Weekly Message from HOS 2026/04/27-2026/04/30
Dear Keystonians,
I am enchanted by the concept of “Chinese Stories.” I return to it often when describing our school to visitors. I deeply believe that all of us—whether Chinese or from somewhere else—are living stories that are, in their own way, Chinese stories. And these stories ripple outward, serving China’s hopeful vision for a safe and healthy future on our planet.
To that end, I thought I would share a short story. A colleague suggested I share it here.
I drive a small green electric scooter sometimes. It is so cool. I have never had a scooter before coming to China, but I often ride a bike and couldn’t help but notice how the scooters seem like a fairly safe* and convenient way to get around our neighborhood. So, a couple of years ago I walked to a scooter shop down the road and bought one.
Turns out it was a little complicated for a foreigner with poor language skills to buy a scooter. But the people there helped me, and when I went to pick it up, a local official came to help ensure the paperwork was all in order. We took a picture together. After I thanked her warmly, she asked if I would consider writing a short letter praising the efforts of the small group of neighbors who came together to help. I quickly obliged, and we took another picture together before I scooted away.
Later, someone told me that supporting foreigners living in Houshayu must have been a Key Performance Indicator for their shop, so I was helping them with evidence for their annual report.
I was glad to help with that. They were so lovely to me.
Fast forward a couple of years. My scooter had a small problem with the front brake. The line was leaking a bit of fluid, and I don’t have the tools—or, despite what I like to think, the know-how—to fix it. The shop where I bought the scooter had closed. So I asked a colleague if he knew of a place I could go to get it fixed.
He kindly offered to take it to the shop for me. But I couldn’t ask someone else to take my scooter. Call it stubborn independence. So I practiced the questions I needed to ask with my Chinese language teacher, and I rode to a shop about 15 minutes from school.
When I got there, the front door was locked and an older couple was sitting inside. Since I could see them through the glass, I waved, and they came out the side door.
"Nǐ néng bāng wǒ xiū yīxià shāchē ma?" (“Can you help me fix my brake?” )
They said the shop was their son’s, and he wasn’t there right now.
“When will he come back?” I asked.
The mother said about an hour and asked if I wanted to wait.
Why not? She invited me in and offered me some nuts, and we had a long conversation using almost 100% of my conversational skills at that point.
She grew up not far from where the shop is now, right here in this neighborhood. She remembers when there were no cars. She used to live across the street where there is now a school. She has no grandchildren yet, but she hopes to have them soon. She likes to cook. She is proud of her son; he is very smart. She and her husband were married in their 20s. Her favorite color is red. She thought the weather was a little cold, but it will be getting warmer next week. She thought that when her son comes home, it will take about 30 minutes to fix the bike. She wondered if I still had time.
Sure enough, her son was home before we knew it. She went to the little kitchen behind the shop and started preparing food for her husband. She asked if I wanted to come in and eat. I thanked her but said no—I would have to leave as soon as the scooter was fixed. It was getting dark.
Since it was winter, the sky was darkening, so I held the lamp over my scooter in the small alleyway by the shop. Her son carefully bled the whole brake line and replaced the handle brake and fluid vessel. Indeed, it took him about 25 minutes to carefully repair the damage caused by the leak.
After he was all done, he said it would cost ¥150. Even though a friend said it was much too expensive, I was amazed at how cheap it was. I got an hour-long speaking class and a 30-minute tutorial on repairing a brake line, and snacks were included too!
I thanked the family for their time and scooted back to campus.
Adventures are everywhere. They are always available to us and don’t have to cost much. Living here in Houshayu, thousands of miles from my hometown, even a simple afternoon errand can be a meaningful learning experience.
This is what we mean by Chinese Stories. They are not grand tales reserved for history books or museum walls. They are happening right now, in a scooter shop on a side street, in the kindness of a mother offering nuts to a stranger, in the careful hands of a son fixing a brake line. These are the stories our students are living every day—on their ELP trips, in their classrooms, and in the ordinary moments between.
Experiential learning does not require a plane ticket or a formal program. It requires curiosity, a willingness to try, and a little bit of courage to say “Why not?” when a stranger invites you to wait.
Thank you to the family who fixed my scooter. Thank you to our teachers and caring families who create these kinds of adventures for our students. And thank you to all of you for being part of the Chinese Stories that make this community so special.
Wishing you all a peaceful 五一 （wu yi) weekend! I can’t wait to hear your stories.
Warmly,
Emily
*Always wear your helmet! I do!
