Dateline: Lianyungang

Several days ago, I met my best junior high school friend and spend a whole day hanging out in Lianyungang. It was the first time I had seen him in three years.

Lianyungang is a port city and metropolitan area of 4.5 million people on the Yellow Sea north of Shanghai and south of Beijing.

I am happy to report that he is just as enthusiastic and friendly as he was three years ago. One reason we hadn’t met, was that I had be studying in the U.S. and I didn’t want to bother them when they were studying and preparing for Gaokao, the national exam.

Due to my study abroad, I am still a high school student while many of my friends are in their first year of university. Actually, his friend just feels disgusting for such a reason. His friend may not like his picture and name shown due to his major, therefore Tony just uses a masked picture.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many indoor places of entertainment such as a cinema were restricted. After wandering the streets for hours, we were at a KTV, or karaoke club, singing all afternoon although neither one of us is a great singer, especially me.. We talked a lot about our times in junior high school, my friend’s college life, and my experience in America.

After so much time being isolated, it was good to see an old friend.