Hausfrau

Last week for my advisor's birthday I made a batch of Strawberry Cupcakes. The cake came out delicious, the frosting was all sorts of wrong, but tasted like strawberry ice cream (I did get that part right!) and managed to stay mostly together until group meeting.


That evening, as I was packing up to head home, the Chinese first year that sits in my office started asking me about the cupcakes. She really thought I had bought them at a bakery, and was pretty amazed that I had bought them. I was pretty excited, because that's a super flattering compliment...until she followed it up with,

"You'll be a very good housewife."

Sigh. I have to keep reminding myself that there's nothing wrong with being a housewife (aside from the minor detail that I'm not married) and that she means it as a compliment, but ouch. Yes, I love to cook, and enjoy having a clean house when I manage to keep up with the chores, but I'm not getting a PhD in chemistry with the aim of being a housewife. I could probably "keep house" for a few months before getting bored. But eventually, I'd do just that: get really, really bored.

On my way out, I stopped into my labmate's office a couple doors down to lament to my labmate. He laughed and said no, no, she used the wrong term. It's "hausfrau." For some reason I find the term hausfrau hilarious. I'd much rather be a hausfrau than a housewife. :P

After the housewife comment, my labmate says, there's an English expression, what is it..."The most efficient way...a man..." So I prompt with, "The best way to a man's heart is through is stomach." And she lit up, saying, "Yes! That's it! You will be a very good housewife!"

It's not all sad though, she also asked if I could teach her to bake. Super cute. Yes, I will most definitely teach you to bake. It'll be fun. We're having a baby party for my recently delivered labmate and still pregnant labmate over spring break, maybe that will be a good chance to have her over to bake something.