“Why did Dad’s job make us move to South America anyway?” I asked Mom. “The TV shows are in Spanish and I miss going to school. The worst part is that I don’t have any friends here. All of the kids speak Spanish.”

“I know it’s hard, sweetheart. I’m lonely here too,” Mom said. “It’s hard to make friends when I can’t talk to anybody.”

Mom hugged (拥抱) me. “We’ll only be living here for eight more months.”

At that moment, eight months sounded like forever. A few days later, Dad said that a man at his work had a daughter my age. “Would you like to invite her over to play?”

“Does she speak English?”

“No,” Dad said, “but I can teach you a few Spanish words so the two of you can talk a little bit.” I shrugged ( 耸 肩 ). “It’s hard to be friends with someone when you can’t really talk to them.” Dad nodded. “I understand, but you wished for a friend.”

“I mean a friend who speaks English.”

“I know, but this might be fun anyway. I’m going to ask her dad to bring her over to our house.”

The following afternoon, Maria and her dad came over. I felt funny because I didn’t know how we’d play together without being able to talk to one another.

“Hola,” I said quietly, which means “hi” in Spanish.

Maria smiled and said something I didn’t understand. I looked at Dad and whispered (低声说), “This isn’t going to work.”

“Give it a chance,” he said.

Then Maria showed me a cardboard box. She’d brought a game called Connect Four. Dad smiled. “You don’t need to speak the same language to play that game.”

Maria and I went to my bedroom and set up the game. We took turns putting the colored disks (圆片) into the board, trying to get four in a row. Suddenly Maria smiled and pointed at the four red pieces in a row.

I smiled and said, “You won. Good game.”

Although I’m sure Maria didn’t understand my words, I could tell she understood my smile.

As we were both laughing, I realized that although we spoke different languages, I’d actually made a friend.

Early one weekend morning. I was sleeping like a log when the telephone rang. It was Grandma. She invited us to her home in the countryside. After a quick breakfast, Dad and I drove to Grandma's.

Once we arrived, we were both thrilled by the breathtaking landscape. The plum trees in the backyard were ripe with fruit, while millions of wildflowers colored the valley. Grandma prepared delicious lunch including her special homemade apple jam, which was my favorite. Talking and laughing, we didn't even notice that it was late in the afternoon. Though somewhat cooler than it had been that morning,Grandma suggested that we take her homemade wooden boat for a tour along the nearby river.

Seated in the boat, looking up at the sky. I felt like the clouds were greeting us cheerfully from above. In the vast fields, the golden trees were like brides in the sun. The breeze skimmed over the surface of the field, carrying the sweet smell of the flowers. "It is so nice to spend some quality time with family." Dad murmured. "It feels like we're on an adventure." I added. "It's been so much fun!"

While we were admiring the splendid setting around us. the weather started getting hot and humid again. At first, we ignored this change, but when dad looked up at the sky, he saw dark, low clouds were approaching us. Then a fierce gale（大风）sprang up. Lightning flashed within the black clouds, followed by a roar of thunder. "Row!" Dad shouted, trembling, "A tornado（龙卷风）is coming!"

Often, when he came to visit, my grandfather would bring me a present. These were never the sorts of things that other people brought, such as dolls, books or toys. My dolls and toys have been gone for more than half a century, but many of my grandfather’s gifts are still with me.

Once he brought me a little plastic cup. I looked inside, expecting to see something special. But there was only some loose soil in it, which made me disappointed. He smiled at me affectionately. Turning around, he picked up a little teapot from my dolls’ tea set and took me to the kitchen where he filled the little cup with water. Back in the living room, he put it on the windowsill(窗台) and handed me the teapot. “If you promise to put some water in the cup every day, something may happen.” he told me.

At that time, I was only five years old. This whole thing made no sense to me at all. I looked at him doubtfully and asked, “Do I have to water it every day? What will happen?” He nodded to me with encouragement, “Yes, every day, dear.”

And so I promised. At first, curious to see what would happen, I did not mind doing this. But as the days went by and nothing changed, it got harder and harder to remember to put water in the cup. After a week, I asked my grandfather if it was time to stop yet. Shaking his head no, he said, “Every day.” The second week was even harder, and I became regretful of my promise to put water in the cup. When my grandfather came again, I tried to give it back to him, but he refused to take it, saying simply the same words, “Every day.” By the third week, I began to forget to put water in the cup during the day. Often, I would remember only after I had been put to bed and would have to get out of bed and water it in the dark. But I did not miss a single day.

One morning, something amazing happened.

This was perhaps my first lesson in the power of perseverance.