Chen Ayi

As some of you know, we have an Ayi, pronounced I-E, (that's Chinese for Aunt) who the boys really like. An Ayi is a kind of nanny/helper/housekeeper. And Chen (that's her first name) Ayi is really great. I'm really getting spoiled here! But it is good for the boys to have someone else here who cares about them like our family/friends back in Michigan and Alabama do. She plays with them a lot and gives them lots of attention. She's in her late 50's and has a 30-year-old son of her own. She is kind of like a "grandmother" figure to them. Don't worry Nonnie or Grandma Susan, you have not been replaced. :-) In other words she spoils them. Initially we were most worried about Gabe liking/feeling comfortable with her. But, Gabe took to her right away. Maddox, on the other hand, has been going through one of those "I need to be attached to my Mom's leg" stages. But he has come around. He always lets go of my leg though when it comes to mealtimes. As you can see from the picture below, Chen Ayi is always more than willing to share her lunch with him. And he loves it!!! I have no earthly idea what he is eating each lunch, but I feel good knowing he's broadening his horizons. Those of you who know Gabe well won't be surprised when I say that Gabe won't even consider doing any of the lunch sharing.



As great as Chen Ayi is, there is one downside. We don't speak each other’s language. As I am sure you can imagine, that sometimes makes things a little complicated. We actually do amazingly well when she is here. It's unbelievable how much two people can communicate through hand gestures, grunts, and acting out things. For example, when I am going to take a shower and I need her to keep an eye on the boys, I just mimic....well.....taking a shower. Ok, that didn't sound as amazing as it seems to be to me on this end. My point is, while I was really worried about the communication barrier at first, it has been working out much better than I thought it might. One other thing that really helps is my Mac Book. It has this neat little widget that is a language translator. So I just type in what I want to say, it gets translated into Chinese, and then she reads it. I just have to be very careful of the wording I use. Often there is not a literal translation for a word so the computer just picks what it thinks fits best...which is not always best. So I use as few words as possible, no slang, no contractions, etc. When I am careful, this process works really well. All in all, we do ok. A friend back in MI asked if it was weird having someone around all day that you didn't really talk to. It is in some ways. There are so many, many, many things I would like to ask her about. I know she would be able to answer many of my questions about China. But, until my Chinese improves or her English, we are stuck. But, the upside to she and I not speaking the same language is that we are both working really hard to learn. Every time she hands me something, say a shirt to put away, she says that word in Chinese. I repeat it until I get it correct. I do the same for her. So we are both learning. She also does the same for Gabe and Maddox. It's really amazing how much better they are picking up on things than me sometimes. Every time she hands them a toy or a snack she repeats the word over and over. Gabe knows what is going on so he repeats it back. Maddox just mumbles until she gives in (which is usually within 5 seconds) and gives him the object. I think he has her figured out. Anyway, we are all learning. Which is great!



We feel very blessed to have her working for us. She has had a very tough life and I know from what she has told our Chinese-speaking friends who translated for us that she is very happy to be working for us. I already know she is going to be missed. And not just because she helps me (though I won't deny that having help is wonderful) but because she is a good person who truly cares about all of us.