Chapter 136 Friends

Chapter 136

Friends

I can’t say enough about my wonderful Chinese friends. I couldn’t ask for any better friends than what I had. I kept meeting all kinds of people just like anyone in life but I never knew how nice these people were and that the friendship would last from then on. 

The teachers were so great to me. We’d go out to eat, do all kinds of things. I’d get invited to their homes. I’d go places with them, mountain climbing, they would teach me how to do things there, how to ride the bus, how to shop, where to find things in different stores, get invited to their homes for festivals like The Chinese New Year, National Day and others. 

The list can go on and on. When any of the teachers came here to La Crosse as exchange teachers, I would do anything that I could for them because they had been so nice to me.

It was so nice when they came here so we could talk about Luoyang because we knew so much about the same things. Luoyang is my second home so it is nice to hear about things there and what has changed.

As for the pictures, there’s no special order. I just picked out pictures with my friends in them and some of the things that we did together. If any of my Chinese friends don’t see their pictures here, they are in other places in this journal.

My colleague Justin Patch. We worked together at the Number One Foreign Language School for one year. We have stayed in touch with each other since then.

Li Weiwei, Coco, Mary, Julia, Alan (Wu Jingbing) eating at a Mongolian restaurant

Mary Cardinez, my colleague, and Rinny (Yang Ni)

Front left; John Li-music teacher

Michael Li (Li Yuemin) and Jenny Wu (Wu Rongzhen)

Ms. Qin, Jane (Zhang Min) and her husband Logan (Liu Qicheng), Emily (Li Xiao), Marie (Zhang Huiqin), Echo (Li Rui)

Susan, Barbara (Liang Feng), her daughter Lois (Han Xiao) and another friend of Barbara’s

Rebecca (Zhuan Hongjuan), Ms. Niu, Ms. Chen and her daughter Sally, May (Tong Yu) and her son

Emily (Bai Li) and Wei Cancan

Bai Yan and her sister Bai Li (Emily)

Celia (Lv Ming), her daughter Li Xin and Celia’s dad (Lv Xianhao)

Celia (Lv Ming), daughter Li Xin and her husband Li Ke

Jennifer (Zhao Tianning) and Helen (Liu Ziyang) 

Emily (Li Xiao), her daughter Jennifer (Zhao Tianning), Zhang Min and her daughter Helen (Liu Ziyang)

Li Caixia and Kim (Xue Lian)

Back row; Huang Guoqin, Mary and Vicki (Zhao Fei) Front row; Guan Jigang and Victor

Bai Yan, Bai Ru, Emily (Bai Li) and Anna (Zhang Xiaoping)

Dong Ge Fei's parents, Dong Gefei, Vicki (Zhao Fei-pregnant) and Mary Cardinez

Huang Guoqin, her husband Guan Jigang and Zhang Li

Rinny (Yang Ni) and Tina (Zhang Xiangtuo)

Emily (Li Xiao), her parents (In front-Emily’s daughter Jennifer) and her sister Echo (Li Rui) and Echo’s son Eric

Emily (Bai Li), Summer (Xia Dandan), Susan (He Shu) at The Six Horses Museum

Rebecca’s daughter Maggie (Maizi)

Rebecca (Zhuan Hongjuan) and Maggie (Maizi)

Maggie and Rebecca

Emily’s friend, Emily (Li Xiao) helping her daughter Jennifer (Zhao Tianning) get ready to skate.

Brandi (Bai Lan) and her husband Janus (Wang Jian)

Mary and Brandi

Echo (Li Rui) and her son Eric, Emily (Li Xiao) and her daughter Jennifer (Zhao Tianning)

Barbara (Liang Feng) and her daughter Lois (Han Xiao)

Barbara (Liang Feng), Lois (Han Xiao) and Susan

Lily (Han Lili)

Mary Cardinez-My colleague at the Number 19 High School. She is from the Philippines.

Emily, Echo and family

Wang Yao, ?, Mary and Rinny (Yang Ni)

Standing from left Mary, Li Caixia, Li’s husband Han is next to me. 

In front; lady on the right is Gail Chou from Texas. The others are teaching at the Number Two Foreign Language School.

Friends at Long Tan Valley

Ivy (Li Rongxiu)

Kiki (Li Kexin)

Mary Cardinez

Liu Han

Justin Patch

Travis Rusin, Ms. Wei and Rebecca (Zhuan Hongjuan)

Xiao Dan and Celia (Lv Ming)

Lv Xianhao, Girls in white coats-Xiao Dan and Celia (Lv Ming), the others are restaurant staff

Liu Lin, Celia (Lv Ming) and Zhang Pei 

 Ms. Wei and Wang Wei

Xiao Dan

Dr. Wang Lin-my dentist

I went to the dentist a couple of times the first time I was in Luoyang. There are twelve chairs in the row. 

Celia’s aunt, Zhang Pei-Celia’s cousin, Zhang Xufang-Celia’s mom, Liu Lin-Celia’s cousin, Celia (Lv Ming) and Lv Xianhao-Celia’s dad

Echo (Li Rui), the little girl is two years old. I can’t remember her name. Her mother’s name is Elaine and they are from New Zealand. Elaine was in Luoyang as a foreign teacher. Echo and Emily were taking care of the girl this day.

A funny story about the girl and her mom. When Elaine would be at school teaching, she would leave her daughter with a Chinese babysitter. The babysitter would talk to the girl in Chinese and she would learn Chinese from the sitter. The girl could speak Chinese and mom could speak English-they could not talk to each other in the same language. 

Liu Hua, her daughter Xiao Dan and Liu Hua’s sister

Back Row; Zhang Wei, Ralph and Karen

Front Row; Mr. Hai, Florence, Emily, Echo, Blaine and Gigi

Blaine, Gigi, Karen, Ralph, Gao Zhen and Ms. Wei

Xiao Dan’s two aunts, Xiao Dan, her uncle and wife and mom (Liu Hua)

People from the Number 19 High School-this was for my birthday party, I was 61.

Daisy (Peng Ye), Victor, Vicki (Zhao Fei), Alan (Wu Jingbing), Vivian (Zhang Xiaoli), Emily (Bai Li), Coco, Jessie (Niu Jia) and Mr. Li

      Lu Yanling-She cut my hair  the second year that I was in Luoyang.

Jennifer (Zhao Tianning)-Halloween costume

Ms. Wei

Celia (Lv Ming)

Wang Wei and her daughter Tongtong (Liu Ruotong)

Jean and Jicai (Ji Yating)

Linda and her daughter

Vera (Zhang Menglu)

Alan (Wu Jingbing), his wife Julia and Mary

Monica (Zhang Bilin)

Mr. Hai, his wife and son

Jill (Zhai Wenbin) and Zhang Bo

Mary (Meng Rui)

Rebecca (Zhuan Hongjuan) and Huang Feng

(Emily) Bai Li and Wang Ruifeng 

Mr. Lu Guoxin in the middle. From the left;  His daughter, wife, son and his assistant Della (Wang Lunping)

Yang Ni’s mom and Rinny (Yang Ni)

Rinny (Yang Ni) and Mary

The Fruit Lady; I did not ask her what her name was. I went to her for the five years that I was in Luoyang to buy fruit at her store.

Hu Danting

Lisa (Li Ting)

Faye (Tang Wenlu)

Huang Feng

Yan Sunna, ?, Jill (Zhai Wenbin)

Next to me is Saidah and Pat. They were from Milwaukee, WI. They taught at a school in Luoyang.

Celia (Lv Ming) and her parents in the middle along with her cousins, roommates and friends.

Next to me is Jill (Zhai Wenbin) and her mom on the left.

Xiao Dan (right) with her dad and mom

Cindy (Guan Xin), Huang Guoqin, Jane (Zhang Min), Gao Shan and Justin Patch 

Zhang Liang and his daughter Rongrong

My colleague Justin Patch. He was a music major. He went back to the US after that one year in Luoyang and eventually got his PhD in music.

Ms. Qin

Rebecca (Zhuan Hongjuan)

Susan (Cui Haixia)

Wang Yao

Wei Zheyu, her husband and son

Daisy (Peng Ye) and Deng Dan

Amiao (Guo Limiao) and her son

I don’t know the girl’s name on the left, Helen (Liu Ziyang) and Jennifer (Tiantian)

Emily, her husband Zhao Kefeng and their daughter Tiantian

May (Tong Yu) and her husband

Barbara (Liang Feng) and her daughter Lois (Han Xiao)

Liu Hua (middle) and her two sisters

May (Tong Yu) and Liu Hua

One of my students

Ma Mushi, Iverson (Ma Haohan) and Fu Yuhong

Ma Jiyi

Student, Emily (Bai Li), Summer (Xia Dandan), Deng Dan, Susan (He Shu) and Bai Yan

This man and his wife were the gatekeepers at the apartment complex that I lived at when I was at the Number 19 High School. This is the day I left to come back to the states after being there for three years, June 28, 2013. 

Christmas 2002; What better way to celebrate a holiday with friends than with KFC when you are in a foreign country.