Hong Kong, December 15, 1999
JenJen Likes Pocari Sweat
JenJen is great at keeping in touch!
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Ten years ago, in 11th grade Biology Class, an interesting young lady
appeared. Direct from Hong Kong, running around with rudimentary English, was
Jennifer. Ok, her English name is Jennifer anyway, since her Chinese name was
unpronounceable to Western tongues. Me being the outgoing guy I am, said hi the
first day, becoming her friend quite quickly. We spent the remainder of the year
having fun and finding out about each other's culture.
We met again, two years later when she came back to Florida at Xmas, from her University in Kansas, but after school we lost touch, though it wasn't from lack of trying. I kept writing to the address she'd given me, but no replies ever came. I finally gave up a year or two ago, so you can imagine my surprise when my Mom forwarded a letter from her while I was wandering through Siberia. Immediately, I fired off a letter to her, telling her I was indeed alive and kicking, and on my way to China to boot. Again, no reply, which made me wonder if I'd lost her yet again. Luckily, when I called the number on her last letter, she answered, and we exchanged surprised greetings after our long silence. With my impending trip to Hong Kong, we arranged to meet, and voila! there we were. Today, Jennifer is enjoying the city life of Hong Kong, working and living on Hong Kong Island. Her boyfriend, a coastal engineer for the administration, is a cool guy. The three of us went out one night while I was there, consuming more baby-back ribs and beer than I can soberly remember. Since then, Jennifer keeps bugging me about moving to Hong Kong. I can't say that the thought isn't tempting, especially with winter approaching in Beijing. |
