When Will Angel Come Back to China?

My 12-year-old son’s bedtime question last night was “Mom, when will Mrs. Mei bring Angel back to Beijing?

Mrs. Mei (Kathy) was the principal of The Wall Street Journal’s Beijing Office. She and Mr. Mei, who was the first secretary of the U.S. Embassy in China, passed a four-year term here before returning to the U.S. in 2006.My family cherishes memories of our wonderful times with them.Although separated by the Pacific Ocean now, the friendship between our two families has remained close.

“I miss them,” my son added, “and of course, Angel’s toys.” I’d been thinking about the Meis myself, while browsing online articles about the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Their son Angel and my boy are close in age, and whenever they played together, the language obstacle never hindered them. The Meis, both of Guangdong descent, speak fluent Mandarin.

Our first meeting was thanks to a history professor from Beijing Normal University who was invited to give a lecture at the U.S. Embassy; the professor is our neighbor and an “uncle” to our son. On the night of Mid-autumn Festival, 2002, to help the Meis better experience Chinese culture, he invited our two families to go boating on Shichahai Lake and enjoy the celebrations together. As the rippling water glittered with the splendor of lanterns, and traditional music drifted in the air, we chatted, laughed and shared mooncakes. Under the bright moon that night, a happy and harmonious evening was had by all. For the next four years, each international family gathering such as Easter, Halloween, Christmas and birthdays, was an occasion for dozens of children with different skin colors to reinforce old friendships.

Halloween, it has to be said, is the most exciting holiday for the children. Adults spare no effort to dress them up as ghosts or monsters, recreate the features of haunted houses, and provide children with frightening events to scream about.One year, my son was ambushed by two ghosts and pinned down to a table. After he propelled himself out of their grasp by screaming, he didn’t seem to know whether to be terrified or thrilled by the adventure. After breaking out of the scary “mansion,” my son C dressed as a Chinese emperor C led Angel and other kids playing assorted historical and fantastic characters to begin their night’s work of trick or treating from door to door. After every Halloween my son shared his candies with his classmates. Such memories were big milestones in his childhood.

The celebration selected to return this Western hospitality happened to be the Spring Festival. Besides the delicious dumplings, the children received a red-envelope surprise from Mrs. Mei. This gift of money is traditonally given to Chinese children by seniors on Chinese New Year.My son was as excited as if he had won the lottery, for he never expected that an American would honor our customs like this.

At one of these gatherings, we met a college student who had gotten to know the Meis when he was a kid. Through him we discovered the couple had worked in China ten years ago, where they met and fell in love. By the time they came to China again, they were already married, with the family expanded to include their son, Angel. Making friends with local people was one of the pleasurable things that brought them back to China, and now their son was making the same connections with his Chinese counterparts.

The Meis’ bonds with China originate in ancestry, love, career and friendship. As diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. deepen, this American family so entwined with China will undoubtedly find their way back here. As the diplomatic door widens, my friends who studied and visited the U.S. during the past 30 years reminisce more often about their experiences, and discussall-round communications between the two countries. Today, my son still heaves around a sack of coins, treasures collected by his “uncle” when he was on the U.S. lecture circuit. The collection covers the wide variety of money found circulating in each state.My son pours over his map of America,planning to bring his moneybag with him on a future visit there.

It’s natural to hope that, no matter what happens to the China-U.S. bilateral relationship, the childhood friendship forged between my son and Angel will continue.A wonderful reunion in their future is something we anticipate for their grown up selves. Beyond the dance of diplomacy, these kind of simple relationships are what might really count for both countries.

(Courtesy of the author and Beijing Youth Daily, the article is selected from contributions to the writing contest in memory of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Sino-U.S. diplomatic relations, co-sponsored by Beijing Youth Daily and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.)