Ayi

One thing we will really miss about being here is our Ayi, Juanzi (pron jew-EN-zuh). She has been with us since the end of last April, and I know I've blogged about her before. After some initial challenges in communication and styles (like not letting Magdalena cry it out for nap), we have all come to love her as one of the family.

The girls especially like her, getting excited when she arrives in the morning, and taking turns chorusing "Zai Jian!" (good bye!) every night to her when she leaves. Lucia has even requested that Juanzi pick her up from school rather than either myself or Alex! (She did get her wish last Friday since I was in Shanghai - a future post for sure!)

We have been so fortunate to have such a loving person for our helper, Juanzi has a 3 year old daughter of her own, and really knows how to take care of kids. She is also a great cook, excellent cleaner, and very nice and funny person. I have enjoyed our conversations, and can honestly say that she is the main reason that my Chinese language skills are even close to decent. Whenever I had a Chinese lesson, I would practice all my new words and phrases on her, and that would really help cement them in my head. Plus, she would correct me if I said something wrong or with the incorrect pronunciation, which was invaluable. We will be looking for something very special to do for her before we go... only three weeks left!


Juanzi feeding Magdalena lunch:

From Blog All Four

Mmmm- big bite!

From Blog All Four