A Thin Veneer

Last night, we were treated to a special Chinese New Year dinner by our employer, Sherry. All of the school's other employees were also there. They consist of "Uncle" Joe (driver/janitor), Lena (cook/light cleaning), Emily (secretary/light cleaning), and Shannon (secretary). Uncle Joe and Lena don't speak any English, so conversation was limited. Emily and Shannon are both fairly fluent (Emily is actually perfectly fluent, but she is very shy), and both give the impression of being very modern women what with the fashionable clothing and free mingling with foreigners. This is a convincing, but thin, veneer. Last night, Sherry announced that Shannon was getting married. As we were congratulating her and peppering her with questions, she revealed that her parents had arranged a marriage for her because "she was too old." (She's the same age as Paul.) Apparently, her parents were willing to let her try her hand at dating for awhile, but went the traditional route when things weren't moving along. She didn't seem too excited about it, although all of her girlfriends tried to console her by telling her their parents arranged their marriages too. At least her parents arranged for her to marry her current boyfriend. She said he is sometimes mean, which has Paul worried. Shannon is very sweet and incredibly tiny (80 lbs.) and he finds the thought of her getting stuck in an unwanted marriage very depressing, as we all do.