甘之如饴

gān zhī rú yí

lit. as sweet as syrup (idiom, from Book of Songs); to endure hardship gladly

a glutton for punishment

甘

gān

abbr. for Gansu Province 甘肅省|甘肃省[Gan1 su4 Sheng3]

之

zhī

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])

如

rú

as

饴

yí

maltose syrup