The good news though, Wednesday night at English corner, Yummy, a good friend of Apple and Vicky's let me know that they were both doing well in Guangzhou. I found out through her that conditions at their work and apartment were actually better than they had initially anticipated, which they were happy about. This was relieving to me as well. I am currently reading Oracle Bones, a follow-up to River Town that discusses the lives of some of Hessler's students after they leave school for jobs. Some of the conditions they faced after migrating to the big cities sounded less than ideal.
Today, I was happy to hear from Apple herself. She e-mailed me the following...
Hello Scott,
I fell terribly sorry that I did not reply your e-mail, because we were fully occupied by our new job, and what’s more the computers in our dormitory hadn’t linked to the internet for the last several days. Except for this, everything is ok around us. We got a fine apartment as our dormitory and a fully equipped office. We are mainly responsible for replying emails from our foreign clients on line and talk with them in the trade fairs. So we use English frequently.
Thank you for taking us to dinner Nov 29. it will surely be part of my most precious memory that would never be erased. I will always remember with the vivid pleasure you were together with us. Thank you for being so patient with us, especially practicing with me kindly.
At the beginning of our job, everything is new and hard for us, but we will endeavor to make it.
With best wishes, Apple
It is exciting to hear that they are doing well and I am looking forward to hearing more stories like this after my class graduates at the end of January and they begin to spread out across Guangdong Province and China.
No comments:
Post a Comment