Shengliver’s Note: This is a revised entry. Shengliver tells the story of a Chinese woman called Maria.

I met Maria once again on Monday evening. One of my Internet friends, the lady is quite an interesting character. Her life story is worth learning about.

The first time I encountered her online, Maria was somewhere in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province. She was then a teacher of English, working at a private school. She spoke decent English. Because both of us work in schools, we compared notes on teaching, students and family matters. She was kind and honest. When I was talking, she paid me a lot of compliments, saying I spoke Standard English.

As time went by, I learned more about Maria. Before she went to work in Shenzhen, she had been in Shanghai. She and one of her female friends had been running a restaurant in the metropolis. It was a slog. Being a restauranteur involves a lot of planning and labour.

I was curious about why such a good speaker of English as Maria should have operated a restaurant. Did foreigners patronise her business in Shanghai?

Not really. There is a long story behind the restaurant. Maria used to have a happy family. Her husband was the boss of a large business. Some years ago, the man, trapped in an extramarital affair, ended up divorcing Maria and getting remarried to his mistress.

How did Maria comment on her husband? “He is a good man,” Maria said. She revealed that actually her husband had been kind to her. She respected him very much. It was clear that Maria had been supportive of the man’s career. The man had been successful in running his business. Unluckily an affair broke up the couple. Maria was forgiving, believing that her man had been misguided.

I reckon Maria had been a teacher of English earlier on in her life. After her divorce, she maintained herself by running the restaurant in Shanghai. Leading an independent life, Maria did not rely on her ex for a living.

Then she was relocated to Shenzhen, a prosperous town in Guangdong Province, South China. She found a teaching position at a private school there. It was obvious that she was doing a good job, for she told me her boss at the school treated her and other teachers very well. One evening, I noticed on the cam her tutoring one of her students in her room.

She turned up occasionally in the speaking community. All the above was learned when I was chatting with her. Because she was cordial and warm, I made a mental note of the titbits of her life story when our conversation was going on.

On Monday evening (July 28th, 2008), she surfaced again. She said that in the past few months great changes had happened to her. She remarried. Probably next January she will emigrate to the United States. I was surprised.

This is what things have been. She has an epal from the United States. They have been friends for a long time. The American man fell in love with her, though he is older than Maria. Maria told me the man is 10 years her senior, but he looks very young.

Earlier this year, the American came over to China and they tied the knot probably in Shenzhen. The man is a post office employee back in the States. Their union will entitle Maria to migrate to the USA and settle down there with her new family someday. Undoubtedly, Maria is happy with the man and their love is genuine.

I wish Maria good luck in America. I asked her to come over and chat with pals in the community after she is settled in the States. She said OK. Life in a new culture is not easy and it takes a lot of adaptation. May Maria beat the challenges and be happy over the seas.

Maria’s life story, a sample of present-day China, reflects some trends which are running in Chinese society. The population having become more mobile, people are moving around the country and even abroad. Maria’s roots are in Northeast China. She is a North-easterner. Then she spent some years in Shanghai. Her current dwelling is in Shenzhen, Guangdong. The next stop on her life journey will be somewhere in the United States of America.

Divorces are more common than before. When I was a child, divorces were a rarity. Then a social stigma was attached to breakups. A failed marriage was something to be ashamed of. A lot of disgruntled couples still hung together even though there was no love between them. They claimed they were still on the same bed under the same roof for the sake of their children. In contrast, a higher divorce rate today means the Chinese people have more choices in their life and therefore greater happiness. Dysfunctional families break up and new households are set up. In my residential complex, some teacher couples get divorced and start a new marriage. Most people around are not startled by their split-ups or their new unions. Divorces, which have finally become part of mainstream Chinese culture, are accepted by the Chinese nation, which was under the influence of feudalism for tens of centuries in history.

Still I will close up the blog entry by saying, “Good luck, Maria.”