"To attract good fortune, spend a new coin on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend, and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing his name on the wings of a dragon."
-Chinese Proverb
1. Spend a new coin on an old friend.
Today I spent more than one new coin on a dear old friend: fried dumplings. I passed by the snakes, writhing in plastic tubs next to a butcher's knife and a little pool of blood, and went right to the good stuff. I bought the dumplings frozen at the grocery store and fried them in soybean oil--mmmm.
2. Share an old pleasure with a new friend.
Last Saturday, Caroline Pederson came and spent the night with me in Zhenjiang. It was great for me to show someone how I live here. She rode Bus 4 with me, bought sesame bread from my favorite vendor, and met my cashier friends at the grocery store. We visited Jinshan Park, which I had already visited, but also rode to the Dinghui temple, an active Buddhist monestary at Jiao Shan, on a beautiful green island on the Yangzi known as "flowing jade mountain." The architecture was very colorful and intricate and we saw old and young bow to Buddha's golden image. The picture above was taken by Caroline.
3. Lift up the heart of a true friend
My true friends in China are the sweet kids I teach. I don't know if I am lifting up their hearts, but they are lifting up mine. This week the oldest class had a unit on Children's Day, so we learned words like "present" "noise maker" "paper chain" and "balloon." We also learned the phrases "Give me a hug" and "Give me a kiss." On Monday we were practicing "Give me a hug" and one of the girls gave me a hug and said without any prompting, "I love you, Anna." My heart melted.
4. By writing his name on the wings of a dragon.
If I had a dragon, I would name him Malcolm (I really would like to have a dragon) and I would write your name on his wings because I love you all!
Wo ai Nimen! Zai jian.
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