I'm kind of confused why I used a gal instead of a woman or lady in the title, for actually she has long passed the age of being called a girl. Maybe it was the first impression I got when we met, or alternatively her daily behaviors seem to me like a gal. Anyway, she is a mid-aged woman with an 8-year-old daughter.

I’ve worked with quite a few females at different work units. However, she gave me the deepest impression. Frankly, she is good-looking with a well-maintained figure, not the type who can make you turn to have a second look, though. Without further contact, you may feel she is a gentle quiet girl, like many others you’ve met.

I got to know her the hard way, to tell the truth. Once I said absent-mindedly, “Boys do better in math than girls.” She glared at me and asked, “Why? Why do you think girls/women have to be inferior to boys/men?” I quickly explained that I was talking about the actual situation in the class I was in charge of, not meaning to say that all the girls/women are inferior to boys/men.

On another occasion when we were talking about who should do the housework as a couple. Some said it all depended; some believed it should be shared, but one guy said, “Honestly, I think the wife should do more, if not all of it. In most cases, the man goes out to work while the woman looks after the house. It is not only a tradition but a natural choice.” “Natural choice? Really? I’m afraid it is your male chauvinism that makes you come to this conclusion. No man has got conscience at all.” she snapped.

Ever since then, I’ve been a little afraid of her. I mean I would be more careful when speaking in her presence. I don’t want to provoke an argument or even quarrel over such kind of trivial things; it’s just not worth it. I admit what she said made some sense, but I just can’t figure out why she would react so violently when hearing such topics concerning women. Actually we were just chatting or joking, without any intention of hurting anyone. And I believe none of us truly hold biased views against women.

Later on, I found out she was very kind towards people of her own sex, and some of them were actually close friends. Her husband works in a tax bureau with a decent income and pays most of the bills. He seems a very good guy who, as she put it, will never fight back. The only thing that surprised me is that she would otherwise have chosen a much more handsome man considering her looks. In daily life she is generous and never bargains for an article of clothing she buys. Once she spent as much as 350 yuan on socks when online shopping for herself without any hesitation, while the others no more than 100 yuan. However, she said she seldom went shopping while in college and in the first years of career. She has loving parents and a husband who loves her so much, and money has never been a big problem for her.

I believe she tries hard to do her job well, of course, in her own unique way. She doesn’t seem to care much about other people’s teaching approaches. Unfortunately, for a long time she was not allowed to teach seniors, the graduating classes. The reason, I guess, is the scores of the students are not as good as what the administrators believed to be. Twice she was assigned the job of head teacher, but each time lasted only one year. It was said the classes in her charge were a bit too “loose”. Not long ago, once again she failed to be given the title of “senior teacher”, despite the fact that she was the oldest among all the candidates and that it was the second time for her to apply for the title of technical post.

I remember someone once said, “A woman is a book that is hard to understand.” However, to me she seems to be even harder to understand. Of course, it’s just unnecessary for one to be understood by all. I have mixed feelings about her. On the one hand, I admire her for her independence and the courage to stick to own life styles and principles. Actually she reads widely and has a good command of English. Sometimes she would complain that she was unfairly treated by some people and even curses all the government officials either to go hell or deserve to be killed. Somehow, I have some degree of sympathy for her. Some of the officials do abuse their powers! On the other hand, I should say I would choose not to work in the same office with her if I was given the choice. Honestly I don’t like a person like her. I respect her but keep a safe distance. I would strike up a friendly conversation but it seems hard to be good friends. I just don’t know if it is wise and fair to treat a person who is just different from others.