Children

I am fortunate enough to work opposite Fuxing Park, designed by the French in the early 1900's.

One afternoon in this park, I was finishing eating my lunch before heading back to work, when I met a little Australian kid. I rarely understand anything in this city, and he suprised me. I looked up to hear this voice with an unmistakable australian accent saying 'Where are you from?'

The kid was sitting opposite me on a park bench, accompanied by his chinese babysitter. He was mid way through a messy crepe au chocolate, which made me smile, as I had eaten one a few hours before.

Our conversation went like this:

Boy - WHere are you from?
Me - Australia
Boy- Really? me too.
Me- Really, cool, where?
Boy- Byron Bay. I meet alot of Australians here you know.
Me- Wow, Byron Bay is alot different to here. Do you live here now?
BOy- Yeah, we moved here last year. I go to school near here.
Me- Do you like the weather here? Its always so hot.
Boy - Yeah, I do, its nice.
Me- I bet you miss the beach though dont you?
Boy- WELL OFCOURSE I DO!
Me - I do too. There are no beaches here.
Boy- I know. I just go to the pool. Its probably too crowded today.
Me - Have you made lots of new friends at your school?
Boy- Yes I have friends. I know everyone in my class. But they're not like my friends back home. I dont know why. They're a bit different here, you know? Not like us really.

Oh kids. This little person, with scraggly white blonde beach hair down to his shoulders, was easily the cutest kid in Shanghai. And yet, at the end of our conversation, (right before he proudly informed me that his mum was a Yoga teacher here)-- there was that honest confession, accompanied by his obvious sadness of finding himself in a place unlike home.