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Farewell Chen (October 4th 2008)

It's been two weeks since Chen left for home. We have kept in touch through Gmail. He sent me a picture of his son, LiuU. What a happy baby! Chen says that he rarely cries. What a lucky father!


My favorite memories with Chen will have to be the ones around the ping-pong table. I remember approaching him and asking for my first lesson. He was pleased at my interest and over a series of weeks, helped me break down my bad habits and form new ones. The first few lessons, he just repeated the same three things over and over again: "Move paddle forward", "Keep paddle angle down" and "Don't...do that...again."


This is my favorite picture of us. Chen doesn't smile for pictures. You can only snap a picture of him grinning if he's genuinely happy. He and I were simply expressing ourselves in this shot.


I was totally amazed that Chen could fit an entire year into two small suitcases and a carry on bag. (I suppose that is what missionaries do, but still!) We spent hours that night weighing and re-weighing his bags. He made it on to the plane with only a few grams to spare. Can you believe that the extra baggage fee is $70 for bags 51-70lbs., and $130 for bags 71-100lbs.?


Happy Chen!
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Comments

  1. NoelleWed Oct 22, 06:22:00 AM MDT

    Cute! I love that last one. :) I'm glad he didn't have to pay the extra fee...I know a few family members who've had to do some serious front-of-the-line rearranging to avoid that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Julie TThu Oct 23, 03:04:00 PM MDT

    Let's NOT name any names, shall we?
    I actually paid the $25 instead of thinking of leaving a heavy paperback behind or carrying it under my arm!!!

    This has got to be a very unusual photo of Chen! I'll bet his wife and son would love it!

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