Dreamland

I

She has a beautiful name in Chinese: Mei Zhu, meaning: Plum & Bamboo.

Snugly seated in a Boeing 747, Mei Zhu is bound for a faraway dreamland, far away from her family and friends. She is leaving for Canada, the country of the Maple Leaf. Is her dream going to come true or would it turn into a nightmare? She is lost in thought.

* * * * * * *

Mei Zhu was born in an artistic family. Her father used to write poems and draw traditional Chinese paintings; and plum blossoms and bamboo were his favourite subjects in his drawings. In his poems, plum blossoms were symbolic of beauties in defiance of harsh conditions. The pine tree, bamboo and plum blossom were called “three friends in winter chills”. However, in Little Mei Zhu 's childhood, everything was smooth for her -- the loving care of her parents and sisters, one of the top pupils in school, awards and flowers... Everything seemed smooth for Mei Zhu until the "Cultural Revolution" started to prevail over the Chinese land in 1966 and the majority of the 800 million Chinese were plunged into an unprecedented disaster, especially the people in the "cultural fields". Countless professors, artists, actors and actresses were labelled “monsters and demons” representing “evil” forces. With tall dunce's caps made of kraft paper, and large placards hanging from their necks with words like " I am a demon," etc., they were paraded in busy streets, tortured by the handful of rebels. Some were beaten up, many were detained in solitary confinement, separate from their families. Stripped of self-esteem, and unable to tolerate the physical torture and emotional humiliation, quite a number of people were compelled to commit suicide.

As an artist, Mei Zhu 's father could hardly escape the cursed fate. His paintings were labelled "black" ( i.e. reactionary) and were taken away by the rebels who came to search the house without any warrant . When other groups of Mei Zhu rebels came to search the house, all the "black" paintings were gone already . So, they took away what was left -- furniture, jewellery, clothing and personal belongings. Mei Zhu 's family had to sleep on the floor during those days. Her mother, with a "black" artist as husband, and a sister in Canada, was forced to stand on a table in front of the house when she was humiliated by the rebels. Since then, her heart condition worsened due to anxiety and mental stress. Mei Zhu 's father, seeing his “brain child” gone and his wife sick, died of a broken heart, although the obvious cause was cancer.

Mei Zhu was the hardest hit by the blow! Her loving, caring and tender-hearted Dad was gone, forever! Grief and worry drained the rosy color off her almond-shaped face. She looked like a withered yellow flower. All the colorful images seemed to disappear from her vision except in her dreams. Mei Zhu often dreamed of a vast land with green pasture, dotted with little colorful unknown flowers. Sometimes, it was a vast land covered with white snow. The atmosphere seemed so peaceful and tranquil, as if it had a touch of serenity. However, more often than not, the dream would turn into a horrible nightmare, with intruders bringing havoc here, there and everywhere. Mei Zhu would wake up with cold sweat all over her. It was only after the ten years of chaos ended and the "Gang of Four" (the ring-leaders who caused the disaster) were arrested that her emotional trauma was gradually healed.

* * * * * *

Mei Zhu cannot help shuddering at the past as if the plane has jolted. She steals a glance at her fellow passengers and finds them sitting quietly and comfortably. She feels a bit relieved, realizing that nothing is wrong with the flight.

II

Upon arrival at Regina, Saskatchewan where her aunt lives, Mei Zhu is surprised to find certain similarity between the real world and her dreamland. Both seem so awesomely vast and gorgeous. She is especially impressed by the fresh air and the friendliness of the local people -- even strangers would say "Hi!" to her when she happens to see someone in the street. She soon makes several friends in the new place and her cordial Canadian friends call her May.

On the whole, May adapts herself quite well with the new way of life. She is pleased to find food in such abundant supply. At the supermarket, she is at a loss what to choose from such a great variety.

However, coming from a traditional family in a country with a history of about 5,000 years, cultural shock is inevitable. For instance, she is embarrassed to see man and woman embrace and kiss in public places, as, in her home land, boys and girls would only kiss at home or behind bushes in public parks. Due to her insufficient English, sometimes misunderstanding would crop up. For example, she is amused to find a kind of drink labelled "Canada Dry". "How can drink be dry?" Later she is told that "dry" can mean "unsweetened" as well. When she sees the sign " body shop" for the first time, she regards it as a place for body building, little knowing that it is an auto repair shop. Once she finds an advertisement for "hair removing". She wonders," Why should people want to remove their hair? Do they like to be bald?" Later, however, she learns that there is "hair" in other parts of the body as well. One day she is really shocked to see the female private parts totally revealed in the Playboy magazine. She cannot help flushing to the roots of her hair. Another day, when she is crossing a street, she discovers an elderly man in a red vest with a yellow cross and a "Stop" sign in his hand by the road side. "Why, is he a human traffic light?" Later, she learns that the main duty of the crossing guards is to escort pupils across the street. New and strange things happen almost every day in a new and strange land.

May discovers another big difference between Canada and China -- the independence of youngsters here. In their early teens, some of them start to earn pocket money by delivering newspapers, flyers, or working as pages in the public libraries. "Why are they called pages?" May wonders. "Will they grow into chapters?" Nobody seems to be able to answer her endless questions. What puzzles her most is that the youngsters , after coming-of-age, like to rent a room for themselves, even though their parents possess a spacious house. Some grown-up children still live with their parents and they pay rent. This rarely happens in China. May's aunt accommodates her for about a month. May realizes that she should find a room for herself when she learns that her cousin, who occupies the basement of his mother's house, pays rent. In China, rent was about 10% of a person's wages, but here it amounts to almost one third to half of one's earnings. May decides to go job-hunting before she can afford to rent a room of her own. She goes through the classified section of the local newspapers. Ads after ads and interview after interview, the result is always a disheartening "NO", because she lacks local experience. May is perplexed: "If you don't give me the chance to do the job, how can I accumulate local experience?" It’s like Catch-22. Eventually, however, she finds a job that solves her dilemma -- working as a live-in nanny, so she can earn some money and have a place to stay at, without having to pay rent.

III

While May and her sisters were young, they used to have a middle-aged woman as a nanny. The most memorable thing about the nanny was her endless stories, which enchanted the little ones. When little Mei Zhu told a lie, the nanny would tell her a story about a shepherd crying wolf. The nanny also told them stories about Snow White, the Fox and Sour Grapes, the lady who took an elixir and flew to the moon, the White Snake, the Cowherd and the Weaving Girl... These were often the best remedy for stopping them from crying, from misbehaving and for putting them to sleep.

* * * * * *

What a world of difference it is to have a nanny and to be a nanny! Now May has to look after two kids, aged four and six. Both are lovely girls, but lovely girls can still be naughty sometimes. With the mistress's permission, May often takes the girls to a nearby public library where she finds many interesting books. Her English is much improved by reading the books and she can tell the two girls stories, such as Winnie -- the Pooh, Curious George, Wizard of Oz, Alice in wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, the Booky Series, Jacob-Two-Two, Anne of Green Gables, in addition to the stories she heard from her nanny in China. The little ones are fascinated by May's skills for story-telling. They adore her, obey her and behave themselves so that they will be rewarded by a new story.

On the whole life is not bad as a nanny, but occasionally something unpleasant would happen. One day the temperature has dropped to -20 after a heavy snowfall. The girls want May to take them on a toboggan in the snow. To her surprise, the mistress complies with their request. May has to tow the toboggan in the chilly wind while the little ones enjoy themselves. She can hardly open her eyes in the wind. Her warm breath seems to turn into icy frost instantly. Upon returning home, her hat, her scarf and even her eyebrows are covered with white snow. Her mistress cries out, "Why, you look like a Santa Claus!" Besides, her master is a bit hot-tempered. Sometimes he is quite rude to May.

When she is unhappy, May becomes even more homesick. How she misses her family, especially her aging mother. She recalls the days when she was sick and her mother would hardly close her eyes, taking meticulous care of her at the bed-side. Maternal love is so selfless that it reminds her of a story she heard:

When a mother became too old and useless, her son did not want to support her. He carried her on his back into the remote hills to abandon her. His mother cried all the way, but meanwhile, she broke branches off the trees and threw them onto the ground. Her son, puzzled, asked her, "What are you up to?" The mother replied, with tears in her eyes, "I was so worried that you might not find your way home."

This sounds like an ironic joke, but the mother seems typical of mothers in China. Of course, there are not many children as heartless as the son in the story.

IV

After working as a nanny for over three years, May has saved enough money to start a small business of her own. Since many Canadians like Chinese cuisine, she decides to buy a small bar in Toronto, a metropolitan city with diversified cultures and various ethnic groups. May likes Toronto, because it is a mosaic rather than a melting pot. On the TTC, nobody would frown on you because you speak a strange dialect in public. In the Toronto Public Library with 98 branches conveniently located, you can find books in almost all the languages on earth. Of course, multiculturalism does not mean that each ethnic group forms an isolated kingdom within the society. Interaction among diversified groups is necessary and May wants to promote it in her own bar, which attracts people of all races and colours.

To run a bar, however small , is a tough job for May. The whole year round she almost never has a day off. On holidays she is even busier. In the morning, she has to refurnish her stock, do accounting and book-keeping... When it is open, she is the cook, waitress, cashier and dish-washer....After it is closed at midnight, she has to do cleaning etc. May is not afraid of hardships. She always bears in mind what her father told her, "Where there is a will, there is a way." She is determined to make her business a success.

As if to test her will, one misfortune comes after another. Her bar is situated in an area where many are unemployed or on welfare, some are divorced, others are sick... More than once the bar is broken in, the lamps and windows are damaged, beer and cigarettes are stolen. Some customers come to the restaurant to get drunk so as to ease their pain, whether physical or spiritual. If they drink too much, they would become hot-tempered and irritable. Once their argument grows into a fist-fight. May is scared to see a bleeding nose and a black eye. When the police come, both the drunken customers and the owner are charged with a breach of the law. The police also charge her of “selling beer to go”. They suspect there may be drug trafficking going on in her bar. Poor May does not even know what drug trafficking is. How would she figure out their jargons and secret passwords! However, May has to go to the Ontario Liquor Licence Board for a hearing. She feels like an ant on a hot frying pan, waiting for the verdict -- a suspension of business for a month or the revoke of the liquor licence...

Before going to the Hearing, she has to hire a lawyer. To her shock, the lawyer asks for a retainer of $1,500 for attending one hearing.

May is really in rough water. At night she can hardly fall asleep. She often lies in bed, tossing and wondering: Has my dream turned into another nightmare?

Gradually she feels that her head becomes heavier and heavier and her feet lighter and lighter. She is sinking into deep water. Her body seems to be shrinking. She becomes smaller and rounder. Finally she is turned into a little shining pearl. Before long, however, the pearl is covered with sand and mud. She hears herself shouting: "Help me! Discover me! Help me out!"

* * * * * * *

With her sheer determination and perseverance, as well as her friends' help, May surmounted one obstacle after another. As the old saying goes, one reaps what one has sown. Since she first landed on the fertile Canadian soil, May has reaped fruitful results from her painstaking effort. At present, she is running a prosperous business and living in a beautiful bungalow she has bought. She is happily married, now expecting a baby. What she has learnt from her own experience is that things leading to happiness usually involves pain. If one dares to dream while working in a down-to-earth manner, the dream will come true one day!

(2514 words)

January 2000, Toronto