Surprise Delivery and Test Anxiety

It's the night before my oral exam and I should probably be heading to bed, but I thought I'd post this before I do. I probably won't sleep well anyway as I'm a bit nervous about the exam. It's not really a proper speaking exam, it's more like a test of how well you can memorize the textbook, so it's a bit tiring to prepare for. My brain is full already!

I went for dinner with Zoe tonight and then on the way back I got a phone call from a guy saying he was from a package delivery company. I wasn't expecting anything, so I was suspicious (I am too paranoid, that's for sure). Then he said he was in 'such and such' a location but I was kind of panicked and my listening skills suck so when I didn't immediately recognize where he was, I asked him to wait a second and then asked poor Zoe to speak to him to figure out what he wanted. (Thanks Zoe!) She said he was at the tennis courts....huh? Neither of us knew where that was. So we hung up and then went into our dorm and asked one of the security guards to help us. She said the tennis courts were too far away and to call him back and tell him to come to our dorm. I called back, but I couldn't seem to get across what I wanted. The security guard then spoke with him and I was told to go walk to the Science and Technology building and wait there. Zoe came too, and when we got there I called the guy again and said I was there. He said to wait a bit, he would be there soon. We waited for about 10 minutes or so and then a white van with with two guys in it pulled up. It was kind of odd because they were facing us, but neither one called out to ask if I was waiting for a package. So we all just sort of sat there a bit longer. Then they flashed their headlights and I walked over to see if it was them. Anyway, after all that I finally got my package! It was from 李超 (Li Chao), my good friend from Shanghai, who I'll finally be able to visit again in the Spring. After I got the package I called his cell, and it was the first time we'd had a chance to speak directly in five years, but we chatted just as comfortably as before, in a mix of both our languages.

Here is what he sent:

The card is for Chinese New Year and inside the box there is a chop (a name stamp) with my name on it, and red ink. The chop is from my old university in Shanghai (East China Normal University) and it has the school motto on one side, and the school's name on the other side. The ink container also has the school's name on it.


It's late and I couldn't get a decent picture of the stamp itself because I was too lazy and it's too dark. But this gives you an idea. My last name is on the right, a single character, and the two characters of my first name are on the left, one on top of the other. My Chinese name is 欧曼妮, or Ou Manni, and means 'Elegant girl,' according to the teacher who chose it for me.
Anyway, I was really touched by this gift and I'm really looking forward to finally being able to see him in person again soon!