Human Interaction

One of my favorite parts of my day happens sometimes when I am fingerprinting. These moments are brought to you by the precocious children and happy elders of China. Today, it was a child. Often when I say, "ni hao" and wave to the kids, their parents smile, and the kids hide. Today, a spunky little seven-year-old responded with, "Hello!" and a huge grin. The look on her face made me melt. When I had finished with her mother's fingerprints, she gave me a perfect smile and said "Goodbye, have a happy day!"

A few weeks ago, I had another adorable child, this time a 10-year-old boy. After I had fingerprinted his parents, he looked up at me and said in flawless English, we had this conversation.

Child: "Hello madame. May I please give it a try"

Slim: "How old are you?"

Child: " I am 10-years old" (said very proudly)

Slim: "Sure, left hand. Right hand. Thumbs. All done. Perfect!"

Child: "Thank you very much. Have a good day."

Finally, the elderly people often make me smile. I have had old women jump up and down and tell me how beautiful I am. I have had older men tell me they are sorry I am married because they would like me to marry their sons. And I have had many people smile and laugh at my Chinese, but I know they are doing it in a loving way.

Fingerprinting can be long, it is four hours of doing the same task over and over again, however, time flies when you have fun people to interact with.