Little Flower

Well, I wish it didn't come down to this....but we had to make a change. Things weren't happening like they should, and we couldn't fix them if we couldn't communicate them....

So, yes- you guessed it. We are letting our ayi go. She was faithful, and mildly decent. But if you can't communicate with her- things become very difficult....things start falling through the cracks. Feelings get hurt.

So today I met with Leo. Leo is our sort if Chinese agent. He helps find a driver, house, car, ayi.....and anything else "living" related.

Leo came well prepared with a few ayis to interview. He has skin in the game you see- his company can provide an ayi and our money goes to his company (well not HIS company, his employer). That said, you want to know what he does? He shows up with an ayi that can speak, read, and write English.

Yeah- that's right- Xiao Lan....she told me her name means "little flower". Game changer.

This is a total 180 from Po, who couldn't read Chinese....and things just go up from there.

First, she said she can go to the store for us any time- "just SMS me". Second, she cooks western foods....or so she claims. Third, if we need anything translated, she will be lurching around the house anyway. Four, she is available 3 days a week (Po was only around 2). Five, I can be even more lazy now. Six, well I'm just gonna stop, I could go on forever.

So, life in SH just got a little better....which is to say- its only a bird-flu, pigs-in-water, north-Korea, smog step away from being half as cool as Oregon.

Hey but so here is the deal- don't tell anyone! We haven't told Po yet, and I think she should hear it from us. She'll be ok as she works for like 10 families....and, to be dead honest, I'm not so sure she really liked Sarah all that much.

My new deal is gonna be that I'm going to end all my blogs with a Jeff Winger style inspirational line. Let's give it a try....

So it's a new day, and what we have to remember is that the only thing we need to remember is that maybe being nice to one another is what will get us through the day. We spend so much time wanting to be someone else that we forget who we are to each other and in doing so we lose ourselves.