Entry 3: Louisville's Guest by Wang Runze

The first glimpse from the air

The first glimpse of Louisville came when I was still in air. The street lights which was becoming brighter and brighter against the dark woods unfolded in the night curtain , magic and graceful. What I saw was but a corner, What did she look like in a whole? I wondered.

The plane landed smoothly on the runway where only a twinkled light blinked in the deep dark. How tranquil and tender! “Louisville, I am coming”, I whistled. There were few people around and no store in service. We were the only intruders of the quiet night. Out of the hall we were greeted by the host teachers and students, they said “Welcome to Louisville” to us and we joined to leave the airport happily, no unpractical yet annoying welcome ceremony. That’s OK!

Seth , a student in grade 10, was responsible for taking care of me. He was blond and spoke Chinese a sentence or two. I also met Miss Wang Xiaoxuan once an elite student in my school and now a student here.

The idle life in Louisville
Then I was with Seth and his family together. We bit farewell to other newcomers and find a restaurant. On the way,I stammered out words by words with Seth and cheerfully to learn that he had been to my hometown Jiujiang.

The restaurant we entered was as noisy as in china. Its decoration reminded me of old films, like a bar with a bit of western style. I liked it very much. In the slow, sad, lasting forever melody, time tickled away and people relaxed into meditation. We are served with American hamburger, bread, tomatoes, onions, beef pies and cheese. We enjoyed our dinner idly, don’t minding that it was late at night. Perhaps this was so called ease life.

I met and talked with a compatriot from Shandong Province. He spoke English fluently and appeared lonely ,perhaps because of homesick ,I guessed. Seth’s Dad and his grandpa had been to china too. Oh! What a predestinated relation his family had with china. It begun to snow when we went back. It occurred to me that it was snowing heavily when I was born. Mum told me this many times.” Mum and Dad , I miss you!” a voice rose swiftly from my heart.

It is still snowing when we arrived at Seth home. It was a big house with 3 floors. the dining room and drawing room are in the first floor. Three living rooms in the second floor, a tiny library and a hall (big enough to hold a party) in the basement . Seth bred 3 lovely dogs! Another Chinese student Jason lived in Seth home too, and we played for long that night.

Collegiate school

Collegiate is composed by 4 sections: the primary school and refectory, the junior high school and kindergarten, the senior high school , and the art pavilion .its classroom looks small but spacious for more than ten students , moreover, every classroom is unique. For example , Chinese calligraphy and dragon ,panda adorn the classroom, Lizards, pythons may climb in biology classroom . everything is clear, everywhere is cleaned.

Collegiate emphasizes its fame. every honor will be placed in the bulletin board by the entrance door. As to teachers I could hardly judge their capacity for my poor English , but I could feel their enthusiastic , they are all good and the physics teacher is my favorite.

In the school I made a lot of friends：Jason、Rose、Kevin、Elizabeth…, Jason is from Hangzhou and Anna from Nanchang. Besides , I took part in many parties which were held frequently. More than often I couldn’t hear what they talked about, but I enjoyed myself in the atmosphere.

My second residence

Before long, I moved to Kyle home. “Kyle is a math genius”, Miss Wang Xiaoxuan told me. I was good at math too, and eager to exchange ideas about math, but the language barrier stood between us. Kyle home is relatively small and not that bright. The house had 3 floors too. Living room, kitchen and dining room is in the first floor, 3 living rooms and a bathroom in the 2_rd floor , Kyle studio and a garden occupy the 3_rd floor. Kyle’s father petted a dog and several chicken, I wanted to pet something in fact.

Kyle Study room is very big with plenty of books, sometimes I desired to stand there for a whole afternoon, but I retreated for I could not read these English books. I found many compact disks when seeing his bookcase, that made me feel easy because we shared a lot : Kyle was introvert, me too; he was a COD fanatic, me too; he had a insight in math, so did I; he loved playing games, so did I!

My first Chinese lunar new year Eve spent abroad

The Chinese lunar new year ,a special day, arrived on a Saturday. I got up at 9, took a brief breakfast, then played violin. In a matter of fact, I knew the CCTV spring festival Gala had begun that moment, but I had no time to watch it more. I dropped my violin at 11 and sat in front of TV to witness the new year countdown on the gala. 10, 9, 8……2, 1. Ah, comes a new year! I held back my emotion in the Eve without family aside. Kyle family are considerate, and invited me to paste paper_cut for windows decoration, and held a party to celebrate. I forgot my longing for parents and sang and danced gaily.

The next evening, we went to KCD to take part in a farewell party. I saw Seth there, the last meeting with her in America . everyone seemed rejoiced, enjoyed the revelry before separation. Talent and skill performance begun after the party. I played violin, with several flaws for my nervousness ,followed by a solo 《Superstar》， I exposed myself and were conscious that I was but a bystander. Tomorrow I would leave America .

She is Louisville , I am a passerby.

The other side of gathering is separation. How time flies! 15 days past in a snap. Originally, I thought I had been involved in Louisville in these 15 days, but it was not true. I was still her guest. The spectacle of the city viewed from plane remained graceful. We hurried in, hurried out. We brought in nothing, left down nothing. She is still Louisville, I am still a guest

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