And One:

This post will bump the last post off the top of the blog. But that is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with this site, so check it out. 

Li Ball

Li Ball was a main character on this blog, featured here, among other places. We have emailed a little bit since I left China, and I sent him an email around Christmas time. The note I wrote to him was nothing special. Just a bunch of simple sentences saying something along the lines of, “Hey Li. I was playing basketball and thought about you and everyone else from the basketball courts. I hope you’re good….”

I did not expect much in response. Despite the fact that he was an email pin-pal, my relationship with Li did not feel all that substantial. Indeed, I had always lamented the fact that I wasn’t able to foster  any truly meaningful relationships with basketball-playing Chinese people. Sure, there were guys who I played with regularly, guys who I was familiar with, even guys to whom I would later send emails. But no real friends.

This letter suggests otherwise: 

Hello. It is my pleasure to have received your letter and I really share happiness with you when I knew you had returned to the U.S. and had celebrated Christmas with your family.

The period when we played basketball together is very nice. Your skill and attitude to basketball left us deep impression. We also feel proud that we have such a good friend as you.

Now we keep playing basketball every week. Sometimes we miss you and talk about you. We sincerely look forward to you coming back to China again, playing basketball together and being good friends.

I am busier in working than before and my office has been moved into a new building. There is a standard indoor basketball gym. If you come back to China, I will invite you to the new gym to play basketball. Every friend is fine, don’t worry about them. The biggest Chinese festival-Spring Festival is around the corner. Here I pay a New Year call and wish you a happy New Year.

Yours sincerely

Li

Pretty cool, I think.