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| David Xuxu and Lotus (Furong) |
Since COVID-19 is under control in Xi’an and the weather has gotten nice, many people are out exercising and socializing in our little community or Village 1 of Jiaoda University. Grandparents often sit outside chatting, exercising on the exercise equipment and watching their grandchildren play.
I got to know a very friendly, cute girl, 6 years old, named Tutu. She and her friends would often shout “Hello" when they saw me. One day I made them some paper airplanes and they just loved them. I soon met Tutu's mother, Furong or Lotus. In addition, I met Lotus’s mother, grandmother, husband and her little daughter, Xuxu who is one and a half. We have become great friends!
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| Tutu |
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| Xuxu and Tutu |
Lotus is a charming preschool teacher and loves to practice English and help me with my Mandarin. We have had fun sitting in front of her building exchanging language and culture. She, Tutu and I read a Chinese story book called “Tuan Yuan” or “Family Reunion”. It’s about a man who works all year in another city and comes back to his little daughter, Mao Mao and wife during “Chun Tian” or Spring Festival. Tutu loves this book! Both she and Lotus helped me with the new or tricky characters. The story really is touching. At first, little Mao Mao doesn’t recognize her father because he has grown a beard. Once he shaves, she realizes who he is. They make dumplings together to celebrate the Spring Festival. Her Dad hides a lucky coin in one and Mao Mao finds it. Father and daughter spend time together on the roof of their house watching the New Year’s dragon dance.
Later, while playing with her friends she thinks she has lost her lucky coin. Her Dad tries to give her another, but she wants the original one. Finally, she finds it in her thick cotton padded coat. At the end of the holiday, her Dad has to leave for another year. She cries and he promises to bring her a doll. She says she doesn’t want a doll. She gives him the lucky coin and asks that he come back and hide it in a dumpling again. That’s what she wants. This is the first non-textbook story that I have read in Chinese from start to finish and enjoyed the whole way along! It only took me about 5 years of working on Mandarin to accomplish this. I am at the level of a 6-year-old Chinese reader, but I am thrilled to be there! Lotus, on the other hand, is quite good at English. We have started in on the first “Little House on the Prairie” books. At my suggestion, she bought a Kindle and now has started a collection of English books. We read it together sentence by sentence. She often translates what she reads into Mandarin to be sure she has it. She is enjoying it. It’s so much fun to see her get into the story.
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| Xuxu and Tutu |
Earlier this week, Lotus took me along with her daughters, mother and grandmother on a shopping expedition. We went to a very inexpensive outdoor market just inside the old city wall. There we bought delicious melon, cherries, peaches and sour apples. The vegetables were very fresh, just picked that morning on the farms around Xi’an. We visited a butcher. I had my first close up view of tripe (cow stomach). Lotus said, “You don’t eat this, do you?” I had to admit it was outside my usual culinary experience. I think she is going to prepare some for me to try. I feel like part of the family!
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| Tripe! |
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| "Reunion", my first Mandarin story |
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