Meeting My Dear Students in Vancouver

Before I went to Canada, I learned from Facebook that Peter Au whom I was once his class-teacher, lived in Vancouver. Peter Au writes e-mails regularly to me, sending me photos of him and wife and children. He really loves his school and respects his teachers very much.

He told me his telephone number before I started my flight. After settling down for a few days in Vancouver, I intended to call him to see if I could meet him someday within my three months of stay. When I got through the line using my daughter’s cell-phone, Peter told me that he was at his office at that moment.

He said he lived at Abbotsford, an-hour drive from Vancouver. To my surprise, he said two other students, Edward Li and Terry Lo (they are actually a married couple), would like to meet me too.

A dinner was arranged by Edward and Terry at their home first, so our family of six became their guests on October 11th. Edward’s house is comfortable and grand. Of the drinks that night, I liked the sparkling apple juice and Edward’s self-made coffee. Of course, the turkey on the dining table was the centre of interest. Edward and Terry told me that it was a thanksgiving dinner to us all. Peter and Rodensa came with their daughter. We cheered and talked all the night.

Since Peter was busy at church affairs, he could only arrange a dinner at his house in Abbotsford on November 22nd. To me, it was a long journey to Abbotsford. To Philip, my son-in-law, would be different because he loves driving. My wife and I sat at the back seat. I took some photos on the way to record the scenery outside. Our grand-children were quiet in the car, sleeping. My daughter,Connie, sat beside Philip. Finally, we arrived at Peter’s house. Rodensa told us a bad news that the heater in their house was out of order, so the dinner that night might be a cold one. Since it was still bright at around three something in the afternoon, Peter drove us around to see the luxurious houses in the area, to take a bird’s eye view of Abbotsford on a hill, to look at his office and visit one of the malls where he first operated his photo-processing shop.

Back to his house, we met Edward and Terry, later Agnes (Peter’s elder sister) and his husband, Wayne, arrived.

Photos were taken to commemorate this reunion of teacher and students after forty years. Rodensa was a capable cook at the house. She prepared most of the dishes. What we felt that night was warmth with hot food and I was delighted to see my students again and they are so good to me.

In the top photo, the left-hand-most is Edward; next to him is Terry, then, Agnes and his brother, Peter. The bottom photo is our "Pairing Game".

If Peter had written “Abbotsford” in Facebook, I would never have met him. Agnes, Terry and Edward.