after returning from China. No, I have been too busy to call them, she told me. Maybe next week.
The one thing that we hear most often from ladies who come to America from China is how they feel lonely and out of place, feeling unable to be involved, like a tiger that is suddenly a kitten. Homesickness soon sets in for them. Ping hasn't felt that way. If anything, she has become more of a tiger. She is happy, comfortable, and confident in America, just like she was in China. She has many friends here, and still has many friends in China. Instead of losing part of her life, she has expanded her horizons and added to her life.
Cici has done the same. She tells her friends in China and around the world that she loves China, but she loves being here also. She tells them that she loves her school more and more. She has posted a map on her blog with her finger pointing at Houston. I am here, the text under the map reads. She has stayed in contact with classmates, friends, and family in China. Some of her classmates are now in America and Canada and Australia, and she has maintained contact with them. Some of the friends she made in Houston are now in other cities and other countries and she has maintained contact with them. Now she also has good friends from Vietnam and Korea.
The bottom line is that these girls have given no indication that they have suffered a moment of homesickness. My perception is that they haven't had time to think about that. Instead, they have stayed busy and focused on building a happy life in America. It has worked for them. It should work for others. Life is often what we make of it.
Have you seen this movie, Papa? Cici patted the sofa last evening to invite me to join her so I sat down with her. I saw two freckle faced, red headed girls who looked alike, but nothing came immediately to mind. After we watched for a bit and I got a flavor for the story line, I asked if the movie was Parent Trap. I don't know the name of the movie, but I have watched it several times, Cici told me. Here, click on "guide" and it will show us the name of the movie, I showed her.
Sure enough, that was the movie. I sat with Cici and we watched it together to the end. Twice during the movie she asked me if I wanted anything to eat. During the commercial breaks we talked about school and homework. Ping joined us briefly but was busy in the kitchen. I am just checking on the two lazy people in our family, she joked with us. I found it interesting that with six Chinese stations available, Cici chose to watch this movie in English with me. The Disney channel is her favorite place on TV.
Cici and I surprised Ping with a new laptop computer when she returned from China. She loves the laptop she already had, but it is getting a little long in the tooth. She set the new computer up for wireless access in our home, but still needs to configure it for Chinese. Now she leaves her other laptop at the office so she can use it there. Cici, on the other hand, uses both her laptop and my desktop as she multi-tasks in our home. Sometimes if we are rushed for time, she dictates over my shoulder as I handle the keyboarding chores for an essay paper. Sometimes she reaches in and keyboards with me to speed up the process.
This is one reflection of the cross-allocations of time and responsibilities that show the trust that has developed among us. Ping has completely delegated the responsibility for Cici's education to me, and Cici looks to me when she has questions or problems in that part of her life. I have delegated to Ping the responsibility to design, decorate, and maintain our offices, and to manage clients who come to visit us. She also runs our home. She is a natural in these roles. She also helps manage our growing base of Chinese clients both here and abroad.
Ping takes her roles seriously. This morning I will go to the office to meet a new client about an investor visa for her mother, who lives in India. Ping volunteered to go with me, which I appreciate. She wouldn't have time to do this if she hadn't worked ahead yesterday, getting everything ready to cook this afternoon. She was up early this morning, talking to people in China, still managing things for us there. I asked her if she has called her good friends in Houston after returning from China. No, I have been too busy to call them, she told me. Maybe next week.
The one thing that we hear most often from ladies who come to America from China is how they feel lonely and out of place, feeling unable to be involved, like a tiger that is suddenly a kitten. Homesickness soon sets in for them. Ping hasn't felt that way. If anything, she has become more of a tiger. She is happy, comfortable, and confident in America, just like she was in China. She has many friends here, and still has many friends in China. Instead of losing part of her life, she has expanded her horizons and added to her life.
Cici has done the same. She tells her friends in China and around the world that she loves China, but she loves being here also. She tells them that she loves her school more and more. She has posted a map on her blog with her finger pointing at Houston. I am here, the text under the map reads. She has stayed in contact with classmates, friends, and family in China. Some of her classmates are now in America and Canada and Australia, and she has maintained contact with them. Some of the friends she made in Houston are now in other cities and other countries and she has maintained contact with them. Now she also has good friends from Vietnam and Korea.
The bottom line is that these girls have given no indication that they have suffered a moment of homesickness. My perception is that they haven't had time to think about that. Instead, they have stayed busy and focused on building a happy life in America. It has worked for them. It should work for others. Life is often what we make of it.
I love hearing about how things are going in your life. We are having our ceremony to make our marriage official on 9-9-9. Mingjun is making many new friends, and actually is a lot like me when it comes to being around people. She prefers smaller groups rather than a crowd. She complained on numerous occasions during my visits to China about "too many people". We seem to be doing very well out here in the sticks
Me, I really like it when we have guests, as it means about twice as many dishes to choose from as usual. We tend to eat mostly Chinese style, and our son has indicated he is real fond of American food (unless it is McDonalds).
Life is definitely what we make of it, and I think we have each found our own paradise
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Glad to hear that things are going great for you guys, Craig. If your son ate at McDonalds in China, that would help explain his dislike of their food here. For whatever reason, they seem to serve better food in China. The same is true of KFC.
That date you and Mingjun selected is about as lucky as you can get when it comes to numbers, as I am sure you know. Also easy to remember.
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Ooops, I meant to say he is not real fond of American food (other than fast food like McDonalds). He likes junk food, but his mother's very healthy cooking seems to be fine too. Go figure.
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