[00:12.57]A Time to Say Hello
[00:14.53]The year began softly.
[00:20.12]The weather in Southern China was
[00:22.74]warm and so were the students.
[00:25.14]The unexpected events of the year
[00:28.11]to come began to unfold,
[00:29.63]much too soon to become
[00:31.93] only an innocent treasured memory.
[00:34.23]Something precious should be held tight
[00:37.83]and not let it go.
[00:40.13]It was to be a year of surprises
[00:43.08]and a year of love.
[00:45.39]The Chinese have an expression
[00:47.79]for it, “yuan fen”.
[00:49.54]A westerner would only
[00:52.49]question why and how.
[00:54.69]With your permission let us
[00:56.65]share the experience together.
[00:58.95]He sat at the front of the classroom
[01:03.22]looking anxious but attentive.
[01:05.62]In those first few days,
[01:07.70]his eyes bright with anticipation
[01:10.00]sought approval from me, his teacher.
[01:13.28]He claims now that
[01:15.91]he understood very little content
[01:17.22]in the lessons of
[01:18.97]the first few weeks.
[01:20.94]However, he successfully managed
[01:23.35]to give the appropriate illusion
[01:25.42]of understanding well.
[01:27.95]He made me laugh
[01:30.02]and his peering was also
[01:31.34]delighted in his sense of humor.
[01:33.41] He dressed with attention
[01:35.82]to detail, and his neat appearance,
[01:38.34]whether in jeans or current fashion,
[01:41.07] was distinct, a cool guy!
[01:43.48]There was always something
[01:46.65]enchanting in his smile.
[01:48.95]He was charming and handsome
[01:50.59]and he knew it!
[01:53.22]Moreover, he was a gentleman.
[01:55.84]His eyes revealed so much
[01:58.36]when they crinkled with laughter,
[02:00.87]the mask removed, or conversely
[02:03.28]remained inscrutable, like
[02:05.03]still pools of liquid chocolate,
[02:07.54]containing only a hint of belief |