Tomorrow is our last day at the Shanghai No. # 3 girls' school. At the end of school today so many students crowded into our "Darien Club," bearing gifts and carrying address books for staying in touch. As I stood in the doorway and watched the Darien and Shanghai students laughing together and writing each other goodbye notes, our departure began to feel real to me.

 

Today I taught an English class and worked with a beautiful poem by Gu Cheng, a modern Chinese poet. I asked the 44 girls in the class to write a few lines of poetry. For some, this was the first time they had written poetically. I will carry home with me some of the images they created:  "a river beneath a cloud," "a cat with blue ears," "a dragon in the sky," "a clear and peaceful world." The students were very shy; only a few read their writing aloud, but in those few voices, I sensed such vibrant imaginations and the stirring of such gentle hearts. I believe these poetic images will wave like ribbons in my memory of these extraordinary three weeks.

 

I will miss Shanghai. Liliana and I have become very attached to our host family. Liliana and little Hai laugh and play together; we truly have become a family of five, happy to share meals and greet each other in the morning with our sleepy faces. I will miss the peace and quiet of the Shanghai No. 3 Girls' School,  interrupted occasionally by the middle school girls running to class past our doorway, giggling as they glanced at our six-foot tall boys. 

 

The other day we made dumplings with our nine girls who visited Darien last spring. As we sat together before steaming bowls of dumplings, I wanted to capture the moment forever. I wanted to stop everything right then and there and say, "Here -- this is it!  Right now. We've got it. Look at us -- our shoulders side by side -- our heads bowed to the bowls before us."  And, yet, I know the magic of that moment can only live on in the things we continue to do in our separate worlds -- the language we speak, the food we eat at our tables, the walks we take, and the places we rest. As we leave Shangahi, I hope that we can give to our own community, that awaits our return, the kindness and quietness, humbleness and generosity that our friends in Shanghai have given to us. We have learned a new way to live -- our faces, I believe, reflect this newness. I know that I have been changed. More than the Buddhist temple, more than Tiger Spring, more  than the gardens in Suzhou, more than the serenity of West Lake, more than Flying Peak, I have been changed by the people of China, especially our friends in Shanghai.

 

I know that on my way back to school after Thanksgiving, I will anticipate a joyful reunion with colleagues and students at DHS. Traveling with me down the Merritt Parkway will be images of thousands of bicycles, carrying thousands of Shanghainese towards a new day as well.

 

See you very soon!

 

Su Wan (my Chinese name)

Lynda Sorensen

 

Back to Home