So in my previous post, I mentioned making a new friend. This little girl was hilarious. I thought I would share a few of the stories and our interaction in greater detail, as it sticks out as one of my favorite memories while in China.
After we spoke about our striking physical differences, Lena mentions that she has an American English teacher. They call him Snider and he is her absolute favorite teacher because he is fun. This is in opposition of her Chinese English teach who Lena described as "being bad for her health!" (I literally laughed out loud)
This little girl is so outgoing, a little mischievous, but very sweet; we are kindred spirits for sure! Her English is very good and she explains that they receive a currency in her class called "Snider B's" for getting good grades. With this money they can buy things. Lena had 2,000 Snider b's but had spent 200 on chocolate, 400 on poker cards, and 700 on something else, but she couldn't remember, and lost 400 in the washing machine when he mother washed her shorts. She was real torn up about that loss. She wished that she could go back in time and remember that it was laundry day so she get could that money out of her pocket. I understand completely!
Lena then goes into her love of chocolate pudding and how Snider has some that he is unwilling to sell to his students for any amount of Snider B's. Her situation led to some desperate measures on her part, as she explains the discovery of Snider's unlocked office. In his office the chocolate pudding is very visible on a very high up shelf, deemed unreachable by the 9 year old. Before leaving, she noticed 300 Snider B's on his desk that she admittedly took and then fled the scene of the crime before he came back. With the new potential to make a quick economic come back, Lena recruited more of her classmates and the later returned to Snider's office. This time they found 500 Snider B's on the desk, but they had been glued to the desk. She said she noticed a huge stack of Snider B's placed beside the unreachable puddings and realized the trick that had been played. She and her friends ran before he came back, and she made me promise not to tell Snider if I see him when I go back to America. I have a feeling that unless he reads this blog, my promise will be kept.
Snider's class is her favorite for 2 reasons: 1. It is fun and 2. they are only given 1 homework assignment, while her Chinese English teacher gives 3 each night. She describes Snider as a bald man that attempts to hide this baldness under a hat! She also says he has an ugly mustache and very blue eyes. If you know me, then you know the struggle it was to not laugh at this description. She is a very observant young lady, to say the least.
Lena has been to 4 countries, one of which was Singapore. She told me it was very beautiful and clean. It was for this reason she did not like it there, explaining she like places that were very dirty "with a lot of soil so she could play in it."
We talked for about an hour straight as everyone, including her parents stared in amazement by this very rare sight. She reluctantly says good bye as they go to catch their train. It was quite a shock to hear her playfully yell "hello" in my ear 5 minutes later. Haha! She takes her seat right next to me and explains that how their train had been delayed 31 minutes.
She gets a bit sad because she says she wants to be my friend, but that we had only met once. I explain that technically we had met twice because she left and came back meaning that we were indeed friends. She laughs but finds my explanation satisfactory; we're definitely buddies! She then asked for my phone number, which I gave her as well as writing my name, email address, and the city and state I live in back home so she can find it on her globe at school. I now have a Chinese BFF that is 9 years old and in the 3rd grade; this is typical for me. This random conversation is also Typical China.
She told me she liked my brown skin, as we measured our hands against one another and she enjoyed running her hands along my "soft" arms. Despite her not really understanding "why" I was this way, it didn't stop her from touching my "curly" locks. She was truly disappointed that my 26 year old hands were bigger than her 9 year old hands, but her curiosity turned to enjoyment. She also told me she liked how white my teeth were, and proceed to point and yell that her mothers were yellow. She then said her father looked like a dog and I, at that very moment, hated that I was an adult because as much as I wanted to laugh, I had to look disappointed because it was rude. I had to turn away so she wouldn't see the laugh I had inside, but mannnnnnnn!
She told me she had a brother who lived in Singapore, which was a shock to me. Thinking back to how astonished my workmates were when I told them about my 2 sisters. I'll have to ask someone later because I find some people in China have siblings while others do not. I know there are a lot of restrictions here, but some are more flexible then others.
After showing me some Chinese characters and speaking a few new words, we take some selfies on her mother's iPhone her parent's invite me to Foshan, which is very close to Guangzhou, and we say goodbye. I did bump into her again in the restroom before boarding the train. She yelled thats 3 times, meaning that we had met each other 3 times. I understand this meant we were not the very best of friends, lol!
This was just a nice experience in general because I actually had a nice conversation in English, but did not feel like I didn't belong. I really hope that Lena will contact me one day so I can go and visit her. She was a lot of fun, and I would love to see another city in China. I gave her some of snacks cakes, despite her mother motioning no to her. She at first says no because her mother says she's too fat, but I look directly at her mother as I hand it to her and put her on the spot. I say, "It's ok to have just one snack, right?" She couldn't say no at that point, but Lena is turned up an gets to arguing. *I exited stage left*
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