My Foreign Friend

By Chen Jing

Over 20 years ago, Auntie Fei came to Chengdu to visit my father one day. My father was invited to a party. A moment after he went to the party, he telephoned me: “Hey, there is a Filipino man here. You can come here to practice English with him.”

“What?” I felt totally puzzled.

When I arrived there, the man standing in front of me was a tall white man, not a Filipino—he was nearly 2 meters in height. I looked at Auntie Fei and felt at a loss. She laughed and told me that the man was her husband and he was an excellent engineer from Australia. His name was Philip. However, my dad heard wrong, and mistook Philip for Filipino.

Philip was an honest, sincere, and nice man. I spoke to him in simple English sentences and he answered my questions carefully and patiently. If I did not understand his words, he would make gestures to Auntie Fei and ask for help. Auntie Fei would then shake her head and let him solve the problem himself. And poor Philip had to use gestures, drawings, and all other possible methods then to make himself understood.

Later, Auntie Fei and Philip went back to Australia. Whenever Auntie Fei called my dad, Philip would always ask to talk to me.

20 years later when they came to Chengdu again, I had already become a mother and had a cute daughter named Xiaoxiao. Philip was so happy to meet my baby—just like the first time he met me. However, Xiaoxiao was scared by this tall foreign man with blue eyes and a high nose. Her loud cry floored the sixty year-old man, who apologized again and again for upsetting the baby.

In order to make communication easier, this time Philip brought an ipad with translation software. He told me he liked Mapo Tofu and Kungpao Chicken in Chengdu. He had tried to cook these dishes many times in Australia, but hadn't got the recipe right. We took them to eat the authentic versions in the neighborhood, and he was full of praise.

In fact, we do not need to give much concern to nationality, age, or personal experiences when we make a friend. Sometimes, friendship may be light as water； sometimes they miss each other. Happiness is to have a friend who can converse and exchange ideas with you. Phillip is just that type.

20年前的一天，爸爸的老同學費阿姨不遠萬里來成都。爸爸應邀赴約，沒多久，就給我打來電話：“來了一名菲律賓人，快來練口語。”菲律賓人？練口語？我丈二和尚摸不著頭腦。

誰知到了一看：這哪是菲律賓人啊，長得白白凈凈的，個頭有1米9左右。我問費阿姨到底是怎么回事。費阿姨哈哈大笑。原來，她的先生叫菲利普，是澳大利亞著名的工程師。我爸把“菲利普”聽成了“菲律賓”，才鬧出笑話。

菲利普能力出眾，卻很謙遜、耐心。我用簡單的句子慢慢和他聊，他認真地一一回答。即使有些問題很幼稚，他也絲毫沒有不耐煩。遇到我不懂的單詞，他就像個做錯事的小朋友，雙手在胸前合十，向費阿姨求救。費阿姨總是搖搖頭，讓他自己想辦法。可憐的菲利普，只有做出委屈的表情，聳聳肩，通過用手比畫、畫圖等方式，讓我明白他的意思。

菲利普（右）和小小 Philip (right) and Xiaoxiao

他們回澳大利亞后，每次費阿姨和我爸爸通話，菲利普都在旁邊“央求”，希望和我說兩句。

轉眼20年過去了。當費阿姨和菲利普再次來到成都時，我已經當上了媽媽，有了一個可愛的女兒——小小。菲利普見到小小時，還是當年見我的那副高興樣兒，露出天真的笑容。小小卻被嚇哭了，她第一次見這個高個子、高鼻梁、藍眼睛的爺爺。這一哭，竟讓60多歲的菲利普不知所措，慌忙著一再道歉。

為了能夠更加順暢地交流，菲利普這次專門帶上了ipad，下載了翻譯軟件。他告訴我，在成都，他最喜歡吃的就是麻婆豆腐和宮保雞丁。上次吃過之后，他回家經常自己做，但總做不出那個味兒。于是，我們帶著菲利普吃成都正宗的麻婆豆腐和宮保雞丁，他贊不絕口。

在我看來，朋友可以無所謂國籍，無所謂年齡，也無所謂閱歷。朋友之交可能淡如水，但彼此掛念。有能聊到一起的朋友，便是幸福。菲利普，是長輩，也是一位很好的朋友。