Aaaaah, the infamous question asked by 99.3% of the Asian women that I have had a personal interaction with on this journey, to include the middle-aged woman in the lobby of the hotel. 😐 When I answered her and said “No, I’m single” the pleasant look on her face turned to one of sheer concern with a side of “What the hell is wrong with you?”. This was then followed by questions regarding age, date of last relationship, and sexual orientation.
Early on in my trip I wrote about a few other people inquiring about my marital status. I know this is a common occurence for women traveling abroad by themselves. I’ve spoken to natives of various Asian countries and asked about the average age of marriage for a man and woman. I also wanted to know what people thought about women who were over 30 and still single. The responses were both astonishing and hilarious. I was told stories about being disowned by family, shunned by their peers, or even asked if they were lesbians because they had yet to marry.
I had never felt pressured to be in a relationship or get married until two years ago when my mother told me she was praying that God would send me a husband. 😐 WHAT??????????? How the heck are you going to pray for something that you don’t even know I want? No wonder a tribe of people I had dated in my past had been calling or emailing out of the blue. Her “need” for me to find a “tall dark and handsome Christian man” came out of nowhere. I was never one of those little girls who put the towel around her head and pretended she was a bride, putting a doll under my shirt to pretend I was pregnant, or who recruited neighborhood little boys to play house. No ma’am. I was trying to pop wheelies on my big wheel and taking a scissor to my dolls head to make her look better.
I get way over to Asia and start feeling like I should have a plus-one with me on this journey. Well, thankfully that was just a case of temporary insanity. I’m definitely not in a hurry to jump the broom, tie the knot, or birth any babies…wait..I just got a little nauseous which means this conversation needs to come to an abrupt end.
You guys get the picture….. toodles 😉