Ukrainian woman settles comfortably into the life of a Chinese family
By Li Huacheng and Xu Wei |
May 28, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE 25-year-old Iryna Cherviak, who is from Ukraine, has lived in Jiading District for four years. She is not a golden collar with a fat salary, but lives a quiet life and has a happy family.
Cherviak came to China in 2008 and married a Shanghai native. They now have a cute baby girl.
"I remember when I first came to Shanghai in August, it was scorching hot," Cherviak recalls in simple but fluent Chinese. "After I got off the plane, I cried, telling my husband that I didn't like the weather here and wanted to go back home."
Cherviak met her husband when they studied together in Ukraine. After graduation they decided to develop their careers in China.
"Before I came to China, everything I knew about China was from the terrestrial globe," she adds. She was at a loss in a strange environment.
"By the second year I was used to the life in China," Cherviak says. "I am interested in everything here."
The outgoing woman took part in a recent community singing contest.
"It was my first time performing on stage," she says. "I was so nervous that my hands got cold. I sang and danced desperately. I didn't deliver a good performance but I enjoyed the process."
Though Cherviak didn't advance to the final, her performance impressed neighbors. Now she is a grassroots star in the community.
Cherviak loves to take adventure. One day when the young couple was shopping in a supermarket, various novel fruits caught Cherviak's eyes. She was very interested in the thorny durian. After explaining his bad impression on the durian, the husband bought some for her. Cherviak tried the fruit and said, "Although I believe what you said, I'd like to have a try myself, so that I can be sure it really doesn't fit me."
In September, the family will go to Ukraine to visit Cherviak's mother. She has prepared a full house of gifts for her mother. In her eyes, there are too many interesting Chinese things to share with her family.
Cherviak works as a tea specialist in Shanghai. She gives bilingual tea art performances at high-end teahouses.
"I used to work as a waitress and an interpreter, but I love the job as a tea specialist," she says. "We only have black and green teas in Ukraine. But here there are many different types of tea. I like Chinese tea culture."
After work, Cherviak's favorite hobby is to shop on Taobao.com with her mother-in-law. In the eyes of her husband, the two are just like sisters - Cherviak teaches her mother-in-law computer skills while her mother-in-law teaches her Chinese.
In her leisure time, Cherviak also learns flower planting from her father-in-law. Over the past two years, she has grown many roses on the terrace of the third floor.
"There is a lot of knowledge about flower planting, from selecting flower seeds to watering the flowers," she says. "It makes me feel more calm and tranquil inside."
Cherviak came to China in 2008 and married a Shanghai native. They now have a cute baby girl.
"I remember when I first came to Shanghai in August, it was scorching hot," Cherviak recalls in simple but fluent Chinese. "After I got off the plane, I cried, telling my husband that I didn't like the weather here and wanted to go back home."
Cherviak met her husband when they studied together in Ukraine. After graduation they decided to develop their careers in China.
"Before I came to China, everything I knew about China was from the terrestrial globe," she adds. She was at a loss in a strange environment.
"By the second year I was used to the life in China," Cherviak says. "I am interested in everything here."
The outgoing woman took part in a recent community singing contest.
"It was my first time performing on stage," she says. "I was so nervous that my hands got cold. I sang and danced desperately. I didn't deliver a good performance but I enjoyed the process."
Though Cherviak didn't advance to the final, her performance impressed neighbors. Now she is a grassroots star in the community.
Cherviak loves to take adventure. One day when the young couple was shopping in a supermarket, various novel fruits caught Cherviak's eyes. She was very interested in the thorny durian. After explaining his bad impression on the durian, the husband bought some for her. Cherviak tried the fruit and said, "Although I believe what you said, I'd like to have a try myself, so that I can be sure it really doesn't fit me."
In September, the family will go to Ukraine to visit Cherviak's mother. She has prepared a full house of gifts for her mother. In her eyes, there are too many interesting Chinese things to share with her family.
Cherviak works as a tea specialist in Shanghai. She gives bilingual tea art performances at high-end teahouses.
"I used to work as a waitress and an interpreter, but I love the job as a tea specialist," she says. "We only have black and green teas in Ukraine. But here there are many different types of tea. I like Chinese tea culture."
After work, Cherviak's favorite hobby is to shop on Taobao.com with her mother-in-law. In the eyes of her husband, the two are just like sisters - Cherviak teaches her mother-in-law computer skills while her mother-in-law teaches her Chinese.
In her leisure time, Cherviak also learns flower planting from her father-in-law. Over the past two years, she has grown many roses on the terrace of the third floor.
"There is a lot of knowledge about flower planting, from selecting flower seeds to watering the flowers," she says. "It makes me feel more calm and tranquil inside."
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