About Us
We wrote this introduction to who we are so that you might come to know us a little more. We approached our story initially through the obvious prism of ‘East meets West’. And yes, this is true to an extent, but try as we might, the result always devolved into old stale stereotypes and over-used tropes. It didn’t work …because that’s not what drives this story, that’s not who we are.
When we get introspective, dig down to the essence of what brought us together and indeed what keeps us together, it can be described as…. CHANGE. It’s “The River I Step In Is Not The River I Stand In” kind of stuff. We are both on a journey – together – we are each other’s inspiration to look at things a different way, to try new things and sure – the East/West bit does add a dimension to that.
写这篇“我们是谁”，只是希望和你们分享一点我们的故事吧。 最初，想从“东方遇西方”这个角度来讲述， 显而易见嘛，但无论怎么尝试落笔，结果总是给人陈旧刻板的印象，很生硬的感觉。 真的不成啊，因为这不是触动写这个故事的原因，更不是真正的我倆。
每当我们反省的时候，挖空心思而想到的问题总是“我俩怎么走到一起的”，“这些年又是啥把我倆拴在一起的”。。。也许是“变化”两字吧，就像曾经有人说过的 “我踏入的河流已经不是我站立的河流”之类的哲理。走着各自的人生旅程，命运让我们相遇相知、携手同行和彼此启发，以不同的方式看待事物和尝试新玩意。这“东西方”的差异，也确实让我们的一切丰富了起来。
Changes, they can be scary, but they also bring with it something new, unexpected, exhilarating and ultimately rewarding. Changes, they keep things fresh, keep us moving forward. When Ray Ge met Niuniu he exchanged the suburban lifestyle where he spent all his life, to the urban scene of Toronto. If you’ve experienced that, you will know they are two worlds that speak the same language but perceive life quite differently. No more big box stores – hello Spadina Street and Kensington Market. For Niuniu the change was even more stark – (olive oil, what the heck is olive oil? And yes, an oven actually has a use!) So it was that Niuniu taught Ray Ge how to hold Kuaizi and eat Dim sum, and Ray Ge introduced to Niuniu the joys of a road trip. Each of us takes something for granted that the other never experienced. Seeing something very familiar through the eyes of someone who is having their first encounter turns the everyday into something to savour.
变化，也许是可怕的，但它们也一同带来了一些新的、意想不到的、令人振奋的和最终有益的东西。 变化，让事物保持新鲜，让我们不断地进取。 当Ray哥遇到妞妞时，他将自己从小到大习以为常的郊区生活方式，换成了多伦多的城市景象。 如果你有过这种经历，就会知道它们是两个世界啊，说着同一种语言，但对生活的看法却截然不同。 不再有郊区那种大盒子似的商店，有的是Spadina 大街和 Kensington 集市那种城市里的市井文化。 对于妞妞来说，变化也许更加显著，比如对橄榄油的无比好奇，对用烤箱做菜的恍然大悟！妞妞教Ray哥用筷子、喝早茶，Ray哥带着妞妞自驾放牛，奇乐无穷∞。很多时，我俩各自认为理所当然的事情，对方其实从未经历过，仿佛，通过那好奇的双眼，来看自己非常熟悉的事物，感觉更是奇妙，从此，平凡的每一天，变得多姿多彩。
We share parts of our heritage and it only draws us closer together. Initial infatuation turns into love, fascination turns into respect, friendship turns into companionship and it may seem quite trite – we see in each other our true soulmates.
Together we built an old century house into an elegant home that reflects us as a couple, tuned a yard where weeds struggled to grow into Xiao Yu Yuan (Little Jade Garden). And we have plans for more. Soon we hope to find our new home on a lake among the woods or perhaps an exotic cottage in the tropics overlooking the Caribbean Sea.
And so, over the time we’ve been able to accumulate experiences and knowledge we really treasure. Niuniu began sharing our discoveries and experiences with friends on her Weibo page. The website of Flairnunu.com you are on is a natural progression of her effort and gives us a bit more latitude to bring you what we like. We want to build this website – our place in the cloud – into a home that we can share with you. We will talk more of who we are, where we started from and where we are going in the future.
我们分享着各自的文化传统，不但没有远离，而且更加靠近了。 最初的迷恋变成了深爱，最初的吸引变成了尊重，最初的友情变成了相伴。不经意之间，我们在彼此的身上看到了自己的另一半，也许这就是人们常说的灵魂伴侣吧。
我们曾经一起把一栋世纪老屋，打造成一个我俩的情致家园，把一个野草都难生的院子，改造成了四季优美的小玉园。 不久的未来，还有心心念念那树林中的湖边房子，又或者是异国情调的山边小屋，瞭望着加勒比大海。
随着时间的推移，我们积累着经验和知识， 妞妞开始在她的微博页面上与朋友们分享我俩的经历， 而自己的网站 Flairnunu.com 则是自然的进展，让我们有更多的自由和空间，与你们分享我们喜欢的东西。 希望将这个网站～我们在云端的一席～建成一个可以和大家欢声笑语的家。在这里，可以更多地闲聊天南地北，我们是谁，我们从哪里开始，以及我们将要去哪里。
Welcome and stay awhile! I will catch up with you soon. Maybe it will be my car restoration story next time！
Ray哥
欢迎大家来我们的新家坐坐，看看一步步的变化。也许，下次就可以讲讲我那修复老车的故事咯!
妞妞 （译）