4 . Driven by her passion for providing quality healthcare, a Latvian woman has won over the hearts of the elderly residing in the nursing home she oversees.

It is incredibly rare to find a Caucasian woman working as the director of a nursing home in Shanghai. But the fact that Anastasija Puzankova can even converse in Liantang, a Chinese dialect spoken only by residents in a small town in southwestern Shanghai, makes her one of a kind.

“I had always wondered how the elderly were getting along with others, or if they were well cared for. I realized that I could better serve them and understand their concerns if I spoke their dialect.” says the 35-year-old, who also speaks Russian, English, Latvian, French and Spanish.

Puzankova chose to study Sinology(汉学) out of her curiosity about China at the University of Latvia in 2003. The next year, she traveled to Shanghai as part of an exchange program and then she spent the next 10 years studying law at Fudan University, graduating with a master's degree in 2014.

Despite her qualifications, in 2018, Puzankova joined Haiyang Group, a Shanghai-based company that operates the nursing home, as an executive assistant. During that period, she performed so well in her nursing and management training that she was appointed the director of the home after just one year.

A caregiver, surnamed Cai, says the atmosphere at the home has changed since Puzankova took charge. “She makes life in the nursing home uplifting and purposeful.” says Cai.

“She throws monthly birthday parties for the elderly, creates a festive mood in the home for every traditional festival and frequently organizes handicrafts classes and activities to stimulate the minds of the residents.”

When family visits and group activities were delayed during the novel coronavirus outbreak, Puzankova came up with a similar idea at the home, purchasing vegetable seeds and growing them in the field near the nursing home so that the residents can observe the plants growing from their windows.

“Just watching the plants grow can lift their spirits. We can also serve these organic vegetables to them.” she explains.

Puzankova says, “I simply like communicating with people, understanding their personalities and offering help when they are in need. Making an elderly person happy isn't hard. It just takes a little time, love and thought.”

5 . It had long been troubling a little boy that his desk mate could rank 1st in the class every time while he failed to: he only ranked 21st.

At home, he asked his Mom, “Mom, am I more stupid than others? I feel I am as hardworking as him, but how come I always fall behind?”     1    

In another test, the son ranked 15th, and his desk mate remained 1st. Back home, he raised the same question.     2     However, was this answer in her son’s best interest? Thank goodness she did not open her mouth.

There were times she wanted to tell him, “Your father and I used to be outstanding. Why aren’t you just as clever?” But she stopped because she felt it was cruel to blame him and that she needed a better answer.

    3     To reduce the burden on her son who was suffering from the pains of unsatisfied grades and rankings, Mom decided to take him to the sea. During the trip, she managed to give out an answer.

Now, the son no longer worries about his rankings, because, with the 1st ranking, he is admitted to a top university.     4     In the lecture, he mentioned a valuable experience, “…When my mother and I was lying on the beach, she pointed to the front and said, ‘Do you see the seabirds over there? When the waves come near, little birds can rise quickly while it would take longer for clumsy sea-gulls to complete the process. However, have you noticed birds that finally fly across the endless ocean are none other than clumsy sea-gulls?’     5    ” The moving speech affected many mothers present into tears, including his mother.

6 . Najib is an Afghan who grew up in Iran. He led a tough life. When he found his children would be in the same situation, his family initially returned to Afghanistan. But with the country filled with conflicts, they decided to leave for Indonesia.

“When we first came here, we were in a bad situation. Its language, culture and even weather were different. We had moved away from friends and family,” says Najib. “I was in a tough position but I acted strong because there were no other choices.”

Refugees (难民) cannot work in Indonesia and there are limited choices for refugee children to attend local schools. Determined to avoid such a fate, a group of refugees in Puncak took action and scraped together (东拼西凑) their resources to set up a school—the Refugee Learning Center (RLC).

“Our only goal and task is to provide basic education, and prepare the refugee children for their future,” says Abdullah Sarwari. “We’re also trying to provide a normal life as much as possible for them.”

The RLC has also started offering Bahasa Indonesia classes to the refugee community. “Between the refugee and the local community, I feel like there’s a language barrier which stops the refugee from having an honest and open interaction with Indonesians,” says Abdullah.

“If you try your best, to learn the language of a particular place or country, it really helps make things easier,” says Najib. He is among those who signed up for classes, although he admits progress has been slow. But life has improved in some ways for him and his family.

Najib says, “The centre is an opportunity for refugee to show that they are not a burden. If they have the opportunity, they can accomplish big and great things like this.”

7 . Being deaf in a hearing world can lead to painful feelings of isolation (孤独).

Waitress Kelsey recently shared an experience on a social media sharing site that   quickly zoomed (陡直上升) to the top of the “ front page of the Internet”. In her brief post, Kelsey explained that she waits tables at a bar during the evenings, and one night she noticed a deaf man sitting alone in her section (区域).

When Kelsey isn’t working at the bar she makes a good hourly pay doing sign language interpretation (翻译), so she sensed an opportunity to use her skill to make this customer feel a little less alone in the world. She approached his table and began chatting with him in sign language.

When the table next to his noticed their silent conversation they asked Kelsey how long she’d been signing. They had a brief conversation about her goal of becoming certified (合格的) to interpret sign language in a medical or mental health setting.She didn’t think much about the whole exchange until the customers had left the restaurant and she was tidying up the tables. There, on the table of the customers who’d seen her American sign language conversation with the deaf man, was a handwritten note on the receipt.

“Thank you for what you do; it absolutely matters!” the note said. “Good luck with finishing your degree!” Not only that, but they’d left her a $100 tip.

Kelsey was moved by the kind note, especially because she wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. To her, she was just conversing with someone in a language that only they understood. Yet to the deaf man and the people seated next to him she’d bridged a gap and helped someone who probably feels lonely a lot of the time.

Kelsey shared the note on the Internet to spread more love and light in the world.

8 . Geese live to be around 25 years old, are very loyal, and never forget their first home. Even so, it came as a total shock to me when, in 2019, an aging adult wild goose made his way back to my family home. Geese love houses with large, green grassland to eat on; the flat area also makes it easy for them to watch out for predators (捕食者). So, at first, I assumed it was just another goose.

And yet, something about the lone male seemed oddly familiar to me. After two weeks of the goose coming back repeatedly, it became clear to me that this wasn’t a random goose. He did all of the same things Peeper used to, like trying to come in through the front door and sleeping in our enclosed pool area. In addition to following Peeper’s old ways, this goose also responded to the name Peeper. Much to my amazement, my old best friend had returned, 20 years later.

Why did Peeper return? It’s hard to say. Perhaps his mate died, leaving him lonely. If s also possible that he is approaching his twilight (薄唇) years and knows it, making him long for his early home. This behavior is typical of geese. Whatever the reason, Peeper continues to live with me. It’s a good thing that I stayed in my childhood home.

He doesn’t come home every single night the way he did as a baby. Some nights he may seek out the comfort of his own kind at the lake nearby. Geese in the wild typically sleep on water. But he’s here a lot, making his presence known and giving me joy. Many years later, the goose still remembers the true meaning of family. So do his people.

9 . My love for libraries blossomed when I joined the public library. From the age of 8 I was allowed to walk from my home to the downtown library, housed above the police station. Once the librarian gave me my first membership card, I could enjoy a range of books, which started with Little House in the Big Woods. I was addicted instantly, and this love of libraries and reading would change my life, allowing me to one day create a safe space for high-school kids, too.

By the time I was in high school, I could read the authors that we were studying in class, including Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and Emily Bronte. During the summer months, I got caught up in Gone with the Wind.

When I studied English literature at university, I thought it was time to build my own library. For the next 40 years, I continued to collect books. Until one day, I realized that all my books had become a part of the house, like wallpaper.

Toward the end of my teaching career, I became a teacher-librarian at my old high school, where I had first learned English literature. This position enabled me to regain my love and appreciation for libraries. I had a generous budget for my classes, so I searched for novels that would interest my teenage audience and hopefully spark a love of books. Fantasy, science-fiction, graphic novels -I bought almost any type of books that my students wanted to read. I bought sofas and comfortable chairs, turning the library into a safe public space, for everyone.

In doing so, I realized that the library isn’t just a place to do research. They are, in fact, places that offer an opportunity to connect with the past, present and future. All that is required is a tiny bit of curiosity. Libraries are places that should be full of life. They help us adjust to the world, and their doors must be kept open to everyone for free!

10 . Another person’s enthusiasm (热忱) was what set me moving toward the success I have achieved. That person was my stepmother.

I was nine years old when she entered our home in the countryside of Virginia. My father introduced me to her with these words, “I would like you to meet the fellow who is well known for being the worst boy in this town and will probably start throwing rocks at you no later than tomorrow morning.” My stepmother walked over to me, raised my head slightly upward, and looked at me right in the eye. Then she looked at my father and replied, “You are wrong. This is not the worst boy at all, but the smartest one who hasn’t yet found a way to give out his enthusiasm. ”

That statement began a friendship between us. No one had ever called me smart. My family and neighbors had built me up in my mind as a bad boy. My stepmother changed all that. She changed many things. She persuaded my father to go to a dental school, from which he graduated with honors. She moved our family into the county seat (别墅), where my father’s career could be more successful and my brother and I could be better educated.

When I turned fourteen, she bought me a secondhand typewriter and told me that she believed that I could become a writer. I knew her enthusiasm, and I saw how it had already improved our lives. I accepted her belief and began to write for local newspapers and finally reached the goal she set for me. I wasn’t the only beneficiary (受益人). My father became the wealthiest man in town. My brother and stepbrothers became a physician, a dentist, a lawyer, and a college president.