I
would like to introduce an awesome student at my school. Her name is Sunny, and although she is not
even one of my students, nor one of Mary’s, she has become one of my best
friends at site. Let me tell you how we met.
On
my birthday, I was walking back from my classes and as I started to walk past the
back of the administration building, I hear someone calling my name. I look left, and right, and I see
nobody. My name is called again, and I look
up to see a girl in a black and white striped sweater waving at me from the
fourth or fifth floor of the building. I
wave back, thinking it must be one of my students (I have so many that I often
don’t recognize them). She asks me to
please wait for me outside the building, so I stop and a few minutes later she
comes running out. She introduces
herself to me and as we start walking, she tells me how excited she is to meet
me- a foreigner, wow! I hear this from a
lot of students but I was struck by Sunny’s enthusiasm, especially when I
realized she wasn’t one of my students after all. The fact that she sought me out so
energetically was a big deal considering that most students are too shy to even
say hello. On a whim, I mentioned to her
that it was my birthday and that she should come eat dinner with me, Mary and
some students. When she heard it was my
birthday, she got so excited. I gave her
my phone number and said goodbye. A short
time later, she shows up at my apartment with a bag of candy and marshmallows,
and beautiful card with a lovely long note expressing her desire that we can be
friends and that I can “love China, love my school, and love me,” the whole
thing punctuated with a joyful “come on!” (I’m not exactly sure what the
translation should be but it’s my favorite part of the note).
"Happy Birthday to you! Come on!" |
My cozy new friends |
Since then, she has come over a few times,
and last week she came to give me a pair of cute and comfy slippers that I now
wear every day. She also showed me a Chinese
movie called “The Love Song of Kangding.”
Coincidentally, my LCFs (Language and Culture Facilitators) had taught
us PCVs the song it’s based on during language training in PST. Sunny’s a really sweet and energetic girl,
and I’m really grateful to have her as a friend. There are a few students like her that are
not too shy to talk to me, and I really appreciate it. It’s a nice break from the stares and nervous
glances I get from most of the students.
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