Dear Si Ting:
I can’t believe it has been nine years we haven’t see each other. Recently I heard about you from Jiang, do you still remember her? She was our friend in primary school. Jiang told me that you moved to Canada few years ago. Did you adapt in a new environment? I know it was difficult to live in such a new society because I also face a new environment in the United States. I’m sure we have been going through the same difficulties such as language and culture when we just landed. But the time proved that we didn’t cowardly retreat.
I don’t know how you feel when you just arrived in Vancouver, but when I first time walked out of the airport in New York I’m not surprise that I became a “deaf”. Instead of talk and listen, I could only figure out what other said by looking at their face, and then using my body language to respond them. I always put my headphones on when I walked in public because I didn’t want others think I was a mean person when they are talked to me.
My life started getting better in the second year. Instead of putting my headphones on all the time, I would make conversation with others. Instead of living in my father’s work place, I have a home in Rockaway Beach. Rockaway is located in Queens. It has a beautiful beach and every summer a lot of NewYorkers come to surf and swim. The beach is so long that you can never reach the end. If you look at it in the map the Rockaway will be like a piece of string. Every morning when the sun rises, you can see that the waves washed a lot of shellfish on to the beach. Seagulls peck the shells in pieces seeking for food. At night it’s quiet, I always like to sit on a beach chair and listen the opera performed by waves and sea breeze. When you look to the distance between the sea and sky, you always can see some flashing lights. I can’t really tell if either it is a star, airplane or cargo ship waiting to enter the port.
Since the last time we saw each other was back in Primary school, I’m sure both of us changed a lot. Physically I grown taller and thicker. Meanwhile I’m getting fat because I love food! My friends suggest that I eat less, and I tried but I can’t. So I told them that “Eat what you want to eat, make your life short but happy.” On the other hand, my eyes are getting so bad that without glasses, I can’t even see the board in the class. What about you? I remember you are short sighted, and I bet that you eyes are getting worse just like mine because we both study and play computer games a lot right?
Do you attend college yet? This year is my first year in college. In college everything moves fast, and compared to high school I’m taking more responsibility to my self. In this summer I made many new friends here. One of my friend’s name is Billy, he is Chinese but grew up in the United States. Since he grew up here, he can’t speak and write in Chinese but he loves Asian Culture. For example, he likes to listen to K-Pop music and we discuss a lot of it at school. In October, we also plan to watch the K-pop concert in Madison Square Garden. He and some of my other friends like to call me Crazy Meng. I ask them why and they told me “you are crazy.” They said the way I explain stuff is funny, and I should create a Youtube channel. Billy said he will be my first fan and he will make a Youtube account everyday to support my channel. I’m sure you also made many new friends in Vancouver and have a lot interesting stories that you want to share with me, and I’m looking forward to hear from you soon.
Sincerely:
Meng Xiao
09/04/2011
