Jing, now 13, has been clashing with her mom for a while about the typical things. There’s also the cultural gap to excavate. I listen to her complaints, sympathetic yet fascinated by the situation.
Me: Your mom just wants you to work hard and be the best you can be.
Jing: She’s always talking about her past! And I think she lies about the grades she made in school.
Me: So maybe you don’t know for sure. But she tells you these things so you can learn from her experience. Because your life here is so different from hers in China. You can learn from your parents’ past.
Jing: Why would I want to know about my parents’ past? All they do is carry water from the river back and forth and talk about things they only got to eat once a month.
That’s so funny! : )