I finished my adventures in London to a not-empty home. (Don't worry-- I knew it wouldn't be empty!) I had arranged a house sitter to stay at my place while I was away--to watch the cats and turn lights on and that kind of thing… She is a very nice visiting researcher from China… Over the semester, her son and mother came to stay with her-- help out and all that… :) She is here for a year, but I only needed her for the semester… so for most of my time away, the plan was that she would get her own place when I returned.
Shortly before then, though, I realized that it is fine with me if she--if they all--stayed. What would I want, if the roles were reversed? It would be a hassle to move and find a new place and potentially have to furnish it just for one semester… Anyway, I went ahead and invited them to stay… On the VERY important condition that I get my bedroom/bathroom/BED back… And that was fine with her… and so that is how the house looks now.
I am in the master bedroom (only fair, as it is MY home)… she and her son are in the "guest room" and her mother is in the "office." The living room, which I really never use… is in full family mode. The mother (by that I mean grandmother) is a wonderful cook and works in the kitchen much of the day… The son is a sweetie, too… three years old… doesn't yet know English but is picking it up like a sponge… And so far everything has been just fine!
In fact, this is kind of cool! I just came off a very successful Airbnb stay-- or 6. And how else would I ever have my OWN Airbnb hosting experience here in little old Rolla without doing something like this? AND I would SO do Airbnb--or run a hostel--or something like that--if I had the opportunity. SO, this is the way I can do so. NOW you understand!! ;)
AND I decided that I'm still in the blogging mood--even though I'm not in London anymore. There will be fewer stories of seeing West End shows. BUT there will be more stories about using Google translate and learning the occasional Mandarin word… (My pronunciation is atrocious, btw!) There are already funny stories… and I can only imagine that there will be more.
One quick example: The son is picking up English faster than the mother can keep track… (As is always the case--even without it being a 2nd language, I think.) One night, she was on Skype back home with a man… I wasn't sure if it was her husband or father (both back in China). So I asked the boy: Is that your daddy? (Shakes head "no.") Is that your granddaddy? (Shakes head "yes.") And he was right! The mother was so surprised! She didn't realize he knew Daddy and Granddaddy!
Another funny ridiculous story was a multiple day translation fail experience. The grandmother was trying to tell me where mother and son were, and kept saying "Good where." Which just meant NOTHING to me… But she kept repeating it, sometimes slower and sometimes louder… BUT of course, we all know that doesn't help! So I just had to go away without knowing (I also think this was before I downloaded Google Translate which has many issues, but is still a wonderful AMAZING tool!) Later, the mother started saying "Good where," and then described it as somewhere one can buy pre-worn clothing and such… I thought-- that's cute, and corrected myself to "Good wear." What a witty name for a store. THEN, she spelled it: GOODWILL!! OMG! I laughed for 5 minutes or so!!
Today the son came home hollering "Casey! Casey!" I am officially the new/cool auntie-type person. And therefore worthy of one of his Pringles!! (It's ok-- I bought fortune cookies at the grocery store just cuz I knew he liked them--and that there is NOTHING Chinese about them-- so it's a bit of a novelty for him!) He's a cute kid-- and CLEARLY has great taste!
Another funny issue-- the grandmother made yummy food AGAIN for dinner. I had NO IDEA what to call them. This is awful of me, btw. The visiting researcher (can you tell I'm trying to avoid using names?? I want to be totally on the up-and-up here--and so think I should keep it private that way… I'll think of code names soon… Until I get creative, they'll be boy/son, mother, grandmother...) I attach a picture. The mother told Google translate the Chinese name for them, which got translated as "package." I'm pretty sure that they're NOT called that!! :) Some kind of dumpling item--though decidedly NOT that-- I was corrected quickly when I said that. :)
SO-- I'll keep you posted as I have new funny stories regarding translating fails…
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