I went to my Chinese friend’s village located in the Northern China near Shenyang, Liaoning province. My friend's name is Xiao Ying. But I fondly call her “tudou” (meaning potato). Tudou’s family is very protective, loving and caring. In her family, the family members love and care about each other, and they also try to protect each other from harm. Tudou has a big family including her parents as well as her brother and her sister-in-law and their 7 year- old girl, Alice. Todou’s niece Alice is very cute and she was a great lover of food like tudou. So they were always attracted to the tasty food and eat them together.

I would like to mention few incidents which will remain in my memory forever. One day when tudou’s niece returned from school, I told her that her bun hairstyle looked very pretty. She burst into laughter and then pulled the bun from her hair and placed it in my hands, saying “a yi, zhe ge bu shi zhen de” (this is not a real one aunty!!!). We both started laughing. Although we couldn’t understand each other due to language barrier, we played together, had fun and became good friends in a short time. Alice was very pleased as I often bought her chocolates. During the last day of our stay, Alice came to me while I was packing my clothes and said in a very sad tone ” wai guo a yi qing ni bu yao zou” (Foreign aunty please don’t go). I never imagined that this little girl will get emotionally attached to me in such a short time. How can I forget her father shedding tears while bidding goodbye to us. During my stay there, he didn’t talk to me much as I can not speak Chinese. But he made sure that I was comfortable at their house.

It may sound too emotional to write about these incidents which may seem trivial to the readers. But they have taught me bigger lessons about life and human relations. These incidents made me realize that emotions don’t need a language. What we need is a kind and loving heart to make others happy.

The present world has become a very busy place with human relationships becoming more fragile than ever before. We are being able to deliver messages to people who are thousands of miles away in a matter of seconds but we are too busy to write a thank you note to our well-wishers who live a few miles away. We could talk to anyone far away with a simple dial but we couldn’t greet our neighbors with a smile. What’s more? When was the last time you watched the sun rising? When was the last time you listened to the chirping sounds of birds? When was the last time you cracked a joke or you laughed heartily at someone’s joke? When was the last time you strolled with your loved one? When was the last time you listened attentively to the stories of your little ones without looking at your mobile phone or laptop?

Dear friends, remember that even a small gesture of kindness or a few caring words can bring smiles on people’s face. Simultaneously, it will bring immense happiness and joy to you as well. Pay attention to the smallest details as we never know what surprise life brings for us. Live life to the fullest as we never know how much time we’ve got. After all, we are all here to spread smiles and to make the world we live a better place. Isn’t???

Written by: Leela Rani Chavan from India, 1st year Masters Student, School of Medicine, Shandong University.

Source: School of Medicine