An Important Choice

張貼日期：Jan 20, 2012 2:30:5 AM

An Important Choice

Nancy Lin

      My hometown, Hsin Kang, is famous for Mazu temple, and there is a Hsin Kang Culture and Education Foundation. Every two or three years, the foundation holds an International Arts Festival and invites foreign performance teams. At this time, the foundation needs some families to be homestays and recruits local residents to be volunteers. Therefore, my family had an opportunity to be a homestay in 2004 and it was also my FIRST time to treat foreigners.

      One day after I came back from my junior high school, my mom asked me a question suddenly, “Do you want to be a homestay?” I answered, “What do you mean, mom?” She said, “The foundation asks us whether we want to be the homestay or not. If you feel like doing so, I will reply our decision to the foundation. Of course, it depends on you.” “I have no idea now, but I will tell you what my decision is,” I said. At that moment, my mind went blank. The most exaggerated thing was that on the same evening, I did not know what I ate at dinner because my mind had been focusing on that question which my mother asked me. After thinking over and over again through the whole night, I told my final decision to my mom in the next morning. “Yes, I will do it.”

      Till now, I still remember every detail that happened at that time. When the foundation informed my family that two Germans would stay at my home, I was so excited and expected their coming. Before they came to Hsin Kang, I did a lot of preparation such as practicing my English, arranging their room, and designing their meals. In fact, I did not believe this event was true until I saw them in person.

      Finally, the day came. It was on November the Sixth, 2004 when they arrived at my home. Upon meeting them, I smiled to them, and shook hands with them. When talking to them, I found my voice trembling. Because it was my first time to speak English with foreigners since I learned English, I was extremely nervous. Anyway, I looked forward to the later days with them.

      Time went by. It was time that they would go back to Germany. At the beginning, I expected the coming of every new day with my foreign friends. However, at this moment, I wished that time could stop and did not move on. I got along with them so well in those days that I did not want them to go back. On the last night of the event, the foundation held a farewell party, and it also meant that I had less time to accompany them. In the party, I kept smiling. Nevertheless, only I knew that the smile was a fake. Actually, my heart kept weeping. Soon, they left Taiwan on November the Fourteenth. Because I needed to go to school, I could not see them off. On that day, when arriving home, I rushed into their room. I felt empty because all their things were gone except a letter on the bed. While I read the letter, my tears rolled down my cheeks. I knew I would miss them very much.

      I was gratified that I made such a choice at that time. Due to that event, I have a fantastic memory and I will never forget every moment with them forever. Even though I had to worry many things like what kinds of meals I should prepare, how they slept at night, and how the way I treated them was, it was a sweet burden. In the following International Arts Festivals, I agreed to do the homestay at once without any hesitation. Hence, I have made many friends from Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, and so on. I also hope that I can know more friends all over the world. Someday, when I travel in some foreign countries, I will have local tour guides accompanying me.