PEANUTS - Loving memories from China

 

Post marriage I moved to Beijing with my husband. It was the autumn of year 2007 and Beijing was gearing for it’s 2008 Olympics. The city was undergoing a massive facelift. With China’s infrastructure booming, Beijing went on to become a world class venue for the 2008 Olympic.

Perhaps this was also the time when China saw a huge influx of foreigners. I used to feel awkward when people would abruptly stop me and ask me for a picture with them or their child. A lot of people would start talking to me in Chinese totally oblivious that I didn’t understand their language. I badly wanted to respond to them and so I got myself enrolled for a Chinese language course.

I can’t say that I did exceptionally well at the language school but I was able to express myself to a few people around me. This made the locals quite happy. Within few years I managed to make basic conversations with aunties, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, parents of my daughter’s friends, nanny, maid, shopkeeper, etc. Their kind and loving ways along with their food, culture and history truly delighted me.

At this point I want to share a small incident that touched my heart so much. It was the summer of 2015. One morning the delivery man rang my door bell and handed over a big box to me. I had no clue as to who sent it to me and what was in it. Everything was written in Chinese. I matched the phone number and found out that it was from my maid Ai Yin who had left Beijing a couple of months ago to return to Hainan in South China. Ai Yin was a migrant worker who had left her family in Hainan to work in Beijing as a house maid. It was a very short time that I had known her when she worked for my family. She had to return to Hainan soon in order to tend to her ailing father and to work in the fields where she grew some seasonal vegetables and other crops.

Then, I proceeded and opened the big brown box and to my surprise there were a whole lot of peanuts in it. Within few minutes I received a text message from Ai Yin. She said that those were freshly harvested peanuts from her fields and that she wanted to give it to me as a gift. I was so touched by this unique gesture. Absolutely unexpected!It was indeed very kind and sweet of Ai Yin. At once I felt so deeply connected to the country and its people. Love truly has no boundaries.

I really don’t remember doing anything special for her. But till this day I cherish her love and kindness.

Her first name “Ai” means LOVE in Chinese.

I thank Ai for her love! She will always be fondly remembered.

We lived for 12 years in Beijing and there were many people who crossed our paths and made a difference in our life. Every day it’s my endeavour to give back to the world the good I have received.

These are the peanuts that Xiao Ai (xiao is a prefix used in Chinese to address a woman younger to you) sent me. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of her to post.

 Dr.Rani

Seawood A 501

April 2023

E-mail:rrani12@gmail.com

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