(Cross-posted on the CHAFF Blog.)
I woke up late, not because it is Easter Sunday, but because, last night, we enjoyed a great Chinese meal, cooked by a dear friend, at home.
So, a belated Happy Easter to all of you.
Tingting is just 21 years old. She is a personality whom, once you meet, you will not forget. She has a brain which works like a computer - items get saved onto it like a hard disk and it churns away to get the right result.
I met Tingting about six months ago at a CHAFF meeting. We have become fast friends. She Skype's or Gizmo's me whenever she wants to discuss something to get a bit of information from my experience. And she processes the information she gets very wisely. As she says, she is an "old (Ed: mature) brain on a young frame"!
All this time she has been wanting to meet Annikki. She had brought her two lovely gifts from China, but yet she was unable to meet her.
So, yesterday, she Skyped me and said she wanted to cook us a Chinese meal. So, I went and picked her up in the morning and we chose the ingredients.
As Susaana and Asha are here with us, we had to observe some rules - no pork, prawns, dairy products, etc.
But that was no problem for Tingting - as her mind works like a register - it just processed that information and when we went shopping, it was so unique. She knew exactly what to buy. We were in and out of the shop in less than 15 minutes.
Asha and I picked up Tingting at exactly 18:30 in the evening. When she entered our home she brought a brightness which was so enthralling. Both Susanna and Annikki took to this young lady, who speaks everything from the heart. She tells it like it is and maybe, in time, she will have to learn that diplomacy may require her to keep some of her deepmost feelings hidden. But for Annikki and Susanna, who love people who speak the truth, this was quite an experience.
After a little chit-chat, including telling us how some Chinese eat monkey brains directly from a live monkey place in the centre of a table, a practice she thought repulsive, Tingting wanted to get to work. 
It was amazing how this youngster took charge of the kitchen, where even the big boss of the JM family, Susanna, was reduced to being a kitchen helper. Annikki took care of producing the rice in the upstairs kitchen while Tingting worked with our limited cookware. Susanna was busy chopping vegetables and scrubbing pots and pans, while I laid the table with Chinese bowls and glasses, found the chopsticks, and before I knew it, I was moving the cooked food from the kitchen to the dining room.
Besides the rice, in a matter of a few minutes this wizard had produced a delicious Chinese soup, and four separate dishes - each one a masterpiuiece, and knowing that Asha could not take too much spice, each dish was tailored to the exact spice level that even Asha would be able to eat it.
When all the dishes were on the table, I was under the impression that we would have a buffet. But Tingting quickly pooh-poohed that idea. She had the dining table cleared of the chess set and other paraphenalia and said that when you have a Chinese meal, you have to eat it Chinese style, sitting around the table and helping yourself directly from the serving dishes placed in the centre of the table.
As I glanced around the table, I saw such faces that showed that all the participants, including Asha, were really enjoying the food as much as I was. And the talk around the table went from one topic to another, showing that Tingting was one of our family.
Tingting was amazed as to how we had brought up four children. She is a product of the Chinese one-child policy and could never imagine anyone having more than one offspring. She looked at Annikki in wonderment. I must say, as I was an errant father in India, as I was away almost two weeks on the road every month, I, too, am amazed how Annikki managed to raise our four kids in a strange country and manage it so well.
Tingting had already adopted me as one of her fatherly guides in Finland many months ago. Now, she won the hearts of all my family who sat around the table.
After such a superb meal, which ended with Annikki serving a portion for Mika, Tingting and Susanna chatted till it was time for Tingting to go home.
Asha and I dropped her back to her flat and we thanked her.
This young girl had brought a different and meaningful Easter message to our home in her own quiet way - and for that we ever remain in her gratitude.
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