It was Pat’s birthday, and it was almost time for her party. Her mom was baking the cake. “Your cake is almost done and it looks good.” Mom said. Pat sat down. But sitting was hard. She got up and ran to the kitchen. Just then, Mom came out with the cake.

Pat and Mom ran into each other. The cake fell on the floor.

It made a big mess. “Oh, no! My cake!” cried Pat. “What should we do?” “Well,” said Mom. “We can have cookies.” “But I want a birthday cake, Mom.” Pat said while she was helping clean up the floor.

About half an hour later, Pat’s friends all came. She told them what happened. And her friends said they could help. The girls sat around the kitchen table. Mom put a big bowl in the middle. Beth put the flour (面粉) and Sue added sugar. Deb added milk and Pat added the eggs. The other girls put in other things. They talked and laughed while they worked.

After a while, Mom took out the cake. Pat tasted a little. “This tastes great!” she said. She learned that she should find ways to get over the trouble instead of crying. Then she looked at her friends and said, “Thank you, my good friends!”

I can still remember the first day of school when I went abroad. Everyone was talking to their friends and laughing about memories they had together. They looked so happy, but I was new and didn’t speak English very well. I just ended up watching everyone. That was the loneliest I ever was.

But then I saw a Asian girl standing alone like me. I tried talking to her in Chinese but she said, “I’m from Korea.” We started talking and eventually(最后) she became one of my best friends in Canada. Her name is Jenny. Since she’s Korean, I didn’t really try talking to the Chinese group. However, that was a good thing because the Chinese group only speak their native language. If I hadn’t met Jenny, I would have surely joined the Chinese group, and my English wouldn’t have improved at all.

During language classes, Jenny and I started talking to the girls sitting at the table behind us. They are my best friends now. Their names are Amy, Eesha and Amorette. We usually talk in English. But sometimes we teach each other different languages. For example, Amy and I teach Eesha Chinese. It’s fun to be around people that want to teach and learn different languages. Gradually, I was able to make more and more friends, and I didn’t feel lonely and more.

Here are some tips to find friends quickly. The first thing to remember is to avoid being shy. Don’t be afraid to just try talking to people. Second, be friendly and welcoming. Maybe share something with them. That is a nice way to meet people.