Gabrielle P. Frazier - May 1, 2010

There are so many lessons to be taught. So much to grasp and understand, sometimes only by isolation and through new beginnings.

Today was another amazing day for me. I have been learning new lessons everyday here, reminding me that everyday is a new day and a new opportunity to learn if attentive. As my roommate and I walked down the hill just as we do everyday, preparing to go about our usual day, we stumbled on a lesson of respect being taught. What a beautiful lesson, new just as all the others.

A local grandmother walked with her grandchild which is very common here. Her granddaughter had to have been maybe two or three, however there is no such thing as too young or too old to learn or adapt. “Ni Hao” is a very common greeting, a common translation of “Hello.” However culturally “Ayi Hao” is a form of respect reserved for the older or elderly and most respected of individuals. Instead of these particular locals saying “Ni Hao,” the grandmother looked at us and pointed instructing her granddaughter to say “Ayi Hao.” Despite our ethnicity, cultural differences and perhaps inability to comprehend what was being said or taught, an important lesson was taught in our midst. Respect despite anything else is reserved and owed to all humankind.