Around early summer of 2006, thinking to move out from the rental apartment in 6 months, but somehow the rental contract auto extended for 1 year. While trying to negotiate with the rental agent at the Friday afternoon, I received the phone call from Maggie asking me if I wanted to have friends' get together. So we met at the Meadowood park.
聚會中遇到了 Elena 張鴻雁來自福清。她在 Baltimore 住和工作了很久。她已自己買了房子。她工作的地方離我工作的公司很近。她跟我姐年齡一樣，穿著打扮都差不多。我向她谘詢了租房子的事情。
There I met Elena Zhang (Hongyan Zhang) . She 's been living in Baltimore for long time, working for a company very close to the place I work at, and owning her own house. She is same age as my elder sister and dresses in similar style like her. I consulted her about the rental issue.
我們5個人一起吃飯聊天。在緊接著的周末， Elena 和我一起出去吃飯聊天，其它人都有別的安排。她跟我說她馬上要結婚了，開始準備婚禮。她邀請我下個周末去她家玩。
5 of us had a great dinner and chat in the restaurant. In the following weekend, Elena and I gathered together while others had different events to attend. She told me that she's going to get married soon and preparing for the wedding. She invited me to her house next weekend.
在緊接著的周末我開車去了她家，把車停在她家停車場。她開車載著我們兩先去了她的修改衣服的一個越南裁縫家去改她剛購買的衣服。然後去了 Towson Town Center Shopping Mall 室內購物中心。她進店前在耳朵上夾了藍牙對講機。走了一陣，她突然跟我說她的藍牙不見了。我看了她的耳朵，是不在了。我們一起往回找到她停車的地方。我們在車裏車外都搜了一遍，把各自的手袋包包都全看了一遍，也沒找到。我們繼續逛商場。她買了很多衣服和手飾用品。我隻找到了一件橘色的背心。但是覺得很開心。我們看了好幾家首飾店，她在找一個完美的訂婚戒指，但沒找到。後來聽她說她的費城開金店的朋友幫她訂做了。
In the following Friday, I drove to her apartment and parked it in her place. She drove both of us first to her tailor, an Vietnamese woman, to alter the dresses, then Towson Town Center Shopping Mall. She went with a blue-tooth clipped on her ear and somehow she noticed it wasn't on her ear anymore after walked for a while. So we went back together to her car to look for it and couldn’t find it. However that didn't stop us shopping. She bought many dresses and some jewelries. I bought an orange tan-top only, but enjoyed the window shopping. We surfed many jewelry stores as she was looking for a perfect engagement diamond ring. Late,she told me that her friend owning jewelry store in Philadelphia custom made one for her.
晚上我們一起在她家煮飯看錄像。看了奧代麗.赫本演的 Tiffany's Breakfast 。她是赫本的粉絲，收藏了很多赫本的電影錄像盤。
At the evening we watched the movie in her house. It was Tiffany's Breakfast starred by Audrey Hepburn. She is a big fan of Hepburn that has big collection of Hepburn's movie DVDs.
Wenbing Song 群發給我們電子郵件參加顏料球槍擊遊戲。 Elena 和她的未婚夫本來是要參加的，但取消了。我想嚐試一下玩這種遊戲，就去了。但是對於相互射擊顏料不是太感興趣，就提早離開了。
Wenbing Song sent email to all of us inviting to paintball game. Elena and her fiance planned to go, but canceled at the last minute. I attended the game to experience what exactly it is. I didn't find much fun by shooting each other with blast of colorful paint and left early.
一天去了 Elena 的住處看真在出售的套房，就帶上從Niagara Fall 帶回的旅遊紀念品杯子去拜訪了她。她和她未婚夫一起買了大房子。她真在搬家。我幫她搬東西，也去了他們的新家。她從陽台上搬出一堆餐蹀問我要不要。那些是她母親從中國帶給她的，但是太老氣了，她讓Wenbing Song 拿走，但是他一直沒有取。我能用上，就拿了。她幫我一起跟房子銷售員談了房子。我不是特別喜歡那套房子，就沒買。
One day went to see an apartment in Elena's neighborhood and visited her to give her a souvenir mug brought back from Niagara Fall. She and her fiance bought a big house and she was moving out. Helped her move and visited her new house. She gave me her old set of dinner plates brought from China by her mother. She said they've been stacked in the balcony for a while. She had asked Wenbing Song to take them before, but never happened. She had to clean up the apartment. I could use them, so took them. She helped me discuss with the real estate agent about the house. The apartment isn't what exactly I like, so I didn't proceed to buy it.
Elena 舉辦了新房慶祝會。我買了牆上裝飾像框做為禮物參加了。認識了一些人，王梅 (馬來亞華裔住在紐約市），杜凱英，和她男朋友 Chester （都是台灣人）等。凱英和她男朋友銷售房子。他們幫Elena 低價買了這棟大房子，願意幫我找房子。他們發給我一些房子的信息。我繼續在網上看房子，參加房子出售活動。
Elena's house warming party was great. I bought a wall decorative picture frames as the gift. There I met new people, May Wong ( Overseas Chinese of Malaysia) , Kaiing Duh and her boy friend Chester ( Chinese from Taiwan )...etc. Kaiing and her boyfriend are real estate agents. Kaiing told me that they helped Elena make the great deal of the house and willing to help me locate a house. Later she sent me emails of houses for sale. I kept looking for house online and attending open house events.
Elena 邀請我做她的伴娘，後來說為了接待從中國來在家婚禮的家人，她要去加利福尼亞得親戚家舉行婚禮。我不能去，她的費城的朋友答應陪她去。不過最後婚禮還是在 Baltimore舉行了。
她老公家裏的女眷和Eric Nie 的女朋友做了伴娘。
Elena asked me to be her bridesmaid, then she told me that she's planning to host the wedding at her relatives' place in California to accommodate her family members from China. And I couldn't go. Her friend in Philadelphia agreed to company her there. However she finalized to have the wedding in Baltimore at last and had her husbands' family members and Eric Nie's girl friend as her bridesmaids.
一個下午出差返程途中在飛機場接到 Elena 的電話。她問我能不能周六陪她去試婚紗。我很高心得答應了。後來回到家裏才想到我已約好去車庫修車。我打電話給她，在電話上留了言。
One Friday afternoon in the airport for the business trip on the way back home I received phone call from Elena asking me if could company her to try wedding gown Saturday. I agreed right away, and later after I arrived home, then realized that I had an appointment with the garage to fix my car. I called her and left the message of explanation.
2006年聖誕節前一個月左右，Elena問我想不想節日去巴黎玩。那時她已在 Baltimore市區一家新公司工作了一段時間，經常出國出差。我說很不錯因為我從來沒去過。後來我妹妹電話給我要來我這裏過節，我就打電話給Elena說不去了。
One month or so before 2006 Christmas, Elena asked me if I wanted to tour Paris during the holiday. She then had been working for a new company in Baltimore city for a while and traveled internationally often. I told her that it would be great since I've never been there and I would think about it. Late knowing that my younger sister was going to visit me during the holiday I notified Elena that I couldn't go.
12月31日晚，我開車帶我妹去Fells Point 吃飯轉悠。我迷路了。在之前我跟著Elena, Wenbing Song, Eric, Eric 的女朋友, LiuYang, and LiuYang 的男朋友去過一次。我打電話給Elena 問路。Elena 說在試裙子，喊Frank在電話裏給我開車路線。
At the evening of December 31st , I tried to drive to the Fells Point to show my sister around. I got lost. Before I went once to Fells Point with Elena, Wenbing Song, Eric, Eric's girl friend, LiuYang, and LiuYang's boy friend. So I made phone call to Elena for direction. She told me she was busy on trying dresses and left the phone to Frank to answer the question.
我跟Maggie, Wenbing Song, May Wong 一起參加了婚禮。王梅是 Elena 在紐約的好朋友。她們以前一起租過房子。Elena 電話給我問我王梅能不能在婚禮結束後在我家住一晚，因為她家的房間都安排掉了。我說沒問題，但是我的租用公寓房沒有配備全套家具和多餘的床。王梅需要帶自己的睡袋。Maggie, Wenbing Song, Eric Nie, 和我一起在Macy合買了一份禮物。
I attended the wedding along with Maggie, Wenbing Song, May Wong. May Wong is Elena's close friend from NYC。Elena and May used to share the apartment. Elena asked me if May could stay in my apartment for one night after the wedding ceremony because her house' rooms had been arranged for family members. I told her no problem. But May had to bring her own sleeping bag since I don't have full set of furniture and extra bed. Maggie, Wenbing Song, Eric Nie, and I together bought the wedding gift.
婚禮當天，我開車帶上王梅去了 Maggie家，把車停在了她家停車處。在那裏等了有一段時間，沒料到 Maggie 還沒準備好。等的當中我發現沒塗口紅，就問Maggie 借了一支口紅。婚禮結束後，我把口紅還給了她。 Maggie 開了她的白色奔馳車帶我們去舉辦婚禮的別墅。途中我們接了 Wenbing Song。我們有點晚了。 Eric 和他的女朋友早就到達了。我急衝衝的走進辦儀式的大廳。
I drove May Wong and I to the Maggie's house and parked there. Waited for Maggie to be ready for a while and I realized that forgot to paint the lips, so I asked Maggie if I could use her spare lipstick. She gave me one which was returned back to her after the wedding. On the way Maggie droving us to the wedding place, we picked up Wenbing Song. We were kind late. Eric and his girl friend had already been there.
婚禮辦的特別隆重。 Elena 的夫家是越南姓氏（Nguyen)。但是她告訴我他們祖上是中國人。因為很早就移民到了美國，所以都不會說中文。他們的老奶奶都不會說中文。我用英文跟她聊了幾句。在接觸中感覺到她的公公並不歡迎中國人長相的客人。 Kaiing 告訴我 Elena的哥哥從中國帶了冬蟲夏草送給她。因為她幫助了買房子。問我知不知道吃法。我告訴她，我從來沒吃過，不清楚。
The wedding ceremony was great. The family Elena married to has the Vietnamese last name(Nguyen). But she told me they are actually Chinese origin. They don't speak Chinese because their family has been immigrating into USA for generations. I chatted in English with her' husband's grandma. The father in law seems not welcoming our group of Chinese looking friends. Kaiing told me that Elena's brother brought sac fungi, expensive herb, from China for the wedding and gifted her for her contribution on the house deal making. She asked me what is the recipe to eat sac fungi. I told her that I'd never tried it in my life and have no idea about it.
婚禮結束後一天早上上班時， Elena 打電話給我問我喜不喜歡她的婚禮。我說很不錯，特別是法國大廚準備的婚宴。她問我有沒有拿走我們就坐的婚宴桌中心的花束。我告訴她婚禮中 Kaiing 曾經跟我說過婚禮主持告訴她桌上的花束可以拿走。她和Chester準備帶回家。但是我不清楚他們最後是不是拿了。其他同一桌的人隻拿了指定的禮物，一個小小的四方形的紅色雙喜婚燭和一個玻璃杯蹀。 Maggie 開車帶我們4人離開了婚禮場所。她讓我猜她婆婆有多大年紀。在婚禮上，她婆婆看起來比她公公小很多。我就給了一個數字，結果是比真實年齡小了很多。她告訴我她要改成夫家的姓了。我們就聊了聊東西方習俗在這方麵的區別。
Some morning after the wedding, while I'm at work, Elena called me to ask how I like the wedding. I told her it was great, especially the dinner prepared by the french chef. She asked me if I took the bouquet flowers centered at the dinner table that all Chinese guests sit at. I told her I remembered Kaiing Duh approached me during the wedding and told me that she was told that the flowers can be taken home. Then she and her boy friend went to get the one on our table. Not sure if she did actually take or not. The rest of us on the table just took the little square red gift candle with double happiness Chinese word on it and glass coaster specified as take-home gift. Maggie drove 4 of us back home from the wedding. Then she asked me to guess how old her mother in law is and we talked how young her mother in law looks and how well she is getting along with her. She told me she's going to register her last name to her husband's family name. I made some comments about the difference on this matter between Chinese and the west culture.
Elena 蜜月歸來, Kaiing 安排了飯局。Wenbing Song, Maggie and I 沒參加因為有其它安排。Elena 夫婦和Kaiing 和男朋友參加了。
After Elena came back from her honeymoon, Kaiing arranged a dinner gathering. Wenbing Song, Maggie and I didn't attend because we all had other arrangements. So Elena and her husband and Kaiing and her boy friend gathered.
後來，通過電子郵件， Elena 發給我們了她的蜜月和小孩的照片。
Through emails, Elena sent us the pictures of her honeymoon and baby later.
