the dreamer connection
Had a really lovely dinner with my friend Mai and her dad today. Even though he was 50+, it didn't feel like I was talking to someone much older. He asked me about work, and Mai and I talked about our plans, our restlessness, lack of roots and attachment to one place; and he said it wasn't just the two of us, everyone had the same restlessness.
Mai explained to her dad that No, in fact, there were many people who seem content to live in one place all their lives. And then she turned to me and explained that her dad was a restless, shifting soul too, hence they have moved around in China over the past twenty years. - I was delighted, here was a kindred spirit!!
Despite the age gap, and the language barrier (I spoke in an awkward mix of painstaking Mandarin, liberally peppered with English phrases), I found it easy to confide in him about my issues with Mandarin-speakers; that while I'm happy to move around in life, I'm beginning to worry about ever finding a boy to fit in with my nomadic lifestyle, and a boy would be Really nice; and no, I won't quit my career just for a Boy - to quit my career to travel or to pursue other dreams, yes, but solely for a boy, no. He was smiling and good-natured and very easy-going. And we talked about everything from my haircut to accents, San Francisco, work, how our past has shaped us, travel plans, food, whether I think Mai is childish, characteristics of Chinese from different provinces, his plans for Mai... in a wonderfully random way, the way old friends do.
I like how Mai and her dad are friends. I suspect it's the only child factor at work. That, or the living apart from parents factor at work. I've been friends with my mom for almost as long as I can remember too. And I really enjoyed talking to Mai's dad. It's magic that we got along, the Chinese man who spoke entirely in Mandarin, and the unlikeliest of chinese girls who struggles with her limited vocabulary.
Mai explained to her dad that No, in fact, there were many people who seem content to live in one place all their lives. And then she turned to me and explained that her dad was a restless, shifting soul too, hence they have moved around in China over the past twenty years. - I was delighted, here was a kindred spirit!!
Despite the age gap, and the language barrier (I spoke in an awkward mix of painstaking Mandarin, liberally peppered with English phrases), I found it easy to confide in him about my issues with Mandarin-speakers; that while I'm happy to move around in life, I'm beginning to worry about ever finding a boy to fit in with my nomadic lifestyle, and a boy would be Really nice; and no, I won't quit my career just for a Boy - to quit my career to travel or to pursue other dreams, yes, but solely for a boy, no. He was smiling and good-natured and very easy-going. And we talked about everything from my haircut to accents, San Francisco, work, how our past has shaped us, travel plans, food, whether I think Mai is childish, characteristics of Chinese from different provinces, his plans for Mai... in a wonderfully random way, the way old friends do.
I like how Mai and her dad are friends. I suspect it's the only child factor at work. That, or the living apart from parents factor at work. I've been friends with my mom for almost as long as I can remember too. And I really enjoyed talking to Mai's dad. It's magic that we got along, the Chinese man who spoke entirely in Mandarin, and the unlikeliest of chinese girls who struggles with her limited vocabulary.
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