Armenian fulfills dream in Shandong

Nune makes friends with crew members of Russian ships, who visit Nune's coffee bar near Shidao port in Rongcheng.Ju Chuanjiang/China Daily

"People were curious about me. They touched my hair and skin to feel if I was real," she says.

"I once mistook the cauldron they used for cooking meals as a tool for washing clothes," Nune recalls.

After her well-established life in Yerevan, she had to learn all the house and farm work in China, including making steamed bread in the cauldron, washing clothes by the river and cutting wheat.

At first, "hao " (ok) was the only Chinese word Nune could say. Even a kiss that Nune regards as a social greeting created gossip among the locals.

"My first three phone calls to my mom, I could say nothing, just cry. I couldn't help crying," says Nune.

Deng felt sorry for bringing Nune to such a difficult life, so he bought a ticket and persuaded Nune to return to Yerevan. Minutes before the ship set off, however, Nune got off.

"I couldn't abandon my husband and daughters," she says. So she approached life in China with a new determination and enthusiasm.

With money her mother sent, Nune started raising chickens and cows in 2002. She even slept in the cowshed to better know the animals' habits. She earned 9,000 yuan ($1,450) in 2004, when the average income of local villagers was around 2,000 yuan.

In 2005, Nune met several Russians while shopping and learned their ships were docked at the port for maintenance.