Friendship

 I had the pleasure of teaching an exchange student from Beijing last semester.  Lun is a sweet, bright young woman who worked hard.  

She stopped by my office during finals week to drop off her final report for our business writing class.  We chatted a few minutes, then she zipped open her pink back pack and pulled out this lovely Chinese knot and handed it to me.  What a lovely gift!  When I asked her to explain its meaning, she pulled on the edges of the upper knot.  

"It can't be pulled apart," she said.  "We give these to family and friends to show that we can not be pulled apart, either."

I hugged her and told her I would keep it in my work office and would think of her whenever I look at it.  I often tell my students that they have become little pieces of my heart, and it is sweet to know that I have become a little piece of Lun's heart as well.