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September 04, 2006
Mom vs US
How time flies! Mom has been here for more than a month now. It's interesting to see how she adapts to the life here. First of all, Mom is really smart, which is actually beyond my expectation. Mom learns English pretty fast, and her pronunciation is close enough. I am really happy for Mom. If she learns to speak some basic English, I can totally see her living here.
Mom does not like the American food. She does not like the frozen veggie I bought from the store. She made everything from scratch, even the dumpling wrap. Mom made traditional Chinese steamed buns, the Chinese pancake with fillings, and dumplings. The visiting nurse, physical therapist and the caregivers all like the food Mom makes. Mom tries to buy everything fresh, instead of piling the food up in the fridge.
Mom said Ann Arbor is too quiet. "Not so much fun around here". Well, I can understand Mom, because our hometown was like 5 to 6 million people. But, Mom also said the environment here is REALLY good. The air, the trees, the grass and the wild animals made her happy and healthy.
I've been here for several yeasrs now. Maybe that's the reason I took some ways of living for granted. Living with Mom helped me to realize the good traditions. Mom doesn't pile the clothes up on the floor and go to the public laundry room. Instead, she likes to wash them by hand. Mom does not like to use papertowel to do cleaning and toss them away. Also she prefers to save the Saran wrap and re-use it. At first, I can not understand Mom's way of living. But now I think it is good to remember the humble and frugal way of living. Americans are used to their fast and convenient way of living, and sometimes it could certainly be wasteful, like the overpackaging.
I am a Mom's girl, and I look up to her all the times. However, there are still certain things I can not agree with her. For example, I tried to persuade her to cut down the consumption of carbonhydrates to lower her blood sugar level or keep it constant. I also suggested Mom to eat in small portions or reduce consumption of fried food. Mom does not agree with me on these. Now, I think back- watch out for calories, carbonhydrates, cholestrol, and fat; eat more whole grain, fruit, veggie and yogurt- is it the definite right way of living? or am I struggling too hard to live?
Watch Mom leave the airport is a hard thing. I feel sad, but also deep inside I wish I could go back to my simple old life ...... I guess I am a grown-up now.
Posted by renh at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)