My “rabbit guy” and other quirks with my life in Asia. . .

Yesterday late afternoon, I was laying on my couch in a semi-vegetative state.  I find myself fighting of an “everything virus” right now that has included about every symptom known to modern medicine (I will spare you of the details).

As I was laying there, dreaming of a healthy body, I got a text.  It was in Chinese and from a contact whom I identified simply as “Wang Rabbit Guy”.  He informed me that their newest rabbit was ready to be purchased.  I replied that I will be there tomorrow to pick the little guy up.

Let me explain . . . living in Asia in high-rise apartments, pets are often not an option for people.  However, children the world over still desire to have a small, cute, and breathing animal to care for and play with.  So, rabbits are a good substitute for dogs and cats in the midst of such cramped quarters.

In the city where I just moved from (and still return to once a month for meetings), most of my friends have children . . . all of which, naturally, want a pet.  Last year, I found a great little pet store/high school girl’s trinket shop.  Seriously.  The pet portion of the store has gerbils, spiders, guinea pigs, AND, you guessed it, RABBITS.  All animals which are easy to put in a corner in a flat.

Their rabbits are cute, domesticated, and cheaper than anything in my previous city.  After I gave “Buddy” to the Todd girls for Easter last spring, I am now fielding other request to purchase rabbits for families and bring them up to the other city. 

Back to my story. . .  I now have a rabbit guy. After completing yesterday’s texting session with “Wang Rabbit Guy”, I put the phone down, got back prostrate on my couch, and began thinking.

I had just completed a five minute digital conversation, all in Chinese, with a pet rabbit dealer (you need to clarify “pet rabbit” here, as rabbit is often served for dinner) in this distant corner of the world.  He knows me by name and I him (if you count “Wang Rabbit Guy” as his name).  Then it hit me, much like the time in my Asian weight room last June, . . . my life is not exactly what I thought it would be growing up.

I have a “rabbit guy”.  My primary form of transportation is a motorbike of which I constantly drive through streets that closely resemble something out of a “Raiders of the Lost Ark” movie from my youth.  I have dear friends whom speak zero English.  My main holidays for over a decade have been the likes of the “Full Moon/Mid-Autumn Festival” (of which is going on this week and is allowing me to put more energy into blogging!), the “Dragon Boat Festival”, and of course, Chinese New Year.

It’s funny, because I have been living in Asia for so long that things like having a “rabbit guy” seem normal to me.  I have almost become jaded to it all.  However, moments like yesterday snap me back to the reality that my life is different from what I had anticipated as a high school kid in Atlanta, Georgia.

Yes, it is different.  It has many lonely times and personal drawbacks.  However, I am grateful for my life here . . . its unexpected turns, interesting (and spicy) foods, diverse landscapes, and colorful characters like “Wang Rabbit Guy”. 

Today, I am grateful that living over here allows me, from time to time, to do fun, quirky things like drive a rabbit four hours across rice paddy and pagoda laden roads and then deliver fun gifts like rabbits named “Buddy” to children like the Todd and Rupp kids.

Happy Full Moon/Mid-Autumn Festival . . . hope you are having a great week!