Eight Going Once, Do I Hear Ten?

This past Friday I had the pleasure of hosting a unique pizza party at my home; a gathering of wonderful individuals representing 8 countries: America, The People’s Republic of China, The Republic of Georgia, Ghana, South Korea, The Republic of China (Taiwan), Thailand, and Ukraine. We celebrated the first anniversary of the day that Tracy Li asked me for directions on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Because of that chance (fate?) meeting I now count as friends 15 international people who have broadened and enriched my world. We had, as Americans sometimes say, "fun, food, and fellowship" which translates into pizza, beer, watermelon and a lot of laughter! It was very fulfilling to see such a diverse group of individuals talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves. Amongst the group was a young 17 year old girl from a small town outside Shanghai, China. I introduced her to my friend’s roommate, Yu, who is also from China. As life sometimes reveals, it turned out that Yu was also from the same small town 40 miles from Shanghai! Can you imagine how great it was to hear them conversing in their unique Chinese dialect that only folks from that town/region of China can understand? They were both amazed that two people from such a small place in such a vast country as China could meet each other at a party in a house in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. The house I live in was built in 1899. Voices of the past whisper through its many rooms and voices of the present are heard in five languages....on one warm and humid July evening in 2006.