How are you? I do hope that you are well and have an easy and relaxed weekend.

Except work, my feeling of this week can be summarized as a Chinese idiom ? neighbors are dearer than distance relatives.

Things were started from a message from two of my former colleagues 14 years ago and now they are wife and husband. I entrusted their company to manage my financial events and the bank requested me to do something in person. Knowing I am not interested in it and I am not familiar with the details, the woman friend would accompany me to deal with it. Then, she took me here or there to do every thing for whole of afternoon. In fact, it was them to help me on their own initiative 1 year ago and they have made my little investment to be increased several times. I did feel my eyes wet when I saw the message on my mobile phone and I felt so lucky to have them as my good friends and financial managers. I am sure, they are helping me to face a more comfortable retire life in several years.

Monday evening, I got a telephone from a couple of friends who were my former colleagues 28 years ago, now a wife and husband in Harerbin. They would like to visit me soon. Do you know? The woman colleague was just my roommate on the border of China and Russia and just her run into the heaven rain in a midnight to wake up the leader of the team and sent me to the hospital of battalion, regiment and corps and saved my life. It was her family in Harerbin to lead me to make healthy checking every day, until my father came to the hospital. We have not met for 23 years. We have been keeping connecting. I will be very happy to meet them and I have rented a room for them in a hotel in the same garden, that I am living in. My feeling is like I am waiting for two kind family members....

Then on Friday, I got another telephone from a former colleague and neighbor 15 years ago in Wuxi City. She has got the 5 digital money, that I had sent her (Instead of lending) to help her to buy a new apartment and she did not know how to appreciate me. My answer was that a friendly feeling can not be bought by money. After all, she was the first colleague whom I had met, when I entered the collage in a totally strange city after I just graduated from university in 1983. It was her to teach me to know the strange city, even to teach me to cook and eat the local food. She and her husband was one of the 4 families and neighbors that had given me the most helping during I was in the most difficult time to raise my baby, while to support his father to study in Beijing for 3 years. It was her running to the classroom to inform me, that my son had been sent into the hospital and the doctor had given him a death inform. It was also her to cook and sent food to the hospital by walking 3 kilometers daily. Even she remembered to send my son a birthday cake to the hospital. At that time, I was in the poorest time and the whole of my own one day life fee was controlled within 10 RMB, 1.3 USD after paying for my son and his father. A birthday cake was really a cherish gift that made me tear.

Moreover my cleaning lady has come back and her sister called me from Sichan to appreciate me. However, in my heart, it was my cleaning lady making my home comfortable. Also she did not forget to carry 10 duck eggs from her hometown to me. Besides one of my best classmates has helped me to continue my international insurance on Friday.

What good friends and neighbors they are! What a lucky person I am! When I am writing right now, my eyes are misty again. I left my parents since I was 14.5 years old, I was lucky to meet these friends and neighbors. If there were not them, there would not be today’s me and my son. Good neighbors are really dearer than distance relatives indeed.

Do you think so? Do you agree with me?
I am just a learner on that art of painting, music, calligraphy, languages and to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do a little bit things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be An Electronic Bridge Of Culture Exchange, Friendship and Language Learning. To help the others while to improve myself.

I appreciate your understanding, directions and supports. I do hope to get your friendly help...

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirleyz004@yahoo.com. You are welcomed to publish your opinions in the forum.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Written and Edited on Sun, October 21, 2007