Connie Anderson & Sophia Lu

Friends can Become Family

When does a friend feel like family? Perhaps the exact
moment is difficult to define, but you know the feeling is
surely there. We have all experienced that wonderful
gift of loving comfort in the company of a close and
dear friend. Such is the friendship between two people who
would seem, at first glance, to have little in common. Meet
Connie Anderson and her sister friend, Sophia Lu:

Pink: How did you two meet?
Connie: Sophia has been in a working relationship in my husband's
business. She is from Shenyang, in the north east of China. Her job is to translate complicated chemical information for Americans who are working in that area. As we saw each other from time to time when I was in China, our friendship grew.
Sophia: Yes, we now call each other older sister and younger sister. The
term in Chinese is "mei mei." I tell Connie that we have the same "chi" which sort of means fate, or life pattern to you, I think.
Connie: We have come to love Sophia and wanted to share with her what
America was really like. We wanted to share the beauty of Hilton Head Island, and some of our history. We are a baby historically compared to China, of course, but we really wanted to show her some of our formative past.

P: Will you be doing any traveling?
Connie: We are doing the Historic Triangle. We are going to Yorktown,
Jamestown, and Williamsburg. That is the best definition of our early history.
From there we are going to Philadelphia. We would also like her to see some truths about America and Americans.

P: Sophia, so far, what are some of your impressions of the Lowcountry?
Sophia: I came in to Savannah Airport and it was very, how do you say,
human. It was not crowded full of people. It felt warm. Hilton Head Island is
beautiful. I have seen many sights that I will never forget. I saw your dolphins and beautiful birds. Here everybody waves to you as you pass and people invite you to their homes! Very different.
Also, there are so many animals here and they are not afraid of the people. Animals and people are harmonious. The pace is so very different.

P: How are you adapting to being in an American home?
Sophia: Home is a better place. Hotels are cold. I love being in a home.
Home is more relaxed and here in Connie's home in Indigo Run, I sit outside and listen to the birds sing. It is so beautiful. I can cook in the kitchen too. Connie is teaching me some American cooking and I am learning very many new dishes.
Connie: I think to see what America and Americans are really like, one
must be in a home and not just as a guest. I think it is important to just be around everyday life things. We cook, clean, and plant in the yard. We are doing just regular things one does in a day. For Sophia this is such a different experience.

P: Sophia what are some of the impressions you will share with people when you return to China.
Sophia: I will tell people from my own eyes about the American way of
life. American style is not McDonald's fast food and Coca-Cola. Chinese people want all American brands, but that is not really America. I will tell about how people here get along with nature in harmony. I will also tell about the Recycle Center. I have never seen anything like that. Also, I see fathers with babies -holding, feeding, pushing in strollers. You do not see that in China. Now I can talk about the real American lifestyle. People are not cold and money grubbing. They are kind and very human.

Friends become like sisters and share with each other life's experiences. Two nationalities from opposite sides of the globe connect in love and harmony. Are we not truly all the same in more
ways than we are different?