popo

this blog post is mainly for my family, but if you like stories of crazy coincidences and long lost loved ones, you might also appreciate it.

from the time when i was 8 months old to when i was 3 years old, a shanghainese nanny took care of me (and my brother, he was born somewhere in there..!). at the time, this nanny was already 65 years old or so. she had retired, and her kids were already all grown up and living independently in shanghai or elsewhere in china. after she left my family, my parents continued to send christmas cards and try to keep in touch, but we really didn't know that much about "popo" other than the fact that she had returned to shanghai.

when i decided to come to shanghai for the summer, we tried to contact her! even though we knew she must be at like 85 years old now. we succeeded in reaching her by phone and having teddy speak shanghainese dialect with her to find out her address. so now you can probably guess... yesterday i went to see my popo, for the first time in 17 years :)

she lives 13 metro stops away from me in zhongshan park. i went over to her apartment around 3 and stayed all the way until 8! it was a whirlwind experience but i will try to record some of the more important details. my popo met me at the gate to her apartment complex, aided by her daughter. apparently she had waited out in the sun the entire hour that it took me to traverse shanghai! couldn't be convinced otherwise.

we went inside and i met the two sons with whom she lives. they are all very nice and have a lovely, several-generation home. little did i know, popo altogether has 3 daughters, 4 sons, 9 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren! more amazing yet, she is now 87 years old, and all her children are in their 50s and 60s. her great grandchildren are my age or a bit younger. here's her home:

anyway, we sat and talked in her living room for hours. she is extremely healthy and lively, but her mind shows her age a little bit. she kept repeating how much she loved my mother and father, how much they loved her, and how well she got along with each of my grandmothers. she remembers the layout of our home, and how my room and my brothers room were right next to hers, so if she ever heard us crying she would come straight away and give us something to eat! she also remembers sitting by the playpen and throwing us "cereals" while she knitted us sweaters or mended clothes. she thinks my mom is the most hardworking lady in the world and my dad is the most handsome dude. ha. she bragged, since she was a midwife in her career, she knew best how to take care of babies! so here she is, reunited with one of her babies. below that, with her children and a great grandson at the dinner table:

we had all these conversations entirely in mandarin (a second language for both of us, since popo's family speaks shanghai dialect). by the time we had eaten a wonderful home-cooked meal, my head ached from thinking and trying so hard to understand and speak chinese for such an extended period of time. but i can't think of anything more rewarding. she cried when i left and made me promise to come back and stay one night. the only things she said in english the entire day were "tigertail, los alamitos" "san diego grandma" and "i love you grace" :)