老人 (old people)

After reading a passage in our textbook about elderly people and life after retirement, our class was given an assignment. Our mission, whether we chose to accept it or not, was to walk all together to a public park near the school and interview lao ren (old people) about their lives as retirees. Some of the guiding questions, I thought, were a bit rude. For instance, Are you very lonely now that you are retired? Do your children take care of you? Are you afraid of going to a retirement home? What hardships have you faced as an old person? Do you feel that society has forsaken you?

Three of us approached an older woman walking along the path. We were afraid she would think us sketchy for approaching her, but actually, she wanted to talk to us because she had seen all the other American students, and she wanted to know what we were doing. When we asked if we could interview her, she was flattered and told us that she used to work as a dress-maker, but now she is retired. She lives with two of her children, and the third lives in the US. We asked her if she liked retired life, and she said that she did. She often walks around the park, buys a snack (she was holding a small plastic bag of steaming pastries), and then returns home to watch television and relax. She plans to travel to Los Angeles to visit her other child in the spring. So she is content to be with her family and travel.

Although I dreaded approaching strangers in the park and speaking Chinese to them, it ended up being a lot of fun. I think it really boosted my confidence to have a real conversation with someone other than teachers and students.