My Chinese husband--I talked a lot about him with my girl friends, but I’ve never got to write about him so specifically.  

I now know that he is known to you guys as Killara, the name of our suburb. This makes me Mrs Killara. Being a Chinese man’s wife is pretty much the only unconventional thing I have done.   

He fits into my stereotype of new age Chinese men living overseas: highly educated, ambitious, disciplined and hard working. He is 6-foot tall, masculine, and experienced. Our daughter even relates his look to that of many of those East Asian supernovas on YouTube.  

These are not the only reasons why he became and remains being my Chinese husband. I love him for his “can do” attitude. He never lets lack of experience get in his way. For example, just 3 months after he started learning, he became a professional landscaper. And he almost instantly turned himself into a professor from a student!  

He is a humble learner like many other Chinese men, and in a way, the whole of China. He is why I like his culture. I married him not only because he was the man he already was, but the man was becoming. Judging from his students’ feedback on his teaching, he is a good teacher. And he keeps improving. He is a good teacher for his students as well as for himself.  

Although we had differing views on how best to bring up our daughter, I must admit that his Chinese way prevailed and has worked. Having gained access to an elite school, she is destined to become a top class professional.  

He is a man of the mind. He whole-heartedly embraces the true value of the country that adopted him. Through his blog, he seems to be on a mission to undo Chinese community’s misconception about the West.  

He is a passionate lover who never takes love for granted. Hand in hand, we have walked the beaches, mountains and streets of 23 countries. Almost every year, we revisit China, the country where we had our very first serious date.

He is my beloved husband also because he is not always expressive of love. His impassive loving and caring also set him apart from those who are merely lovers. He believes in giving space so that we both are not choked with love. His approach towards today, Mother’s day, is that he would rather sleep in one of the spare bedrooms so that he would not disturb my sleep when he came to bed from his study late last night.  

Yesterday he told me that he looked forward to growing old with me, which made me realise that I do, too. We truly love each other for who we are becoming.