โฮมสเตย์

Li Wei! Welcome, welcome! Come on in. Oh, please leave your shoes at the door — we're a shoes-off house. Let me show you to your room. And please, call me Karen.

Absolutely, the desk is all yours. Here's a spare key for the front door — please lock up if you're the last one to leave or come home late. The Wi-Fi password is on the fridge. Let me go over a few house rules.

Nothing too strict. Breakfast is at 7:30 and dinner is at 6:30 — let me know if you won't be home for dinner so I don't make too much. You're welcome to use the kitchen to make lunch, but please clean up after yourself. The bathroom is shared — I usually shower in the morning, so evenings would be better for you. And laundry — you can do your laundry on Wednesdays. I'll show you how the washer works.

Thanks for telling me! No shellfish, got it. I'll keep that in mind when cooking. If there's any food you really can't eat or really love, just let me know. I try to make a variety — tonight we're having chicken pot pie. Have you ever had that?

That's very sweet of you! You don't have to do much, but helping set the table for dinner and putting your dishes in the dishwasher would be great. Oh, and one more thing — my husband David gets up very early for work, so please keep it quiet after 10 PM.

Li Wei, we're having some friends over for a barbecue this Saturday. Would you like to join us? They'd love to meet you!

That would be absolutely wonderful! Everyone would be so excited to try authentic Chinese food. The kitchen is all yours on Saturday morning. What do you need? I can pick up ingredients from the store.

Let's go together — that way you can find exactly what you need. Li Wei, I also wanted to mention something. I noticed you've been cooking late at night — David said the cooking smell woke him up last night around midnight. Would it be possible to finish cooking by 10 PM?

Opening the window and turning on the kitchen fan would be great. And please don't feel bad — it's totally normal to have different routines. That's part of living together! By the way, how are you adjusting? Is there anything you miss from home?

Oh, I can understand that! Food from home is always special. You're welcome to make your own breakfast too — if you show me how to make congee sometime, I'd love to try! In fact, David and I have been wanting to learn more about Chinese culture. Maybe you could teach us some Chinese words?

Xièxie! How was that? Ha, I love it! This is going to be so fun. We're really glad to have you here, Li Wei. It feels like having another family member in the house.