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心香一瓣:The Best Gifts in Life
http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/04/08 14:49  厦门日报

  By Helen Kuo

  Throughout my life, I've met people from all over the world. In 3rd grade, I was introduced to my first chicken curry at my Indian friend, Anjala's house. I still recall her laughing face as I danced around the kitchen, gasping for water. In 4th grade, I was entranced by my Irish friend, Diana's stories about the leprechaun. Ella, my Finnish friend , convinced me the next year Nokia was the best phone in the world. My closest friends from 6th to 9th grades came from South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Germany respectively. My arrival to China three years ago introduced me to several Chinese acquaintances, as well as their glorious history, established traditions and world of chopsticks.

  Time and again, I've been charmed by each unique culture and its customs, and slowly discovered the distinctive characteristics of each population. South Americans are known for their passionate affections. My European friends are very open in thought and speech, and have a love for sun tanning. My American friends are very straightforward, though my Arabic friends are considerably more conservative. My Chinese friends are very eager to learn, congenial and exceptionally generous. Nonetheless, it is not my friends' exotic stories or uniqueness that I consider most precious. It is their friendship that I treasure most.“Amigo, Tomodachi, Pengyou,”... no matter how the spelling or pronunciation varies, they all essentially mean the same thing- a friend, someone who's there for you.

  As much as I value my friends and their different backgrounds, however, I've met (and debated heatedly) with several people who are discriminating and selective about people from different nationalities. One such event happened to me personally when I went to visit my friend Stephanie in a small city in the United States several years ago. As an outgoing person, I didn't have any trouble getting along with her friends at a dinner party. I made several friends that night, but I also noticed a young lady standing in the corner watching me. As she approached our table, she said loudly,“How can you guys talk to her? Can't you see she is Asian?”

  Everyone was in shock, too stunned to say anything. Then suddenly, the man to my right said,“Yes, she is... and she's a fabulous Asian!”We all laughed and carried on with our conversation. Eventually and somewhat ironically, this same young lady became a friend of mine later on in the evening. We've been good friends ever since and she's never stopped apologizing for her comment, yet I've never thought of it again. I'm just grateful that we've become friends and happy that she has learnt something valuable--when it comes to making friends, there are no limits and restrictions at all.

  Throughout my life, I've met people from all over the world. In 3rd grade, I was introduced to my first chicken curry at my Indian friend, Anjala's house. I still recall her laughing face as I danced around the kitchen, gasping for water. In 4th grade, I was entranced by my Irish friend, Diana's stories about the leprechaun. Ella, my Finnish friend , convinced me the next year Nokia was the best phone in the world. My closest friends from 6th to 9th grades came from South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Germany respectively. My arrival to China three years ago introduced me to several Chinese acquaintances, as well as their glorious history, established traditions and world of chopsticks.

  Time and again, I've been charmed by each unique culture and its customs, and slowly discovered the distinctive characteristics of each population. South Americans are known for their passionate affections. My European friends are very open in thought and speech, and have a love for sun tanning. My American friends are very straightforward, though my Arabic friends are considerably more conservative. My Chinese friends are very eager to learn, congenial and exceptionally generous. Nonetheless, it is not my friends' exotic stories or uniqueness that I consider most precious. It is their friendship that I treasure most.“Amigo, Tomodachi, Pengyou,”... no matter how the spelling or pronunciation varies, they all essentially mean the same thing- a friend, someone who's there for you.

  As much as I value my friends and their different backgrounds, however, I've met (and debated heatedly) with several people who are discriminating and selective about people from different nationalities. One such event happened to me personally when I went to visit my friend Stephanie in a small city in the United States several years ago. As an outgoing person, I didn't have any trouble getting along with her friends at a dinner party. I made several friends that night, but I also noticed a young lady standing in the corner watching me. As she approached our table, she said loudly,“How can you guys talk to her? Can't you see she is Asian?”

  Everyone was in shock, too stunned to say anything. Then suddenly, the man to my right said,“Yes, she is... and she's a fabulous Asian!”We all laughed and carried on with our conversation. Eventually and somewhat ironically, this same young lady became a friend of mine later on in the evening. We've been good friends ever since and she's never stopped apologizing for her comment, yet I've never thought of it again. I'm just grateful that we've become friends and happy that she has learnt something valuable--when it comes to making friends, there are no limits and restrictions at all.




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