Enjoying this journey we call life in Shenzhen, China
We are getting ready to head to the airport. The next 5 days will be spent at Pei Lin’s parents home in Sichuan province. Am excited about the visit as the weather is supposed to be warmer then it was in December and this will be my first Chinese New Year/Spring Festival spent in China!!
We wish you a healthy and prosperous 2007!
Xian Nian Kuai Le
Gong Xi Fa Cai
新年快乐
I am not known for my singing voice. In fact, I am probably more well known for avoiding the microphone when it is passed my way or attempts at forcing into my hands. Sometimes I am able to gracefully get out of singing anything. Other times I relent and don’t take it personally when everyone seems to have to go to the bathroom while I am singing.
Saturday night was different. We went to the, not so good but at least it is a gay bar, bar near our house and met some friends for what was going to be an early night. A few English songs exist but it is not so common for anyone to sing them. Since one of our friends sang a couple of songs in English and someone we didn’t know sang one I asked Pei Lin to sing a song with me. It was the least I could do since they were only singing English because I was there. We ended up singing a few sings and had a great time.
Not sure the owner appreciated it though, by the time we finished we were the only ones there besides the help.
Speaking in anything other then your native tongue is not easy, no matter how fluent someone is. After four years in China my ability to speak Chinese is still pretty poor. I can carry on a very basic conversation and my grammar is so terrible that it would make my Grandma ashamed. My difficulty with the language has had one benefit though. My patience with people speaking English as a second language is exponentially greater now then it was when I arrived. I understand how they feel and what they are going through in trying to express themselves as I live it daily.
Even though I am more patient, I still find humour in what and how people say things. Usually they just bring a slight smile to my face and I let them go uncorrected. Occasionally and depending on the person and my relationship with them I might help them with their grammar or prounciation, just as they help me with my Chinese.
Tonight while we were watching the current season’s auditons for the hugely popular American Idol tv show Pei Lin and I were laughing at one contestants miserable singing attempt, and I thought I sang bad… He looked at me and said “whose your dad?” What??? did he just say I thought and then couldn’t help but laugh out loud, even laughing now that I am thinking about it. I asked him if he meant to say “whose your daddy?”?? Which he did…
I don’t recall speaking that particular phrase to Pei Lin and he has concurred. So I am trying to figure where he picked up that great piece of English, “Whose Your Daddy?”
This is my fourth straight week in Shenzhen with no travel and it has been awesome. Everyday tasks and events that I don’t appreciate when I travel so much for work have become such a source of happiness. Pei Lin’s office is only two blocks away from mine so we go to and from work everyday together; yesterday we met for lunch just a ten minute walk away and shared a romantic moment in the middle of a packed restaurant; cooking dinner together most nights; going out with friends. Sure, those things occured when I was in town but I hadn’t taken the time to savor and enjoy those moments because we were usually rushing to cram too many things into the “downtime” when I was home.
While I have grown away from organized religion over the last decade I still believe in God and consider myself a Christian. One of my favorite passages from the bible is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 which describes what love is. Love is what makes my life grand and I feel so fortunate to have found my true love, Pei Lin.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ~1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ~
