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.