「有話要説」 (林翠儀) (04/13/14)

               My Cherished Friendships                   Linda Lau  林翠儀

                                                                                                                                April 7, 2014


When I first heard of the fortieth Minh Vien High School Reunion, many of the youthful faces of my classmates appeared in my mind, and they were young, innocent, and beautiful. I wondered if I would still be able to recognize my classmates after not having seen them for 40 years. Maybe I won’t. But does it really matter? Regardless of whether we look young or old, whether we are married or single, whether we have successful careers or are struggling financially, or whether we are healthy or ill, we all should feel grateful that we have made it through thus far to be a part of this fortieth reunion.

Although we have gone our separate ways and have lived very different lives since 1974, one thing we all have in common is that we grew up with pride from the same place - Minh Vien High School (MV). MV not only provided us excellent academic programs and great teachers to prepare us for life, it also gave us a special sense of belonging to an extended family. It was a place we felt comfortable calling our second home; a place for us to grow up together; a place for us to gain not only knowledge but also truths about life; a place that did its best to instill good values in us to live by; and a place to guide us in the right direction on our path to adulthood. I cannot be more proud to be a MV graduate, and I am sure many of you feel the same way. After 40 years, as the class of 1974, we are so blessed to have the opportunity to be together once again to reconnect our friendships, to share our feelings, to tell our stories, to recall our memories, and to celebrate the milestones we have accomplished in life. I am so excited and just cannot wait to see all of you at the reunion on April 27!

The fortieth reunion would not be possible if 張碧雲 and 張美桂did not take on the challenge of organizing it. Please join me in thanking each of the members of the Reunion Committee led by張碧雲 and 張美桂 for their hard work in making this fortieth reunion a reality. Without their devotion and the countless hours they spent to plan the event, none of this would have happened. They not only organized this reunion of almost 70 guests, but also went the extra mile in planning the one-day and four-day tours as additional fun-filled gatherings for all of us. I cannot imagine how much effort they have committed to planning all these events, not to mention the time they set aside to answer the many questions and requests we had. This was such an overwhelming project that required endless planning, tireless energy, and immense efforts to accomplish. They deserve a big round of applause!!! The Class of 1974, let’s live up to their efforts and enjoy this once in a lifetime fortieth reunion to the fullest!

When 郭瑞意 asked me to write an essay in celebration of the reunion event, I did not think I could deliver, as I have not written an essay in Chinese for many years. In addition, I have such a hard time typing Chinese on my computer, due to my poor Hanyu Pinyin (漢語拼音), that it would take me forever to type just a short paragraph. However, then she suggested that I write it in English. My English is not the best either, but at least the typing part is a lot easier. She wrote to me: "翠儀, I know you can do it. Let your essay serve as a gift to me and to all of our Minh Vien friends." It was her faith in me that motivated me to write this essay, and without her inspiration, I could never have done it with confidence. I hope you will be able to enjoy this gift to you, as it is the most sincere gift I have ever given.

My next dilemma was that I had no idea what to write. After all, many things can be easily forgotten over 40 years of time. However, as I started writing, I realized that my high school memories have made such an impression on me that I could recall them effortlessly. There were so many things I remember vividly, as if they just happened yesterday. The years I studied at MV were the best years of my life, as I had so much fun and happiness in those good old days at school. Above all, the most precious and unforgettable memories to me were those of the good friends I had made and the wonderful times I had spent with them.

I remember 張香always patiently waiting for me to walk home with her just about every day. We would buy coconuts from a street vendor and share the juice on the way home. We have known each other since we were nine years old. Back then, we lived in the same alley. On weekdays, she would meet me at my house after dinner, and then we would take a stroll in the nearby area (豪華戲院附近) so that we could buy some snacks to eat while chatting. On weekends, we would go swimming (even on rainy days), watch movies, or just hang out with other friends. We spent so much fun time together and I enjoyed every second of it.

林翠儀and 張香(右)

林翠儀and 張香(右)

Our long-lasting friendship not only stands the test of time, but also grows stronger and stronger as years pass. Although we have moved forward with our lives, had families of our own, and lived thousand miles away from each other, after all these years, she is dearer to me than ever. She is my go-to person to share all my ups and downs. We can talk on the phone for hours upon hours and never run out of things to say. Sometimes we do get busy and fail to call each other for a long while, but we are always able to pick up right where we left off in no time when we talk again. And most importantly, she is always there to listen and comfort me whenever I need her support. Oh 張香, you don't know how much I appreciate your friendship and how lucky I feel to have you as my life-long best friend!

I remember 張月嬌, my first acquainted classmate at MV, who sat right next to me the first year I was there. To me, she was more than a friend; she was my mentor who guided me in speaking Mandarin. My fluent Mandarin today is her credit. From her, I also learned to see things in different perspectives, which enabled me to be more understanding and empathic of other people or circumstances. 張月嬌, thank you for your positive influences.

I remember 顏美玉, our孝班班長, as someone we all counted on for so many things in class. She was honest, trustworthy, caring, and willing to serve. I have a lot of respect for her. I remember we spent hours together in designing and publishing 壁報 every year. Outside school, she sometimes picked me up on her motorcycle and took me out to eat. I enjoyed and cherished the time I had spent with her. Speaking of壁報, I could not forget two other friends: 蕭銀珍 and黃佩媛. They always helped out with their special talents. It was蕭銀珍's elegant calligraphy and黃佩媛's beautiful watercolor painting that made our壁報shine.

左起: 顏美玉, 林翠儀, 蕭銀珍, 潘啟湘, 黃佩媛
背後是我們的壁報

I remember meeting 洪碧雲 through the站崗activity. Many of you may not remember her as she only attended MV for the first year, but our friendship grew even stronger after she left MV. Our friendship started when she invited me and a group of classmates to hang-out at her house. Since then, we spent many weekends together along with, 王建中, 劉務浩, and sometimes 何志良. Those days were so fun! Although we no longer hung out as a group after high school graduation, I still saw her regularly. Before she left Viet Nam in year 1979, my mom told me that she came over to my house several times trying to say good bye to me, but I was not in town at the time! Back then we had no telephone, so she left without being able to see me or talk to me. We have completely lost touch since then. Even today, I still cannot get over the fact that I missed the chance to say farewell to her. 洪碧雲, where are you?

左起: 王建中, 符曼燕, 林翠儀, 黃佩媛

I remember 蔡嫈嫈transferring from 忠班to 孝班 and sitting right next to me the second year. We quickly became good friends. 王春娥and I sometimes went to her house to either study together after school or hang-out on the weekends. We always felt very comfortable chatting, snacking, laughing, and napping at her place. After high school graduation, she grew her hair very long. One day, she came to see me after school (she was attending college at the time) and told me that she was really busy with her school work and might not have time to see me often. I still remembered how lovely she looked with her long flowing hair that day, which was the very last time I saw her. 蔡嫈嫈, I miss you!

蔡嫈嫈(左) and 林翠儀

I remember that 王國媚and I were brought together by our mutual interest in composing new styles of poems (新詩). It was not only enjoyable reading her poems, but also very fun to be friends with her. I loved to talk to her because she always made me laugh. Her hearty laughter was like the sunshine that brightened up many of my days. Even though she lived in Saigon which was a long way from where I lived, 張香 and I were still willing to bike the long distance to hang out with her on some weekends.

I remember meeting 符昌雄 the first time at the graduation party when he asked me for a dance that night. Although we studied at the same high school (we were in different classes), interestingly, I had never met him until that night. He then surprised me by visiting me at my house the very next morning! We started dating afterwards and he eventually became my first boyfriend. Although we eventually went our separate ways, the time we spent together was memorable.

I remember there were many other friends I had made at MV:
吳愛基, 李喜貴, 王春娥, 王建中, 蕭銀珍, 蘇彩蘭, 江燕瓊, 盧業喜, 何博, 陳雪玲, 謝憶梅, 譚潔芬, 莊友松, 黃佩媛, 楊靜敏, 王潔茜, 姚慧碧, 楊文照, 黃有勝, ...

孝班合唱比赛

Actually, 何博 and謝憶梅 have been my friends since elementary school. Particularly, 何博and I were not only the only friends between our families; our siblings were also close because they all attended the same school of 國文學校as we did. Because of this, I became acquainted with some of his siblings and cousins as well. Furthermore, his eldest brother-in-law was a good friend of mine back home and one of his cousins was my husband’s best friend. What a small world we live in!

Although last time I saw 何博 and陳雪玲in San Jose was over 10 years ago, from time to time, I get to see the photographs they post on their blog (宏博天地) from various gatherings of MV classmates. Viewing these photos is a big comfort for people like me who can’t attend the gatherings. He recently also furnished a MV classmates contact listing for all of us that I find very helpful. For this essay, it was particularly convenient for me because I could copy the Chinese names of the mentioned classmates from his listing instead of typing them myself. I imagine the listing must have taken up a lot of his time and effort to accomplish. 何博, thank you for your dedication and contributions.

Some of my friendships actually were developed after high school graduation. I remember running into楊瑋瑜at our 班主任譚老師's house one day when I visited Mrs. 譚. We started talking and felt pleasantly connected. That was how our friendship sparked. One day she said that she wanted to sew me a dress as a gift to me, so I let her take my measurements. I did not expect much because she told me that she just finished her sewing class. However, a couple weeks later, she brought me the dress. Bingo! It fitted me perfectly the first time I tried it on! Isn’t she talented? I really loved the dress and wore it many times to show off. 楊瑋瑜, did you remember the beautiful dress you sewed me?

The floral dress 林翠儀 wore was sewed by 楊瑋瑜

The friendship of 蘇杏儀 was another surprise for me. We were not that close back in high school, but she always made an effort to visit me every time she was in Houston, Texas. Every now and then, I receive emails and photos from her when she takes pictures with other classmates. She also managed to send me an annual Christmas card for many years. She has definitely made good effort to reconnect with MV classmates as she and her husband travel all over the world.

後排左起：張香, 林翠儀, 馬愛新, 張玉葉, 黃佩媛  
前排左起：蘇彩蘭, 越文老師, 江燕瓊,  霍玉玲, 趙慧屏

後排左起：余明珠?, 謝憶梅, 潘老師(化學), 丘思蓮, 譚潔芬, 黃佩媛
前排左起：曾夢荃, 林翠儀, 張香, 吳愛基

After 40 years, I am luckily to acquire the belated friendship of 郭瑞意 through our email correspondences. Back in high school, she and I were not even acquainted. Nevertheless, she warmly welcomed me to stay at her house for the reunion event. Her generous invitation truly touched my heart and I cannot thank her enough for making me feel so welcome! We started our email communication last December when she asked me to send her my photos and Christmas greeting for her joint Christmas celebration blog. Her idea of joint celebration was wonderful, as that was the very first time I could see the pictures of so many classmates along with their families in one single place. In addition, I was also very impressed with her blog work and her fluent Chinese writing. Through her emails with me, I can sense her genuine sincerity, hospitality, and warm-hearted personality, which I really admire. It was a pity that I did not get to know her better back in the high school years, but I am blessed that I have her in my life now. 郭瑞意, thank you for being my friend.

“Good friends are like stars… You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.” This quote best describes the friendships I hold dear. Although all of my good friends I mentioned above are like distant stars that live far away, and I have lost touch with some of them completely; at the same time, I know that they are always there because they live in my heart and they shine in my memories when I think of them. They are my very special friends; as you can see, they each touched my life in their own special way. Their genuine friendships are something I would cherish for a lifetime.