China

Our neighbor Ron joined his wife Susan in China yesterday. While they are gone, he put me in charge of their massive vegetable garden. My job is to eat as much of it as possible and maybe water a little! He even designated two specific artichokes for my mom. Today, I shall gather some strawberries, chard, lettuce, squash and mom's artichokes. Thank you!

They have been married for over three years now. Susan met Ron in Shanghai where she had been a high school English teacher. She began teaching as an 18-years old in a providence in the very northeastern section near the Russian boarder. She was a friend of a friend who was to show Ron, a dean at a college, the sites in Shanghai and which local street food was safe for him to eat with his Western immune system. Well, several trips to China followed while they fell in love.

Susan has an adult daughter still in Shanghai and visits once a year. The highlight of this year's trip is a reunion of Susan's first class of students decades ago. Her former village is so remote and small, they will be flying to another small city with an airstrip then a 12 hour train ride where they will be met as celebrities. A hotel room has been arranged and they will be escorted by the village from the train stop. She has not been back home for decades. She and her family left because her father had been assigned to Shanghai, as they were short of doctors at that time. This village is so far north that they are unable to grow rice thus she was raised on a potato-based diet. She still does not eat much rice.

I can't wait to hear Ron's impressions of rural China and all about Susan's reunion. It must be a very emotional visit for her.