A love that knows no boundaries

Love is beyond boundaries. The story of Chen Wanjun and Shewelem Girm Balecha proves it's true.

Chen started working at China Railway No 2 Engineering Group in Ethiopia in January 2013. The company is a subsidiary of China Railway Group, one of two companies responsible for the construction of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Electrified Railway.

In June 2015, Chen was assigned to work with the second subgroup of the company as a chef for the Chinese employees in Adama, Ethiopia. And it changed his life.

Before he came to Adama, the subgroup had recruited a young local woman, Shewelem Girm Balecha, to cook for the employees and security guards. The two worked together in the kitchen, preparing different cuisine for different groups of people.

But some things never change. As the days passed, affection grew between the two and brought them closer.

"As we often worked together, I began to pay attention to her," says Chen, who was 31 and an experienced chef who had specialized in Sichuan cuisine for 11 years.

Chen tried to greet Shewelem using the little bit of local language he had learned. Gradually, she began to learn some Chinese, plunging in through computer software.

Later on, they became friends on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media website. The purpose of chatting on WeChat was more than a trivial way to pass the time. With it, the two were able to have video conversations with Chen's family back at home in Sichuan province.

She became popular with family members, and that led to a visit to China in June this year.

The couple registered for marriage at the Civil Affairs Office in Chengdu on June 15, 2016.

"We were like, sort of, marriage first and then falling in love," Chen says. "Both my parents and my wife's parents are in support of the marriage."

"I am now catching up with Chinese language," says Shewelem. "It will help me to exchange with him and his family."

It appears to be working: "Within the new family, I take care of the money," Chen says, "But I always heed what my wife says."

Chen will finish his mission in Ethiopia next March and hopes to bring Shewelem back to China and settle down in his hometown in Sichuan.

"We will have children, and I will give her an enjoyable life in my hometown," he said.

panzhongming@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/11/2016 page20)