Let the Conversations Begin

I met with Cheng Kaipeng from China today. It started off a little rough, because giving directions in english to someone who is trying to learn the language isn't an easy task. There was some awkward silence at the beginning of the conversation, but after we broke the ice the conversation was better. We chatted about life in China, missing friends at home, the usual stuff. One thing that stuck out to me was he lived in dorms during high school. The school he went to was a half-day drive by car, so he just lived there and only went home for two weeks during the entire school year! That blew my mind, I would have been a hot mess if I hadn't lived with my parents through high school. That's a critical time for maturation and the necessity of guidance. It was as if he'd been going to college now for five years! Also- he's an only child because of China's harsh fines for having more than one child. China's attempt to curb their population growth caused his desire for a sister to be unattainable. He was actually really sad when I asked him if he had any siblings, he wants a sister so badly. Since he can't have a sister, his immediate family (aunts, uncles, cousins) is extremely close. He and his cousin essentially are brother and sister. Also- apparently there is no drinking age in China (this also blew my mind). Cheng has been buying beer for his father since he was 10 years old! I can't imagine a 10 year old kid just walking around with a six pack in his hand in America. He misses drinking and smoking a lot. He wishes he could smoke in his dorm room here, that is a big problem for him. He also talked about his Venezuelan roommate who's english is worse than his! Apparently they've gotten really good at communicating without words, since their native languages are not compatible (chinese and spanish). Overall, it was a pleasant, if forced conversation, but I look forward to our future meetings!