Chinese Family

Above is my Chines dad. His name is Yu Nian Guo. In China the family name comes before your first name. Therefore, my Chinese family's last name is Yu. Anyway, he is 55, and works for the government running a hotel. He is the General Manager. He and his son have a very tight relationship, and talk to each other as if they were brothers.

This is my Chinese mom. She is 55 years old, and works for ECNU, the university I attend, which is 5 minutes away by foot. Her name is Ren Fu Di, and I don't know why she doesn't have her husband's last name. I will ask and let you know. Anyway, she has been in summer vacation, and starts school tomorrow. She is always doing some house chore, whether it be cleaning, cooking, or doing laundry. I can seriously wear the same outfit for the whole semester if I wanted to. She does laundry every day. I neatly fold my dirty laundry in my room, and before I know it, she has already washed, dried it, and folded it in my drawer. It feels weird having her do everything for me, but they won't even let me put away my plate for breakfast or dinner. They're just trying to be hospitable...they have definitely achieved that. Nonetheless, she is very welcoming like her husband.

Next to me is Tony (American Name). His Chinese name is Yu Zi Qiang. He is 23 years old, a student, and is fluent in English. He loves hip-hop and very open and friendly. We are already really good friends, and can talk about anything. We went out together one night, and met up some of my friends in my program. All of them really liked him, and thought his English was superb. I have a feeling, Tony and I will be lifelong friends. He will leave tomorrow to start school, and will come back on the weekends, which is good because I will have to speak Chinese to my parents while he's gone.


Above are two pictures of my room. It's a pretty big and nice room. I'm pretty sure this is Tony's room but he's sleeping in his parent's room just so I can have my own room. Just a sign of how hospitable and friendly Chinese people are. I feel bad about it, but I know they will refuse, and probably feel offended if I say anything.

My bed looks like a normal bed. It really isn't. Instead of a box spring, it has wood and just two inches of padding, if that. It's really hard, and I think my back is starting to hurt because of it. I don't know if I should go out and buy padding or suck it up. I'm sure I can get used to it, plus I wouldn't want to offend my family.



Overall, I love living here. My family is beyond friendly and hospitable. I wish everyone can have the experience I'm having right now. Not for a minute do I wish I would live with an American roomate. I am away from the social hub a bit, but I think I am at a perfect medium between social life and my family life with my Chinese family. I do have to admit it's a bit awkward at times, but It will get better once I start taking my Chinese classes. I'm excited to be able to communicate with them with words, rather than sharades.