Finale

June 30 was the last day in Los Angeles. My family and I got up early and made good use to cram as many things as we could in the day. We picked up peaches and lemons from the trees and took pictures all over the house. I thought I love the atmosphere at Fremont more because people there are friendly, but when I walked around and saw people painting wall and fixing roofs, Los Angeles turned out to be a simple town. Although Los Angeles was, to my stereotype, a big city full of hustle and bustle, but people here actually live a leisure life.

I didn’t know what grand pa and grand ma Liang were busy doing. They got up much earlier than we did and had stayed in the kitchen for many hours. Time lapsed, and it was time for lunch. We sat around the table and the host set the table and meals. When I saw the meal, I no longer wonder why they have been so busy: on the table, there were meals that we often ate together when we were neighbor. How touching! Thought the two old people can no longer remember many memories in details, but they still remember the recipes that we liked. What’s more, there were many handmade水煎包 and 紅棗饅頭. Their knuckles suffered but they still made them those foods.

It was time to say goodbye. We gathered up at the doorway as usual and grandma prayed for us. She also asked god to bless her health so that we may see each other again in Taiwan. All of us were choked with sobs and unable to speak, but it seemed that we all knew what each other wanted to convey. We left the house with our heart full of love and our bags crammed with foods. Nobody knows when we will meet again, but we were sure that we will.

A profound friendship

My last post reminded me of too much things that happened at my childhood and in my neighborhood. Since my parents has just sold our old apartment couples of weeks ago, I would like to mention one of my best friend during the period of my life─ teacher Charlotte.

Teacher Charlotte was my teacher at a cram school when I was about 10 years old. Since I can seldom catch up with my classmates, I dropped out of the class. I visited her with a whole bunch of chocolate in hands, and asked her if she can be my tutor, and she, as a sweet tooth, accepted.

Teacher Charlotte was a gorgeous British and Dutch mixed blood, and her hometown is South Africa. When we were neighbors, I lived at eighth floor and she’s at sixth floor. She adopted two stray dogs and we were good friends…..most of the time.

I learnt from her for more than six years, and she not only taught me English, but also comforted me whenever I feel depressed. We cooked together, and we shared foods. When my parents went out, she became my baby sitter.

She is very different from me. She is outgoing and likes to travel, and I am shy and quiet. She had been to many countries and I like to listen to those stories. I admired her philosophy of life: Carpe Diem.

I am too shy to speak in public, even in Chinese, but teacher made me feel at my ease to speak in English, though still not in public. We communicate well, and she understood my 〝Chinglish〞.

All good things came to an end. Charlotte found her Mr. Right and went back to South Africa. We have never connect with each other since then, but I believe that even though the memory will inevitably faded, it won’t vanish.

Leaving for Los Angeles

All good things come to an end. It was time to say goodbye to Fremont and left for Los Angeles.

This itinerary was not due to the purpose of broaden our horizon only, but also to visit some old friends that we haven’t seen for ages.

Who we were going to meet in Los Angeles are grandpa Liang and grandma Liang. They are not our blood relatives, but since they had been our neighbor for more than ten years, and raised my family (including my mom, my dad, my younger sister and me) as if we were their own children and grand children, we admired and respect them as if they were our real grandparents.

 

The Liang family had immigrate to the USA sine their son in law is an American citizen. It had been five years since grandpa Liang and grandma Liang moved to the USA. I overcame a sentimental time since we had so many memories in common. They were as if our baby sitters for free. Grandma Liang cooks well, and she always brought over some handmade desserts. My sister and I were sweet teeth, and I think that’s part of the reason why we loved her so much.

To be continued…

Visiting Josephine

After we came back from San Francisco, it was about time to pick up Josephine, uncle Pan’s daughter. She was doing her practical training at a designing department. We planned to travel several national parks together.  

Josephine and I met 14 years ago. She was seven and I was six, just graduated from kindergarten. In those days, I still didn’t know what internet and cell phone was, so there was no way to keep in touch with friends.

I vaguely remembered that Josephine was a sanguine and swarthy girl, but her appearance has faded from my memory. I was looking forward to see her. It was strange because I thought people who haven’t met each other would probably become strangers. After all, our lives were of widely divergent and partitioned off by distance and time.

The drive from Fremont to UC Davis was about three hours, and we met her in her dorm. I was so amazed to find that dorms in America were so different from those in Taiwan. The dorms were many two stories houses. Each dweller had a room of their own, and they shared rest of the public places, such as bathroom, kitchen, and living room. Roommates were just like families, they cooked and cleaned up together.

Josephine hasn’t changed much, still ardent and kind, so we acquainted with each other very soon. The familiarity made me feel like reviewing a subject that I have prepared for a long time, or a cow chewing the cud.

Browsing Through San Francisco-2

    Uncle Philip dropped us down at a main square near an avenue, and we walked around and vibrated with the vitality of the city. I saw many boutiques just on the wayside, and the architecture and showcases were elaborately designed. A scent of modern pervaded the atmosphere of the whole area.

    Although I had only a nibble of San Franco, I felt myself like a small insect dipped into maple syrup, reluctant to leave. There was still a lot that I haven’t experienced. It was a pity, but the defect couldn’t obscure the virtues. The browse hit the mark of the main point and was ineradicable.  

Browsing Through San Francisco-1

    My family and I spent a couple of days at uncle Philip and aunt Phillis’ house, getting rid of our jet lag. The long flight sapped our vigor, so we started our trip for real after we’ve accommodated to local time.

   

    The first stop was downtown San Francisco. Uncle Philip drove us to San Francisco since it was not far from Fremont and in there we marveled the flourish of it. In Fremont, vistas were placid, while in San Francisco, streets were busy. Traffic and pedestrians sprawled, but the state was not in a turmoil.

     

   Flower street was a quite renowned resort in San Francisco, although it was merely composed of some lovely houses, a winding path, and many flowers in riotous profusion. Walking down

Flower Street made me feel delightful, and people from all sides of walk shared and savored the glamour.

 

 

   

The Point of Departure

My family and I went to California on July 3rd in 2010, and that was the second sightseeing tour of California. The primary purpose of the tour was to visit some universities which held time-honored reputation, in case that my younger sister will study aboard after she graduates from university. There was also a dual purpose for rest of my family: to undergo an experience of exotic scenery, such as architectures and national parks.

Here is where we started our journey, a serene residential quarter in Fremont. Our home pa and home ma are my mother’s senior high school classmate and her husband, uncle Philip and ant Phillis, who immigrated to America more than twenty years ago. Not only did they accommodate us ,but also be our tour guide during the days we stay in their house.

My family and I loved uncle Philip and ant Phillis’ house. It was a common house in America, but for us who lives in the jungle of cement, was of great surprise. Among all amazements, what surprised us the most is the garden cover with green meadow, strewing with many sorts of fruit trees and flourishing flowers. We woke up in the morning and helped ourselves picking plums and raspberries from the garden for breakfast, experienced the rural way of life. As for dinner, we waited until uncle Philip and ant Phillis went back home then enjoy the delightful meal ant Phillis prepared.

Compared to the following days that are compacted with solid plans, these days were relatively cozy.