It has been drizzling since morning. Instead of taking the kids to their regular soccer field took them to the clubhouse today. There's a cute play area there with kids of all ages having fun. The room looked a little crowded and I went and sat in a corner while my kids were off to play. Looked around and saw a lot of Ayi's sitting in groups having a conversation. Ayi means Aunty in chinese but is frequently referred to a housekeeper or maid . Pretty much every expat here has an Ayi either full time or part time. Ayis do a damn good job at what they do....whether it is cleaning the house or taking care of the kids.
I found a couple blonde haired ladies and went up to and said 'Hello'. One of the lady was from Spain but brought up in Canada for 10 years. The other one was from Germany and the third one I met was from Turkey living in China for the last 3 years. They asked me how I feel in China. I said it's getting better (and I wasn't lying). I told them that apart from the language everything here was nice. The lady from Spain quickly said - "Ah you are lucky to speak English lady. If you speak in English you will survive in China. I have a friend who speaks nothing but Spanish and she's struggling even after spending more than a year here."
That gave me some courage. Look at me....I can speak 3 Indian languages and English. I should be able to pick up Chinese as well. Here I am in a community where people from all parts of the world live in peace and harmony. They came here and went through all the emotions that I am going through. Yet now they say they love this place and this is home. Time to stop cribbing and take it head on. OK China....bring it on. I will try to learn your ways and fall in love with you like everyone else here does.
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