2006年早夏，打算在半年内从租用的套房搬出，但是租用合同自动延期了一年。一个星期五下午真打电话给租房办事人员，我接到Maggie的电话问我想不想参与朋友聚会。我们在Meadowood 公园汇头。
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.
聚会中遇到了 Elena 张鸿雁来自福清。她在 Baltimore 住和工作了很久。她已自己买了房子。她工作的地方离我工作的公司很近。她跟我姐年龄一样，穿着打扮都差不多。我向她咨询了租房子的事情。
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.
我们5个人一起吃饭聊天。在紧接着的周末， Elena 和我一起出去吃饭聊天，其它人都有别的安排。她跟我说她马上要结婚了，开始准备婚礼。她邀请我下个周末去她家玩。
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.
在紧接着的周末我开车去了她家，把车停在她家停车场。她开车载着我们两先去了她的修改衣服的一个越南裁缝家去改她刚购买的衣服。然后去了 Towson Town Center Shopping Mall 室内购物中心。她进店前在耳朵上夹了蓝牙对讲机。走了一阵，她突然跟我说她的蓝牙不见了。我看了她的耳朵，是不在了。我们一起往回找到她停车的地方。我们在车里车外都搜了一遍，把各自的手袋包包都全看了一遍，也没找到。我们继续逛商场。她买了很多衣服和手饰用品。我只找到了一件橘色的背心。但是觉得很开心。我们看了好几家首饰店，她在找一个完美的订婚戒指，但没找到。后来听她说她的费城开金店的朋友帮她订做了。
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.
晚上我们一起在她家煮饭看录像。看了奥代丽.赫本演的 Tiffany's Breakfast 。她是赫本的粉丝，收藏了很多赫本的电影录像盘。
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 群发给我们电子邮件参加颜料球枪击游戏。 Elena 和她的未婚夫本来是要参加的，但取消了。我想尝试一下玩这种游戏，就去了。但是对于相互射击颜料不是太感兴趣，就提早离开了。
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 的住处看真在出售的套房，就带上从Niagara Fall 带回的旅游纪念品杯子去拜访了她。她和她未婚夫一起买了大房子。她真在搬家。我帮她搬东西，也去了他们的新家。她从阳台上搬出一堆餐蹀问我要不要。那些是她母亲从中国带给她的，但是太老气了，她让Wenbing Song 拿走，但是他一直没有取。我能用上，就拿了。她帮我一起跟房子销售员谈了房子。我不是特别喜欢那套房子，就没买。
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 举办了新房庆祝会。我买了墙上装饰像框做为礼物参加了。认识了一些人，王梅 (马来亚华裔住在纽约市），杜凯英，和她男朋友 Chester （都是台湾人）等。凯英和她男朋友销售房子。他们帮Elena 低价买了这栋大房子，愿意帮我找房子。他们发给我一些房子的信息。我继续在网上看房子，参加房子出售活动。
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 邀请我做她的伴娘，后来说为了接待从中国来在家婚礼的家人，她要去加利福尼亚得亲戚家举行婚礼。我不能去，她的费城的朋友答应陪她去。不过最后婚礼还是在 Baltimore举行了。
她老公家里的女眷和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.
一个下午出差返程途中在飞机场接到 Elena 的电话。她问我能不能周六陪她去试婚纱。我很高心得答应了。后来回到家里才想到我已约好去车库修车。我打电话给她，在电话上留了言。
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年圣诞节前一个月左右，Elena问我想不想节日去巴黎玩。那时她已在 Baltimore市区一家新公司工作了一段时间，经常出国出差。我说很不错因为我从来没去过。后来我妹妹电话给我要来我这里过节，我就打电话给Elena说不去了。
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，我开车带我妹去Fells Point 吃饭转悠。我迷路了。在之前我跟着Elena, Wenbing Song, Eric, Eric 的女朋友, LiuYang, and LiuYang 的男朋友去过一次。我打电话给Elena 问路。Elena 说在试裙子，喊Frank在电话里给我开车路线。
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 一起参加了婚礼。王梅是 Elena 在纽约的好朋友。她们以前一起租过房子。Elena 电话给我问我王梅能不能在婚礼结束后在我家住一晚，因为她家的房间都安排掉了。我说没问题，但是我的租用公寓房没有配备全套家具和多余的床。王梅需要带自己的睡袋。Maggie, Wenbing Song, Eric Nie, 和我一起在Macy合买了一份礼物。
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.
婚礼当天，我开车带上王梅去了 Maggie家，把车停在了她家停车处。在那里等了有一段时间，没料到 Maggie 还没准备好。等的当中我发现没涂口红，就问Maggie 借了一支口红。婚礼结束后，我把口红还给了她。 Maggie 开了她的白色奔驰车带我们去举办婚礼的别墅。途中我们接了 Wenbing Song。我们有点晚了。 Eric 和他的女朋友早就到达了。我急冲冲的走进办仪式的大厅。
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.
婚礼办的特别隆重。 Elena 的夫家是越南姓氏（Nguyen)。但是她告诉我他们祖上是中国人。因为很早就移民到了美国，所以都不会说中文。他们的老奶奶都不会说中文。我用英文跟她聊了几句。在接触中感觉到她的公公并不欢迎中国人长相的客人。 Kaiing 告诉我 Elena的哥哥从中国带了冬虫夏草送给她。因为她帮助了买房子。问我知不知道吃法。我告诉她，我从来没吃过，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.
婚礼结束后一天早上上班时， Elena 打电话给我问我喜不喜欢她的婚礼。我说很不错，特别是法国大厨准备的婚宴。她问我有没有拿走我们就坐的婚宴桌中心的花束。我告诉她婚礼中 Kaiing 曾经跟我说过婚礼主持告诉她桌上的花束可以拿走。她和Chester准备带回家。但是我不清楚他们最后是不是拿了。其他同一桌的人只拿了指定的礼物，一个小小的四方形的红色双喜婚烛和一个玻璃杯蹀。 Maggie 开车带我们4人离开了婚礼场所。她让我猜她婆婆有多大年纪。在婚礼上，她婆婆看起来比她公公小很多。我就给了一个数字，结果是比真实年龄小了很多。她告诉我她要改成夫家的姓了。我们就聊了聊东西方习俗在这方面的区别。
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 蜜月归来, Kaiing 安排了饭局。Wenbing Song, Maggie and I 没参加因为有其它安排。Elena 夫妇和Kaiing 和男朋友参加了。
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.
后来，通过电子邮件， Elena 发给我们了她的蜜月和小孩的照片。
Through emails, Elena sent us the pictures of her honeymoon and baby later.
