Airplane Ticket and My Future Mother-in-Law

My first time buying an airplane ticket to another country, to anywhere for that matter.  The closest I have been to an airplane was years ago.  I was little and I would watch the plane take off with my father on-board on his way to business trips.  The thought of being on an aircraft is both exciting and scary at the same time.  The unknown is scary but it is what you do with your fear that makes you brave.

Traveling over 7,000 miles will give me a lot of experience being on an aircraft.  I've been doing a lot of readings on what to do on long flights and I have an idea of what can keep be occupied.  I also have done readings on what to expect for international travels. 

Booking my ticket:

My friend GA told me to keep looking and to sign up to get notifications.  GA has done a lot of travel so I took his advice, although I did not sign up to be notified.  I kept checking month after month for any change.  I was able to find a great price for a round trip ticket.  Thanks to Expedia, it was easy to find a low price and it was easy to book a flight.

I always thought it was going to be more difficult to book a flight but it was a lot easier.  I even signed up for a special miles reward program with the airlines I will be using.  All I have to do now is to get my paperwork and travel documents together.

My future mother-in-law:

My future mother-in-law is so happy to hear I'm coming.  She is very excited and is counting down the days.  She is so kind to me.  She keeps telling Yu to keep asking when I am going to get there.  She is so excited that it makes me even more excited about going to see her.  She was so filled with joy when she found out I booked my flight.

Today I talked with her though video chat.  Yu helped translate because of my poor Chinese and her poor English.  She misses me so much.  I miss her too.  She is always so nice to me and always wanting to help if people are sick.  Today she told me that she misses me so much and that I will see her very soon.  She kept telling Yu to give me the family ring.  The ring is very dear to her.  It was passed down from generation to generation.  In American culture, we have similar traditions.  I think it is a great honor she wants me to have it.

My future mother-in-law is wanting to teach me how to cook Chinese food, not the Americanized way.  I am looking forward to it.  She also wants to help me learn Chinese.  "Keep learning!" she says to me always.

I feel like our relationship is much better than it was when I first started to date Yu.  At first she didn't like the idea of her son dating an American girl.  She had no idea about me and who I was as a person.  I was so nervous about meeting her the first time.  I received her approval which made me so happy.

In Chinese culture there are expectations on men to be deemed as date-able, you have to have a house, a car, money, and a good paying job.  Yu's mom thought that if Chinese have this expectation that the Americans will have a higher expectation.  Owning a house, a car, and having money to burn is very difficult for anyone  and in China it is even more difficult due to work and higher taxes.  Essentially it is cheaper in the USA than in China.

She was so shocked that my expectations  were different than the norm in China.  I expect Yu to respect me, love me, and show effort in a life with me.  She was happy to know I accept her son the way he is. 

My future mother-in-law kept telling her friends and other people in her life that her son's American girlfriend is coming to visit  and will marry her son.  I am so happy to be able to see her very soon.

The train.  When I go to see my mother-in-law I will get to go on the train to her city.