"Missing YCIS-BJ" by Former Student Bowen Zhong | 《怀念北京耀中》—校友钟沐恩

Bowen Zhong

On January 22, 2020, I officially left my first school, the Yew Chung International School of Beijing, to go to study in the UK. I was excited to be attending my new school, but also extremely reluctant to leave YCIS Beijing. Whenever I think back upon the last three and a half years, think back upon my teachers and friends, and think back upon all of the precious memories here, I am filled with happiness.

I still clearly remember the uneasiness I felt on my first day at YCIS Beijing. I was not confident with my grades back then, but I slowly acclimated and began to enjoy my studies and my life there. Thankfully there were a number of excellent teachers who helped me a lot. I really appreciate the support from them, like my handsome first grade English teacher Mr. Chambers, my strict second grade teacher Mrs. Megan, my third grade teacher Mr. Honey, who raised the points of the Red Phoenix House team from last place to first place, and my fourth grade Chinese teacher Ms. Wang. Although I was not able to spend very long with Ms. Wang, she left the deepest impression on me. Ms. Wang is refined and soft-spoken, but very strict when it comes to my studies.She will find even the smallest mistakes on my homework and correct them with her elegant handwriting. She offers great encouragement for even the slightest progress. Before I left YCIS Beijing, Ms. Wang made a special card for me. On that card, she said that wherever you are, no matter when, I hope you remember to “always be curious and humble”. 

Whenever I miss my teachers and my friends, I take out the class picture. It gives me a warm feeling inside to see how happy we were. Whenever I miss my teachers and my friends, I take out the class picture. It gives me a warm feeling inside to see how happy we were.

Over the past three and a half years, Yew Chung has not only taught me textbook knowledge, it has also taught me how to love and how to make friends. I have many good friends in Yew Chung: my German friend Lucas whom I met in the second grade and the game “expert" Ken whom I met in the third grade, but the person who has left the greatest impression on me is Charles. My friendship with him has a simple beginning: in the first grade, I asked him, "Can I play with you?" He quickly replied, "Sure", just like that, our friendship began. Once, my dad came to school to see me. Charles quietly asked me, "Who is that?" I said, " That's my dad. " He then introduced himself to my dad," Hello Uncle! My name is Lin Hengyi, but you can call me Tete. My English name is Charles. " My father was impressed. He said, "Your classmates are really polite. We made a good choice sending you to Yew Chung to study with these kids."

There is another thing that happened at Yew Chung that I will never forget. When I was still in the first grade, my dad accepted an invitation from the school to be a speaker for our class. He told stories of his hometown to my classmates in his mother tongue. My dad and I are both Ethnic Lisu. That day, we both wore traditional Lisu dress and performed local Lisu customs to my classmates, especially the mysterious Lisu “Knife Ladder Festival”. Everyone was stunned when they saw the sight of "Climbing a mountain of swords and plunging into a sea of flames". My friend Andy asked what everyone wanted to ask: "Won't their feet get cut?" Dad cooperated with me to answer everyone's questions. After that, everyone gained a new understanding of both me and my Lisu ethnic background.

After leaving YCIS Beijing, besides the classmates and teachers, I also miss the chef in the cafeteria. We were very close. We all affectionately called him "Uncle Baldy." There was a time where I always forgot to bring my meal card for lunch , and I was really embarrassed to hear him tell me "Bowen, you forgot your meal card again today." However, I really did forget it too often. Also, every day at lunch time, my friends and I would take the opportunity to brag to each other. He would always come over and tell us to get back to eating. On the day I left YCIS Beijing, my mother went to the cafeteria to return the meal card. He told her how naughty I was, but he also wished me the best. That day, the bread my mother brought back from the YCIS Beijing cafeteria was very sweet,and its familiar taste became deeply imprinted in my mind.

In conclusion, although I left YCIS Beijing, I trust that my friends will remember me, and I won't forget them either. Dear teachers and friends in Yew Chung, the world is big and also small, and we will definitely see each other again.

This is a letter that was written by Bowen Zhong, a former YCIS Beijing Student who is now based in the UK. We hope you are keeping well and safe. 

"As the Year 4A homeroom teacher and the Chinese Teacher of CFL group, I am very fortunate to be able to get to know such smart and hard-working students. I cherish the fact that I get to spend my days with these kids, seeing them progress and mature brings me great joy. I'm sure that the children also know and feel this joy. But I never thought that our precocious and modest Bowen would capture this feeling in writing, so as to preserve the memory. Each word is filled with his sincere nostalgia for Yew Chung; he immortalizes so many precious moments and memories in these words.  

Thank you, Bowen, for giving both us and yourself this priceless gift. You mentioned you felt honored to be a student at Yew Chung. In the near future, I'm sure you will become a source of great pride for Yew Chung. In the years to come, when we see each other at Yew Chung again, let's come back to this gift and remember all the wonderful time we spent together. " 

Mia Wang 

Y4A Homeroom & CFL Chinese teacher.

Zhong Muen

2020年1月22日，我因为要去英国读书，正式离开了我的第一个母校——北京耀中国际学校。我对新的学校充满了期待，同时也对耀中十分不舍。每次回想起在耀中的这三年半宝贵时光，回想起我的老师和朋友，回想起那些难忘的事，我都会感到很快乐。

我还清楚地记得我第一天来耀中时心里的那份忐忑不安，我当时对自己的成绩不够自信，可是我渐渐地就融入而且喜欢上了这里的学习和生活，这多亏我在耀中遇到了一批好老师，是他们给了我很大的帮助。比如我一年级时帅气的英文老师 Mr.Chambers，二年级时特别严格的女老师 Mrs.Magen，三年级时把 Red Phoenix House team 的积分从垫底拉升到第一名的Mr.Honey老师，还有四年级时的中文老师王老师。虽然我和王老师相处的时间并不长，但她却给我留下了最深的印象。王老师的气质很优雅，她的语气很温和，但她对我学习却很严格，学习中的哪怕只有一丁点错误，她都会用她那优雅的字体来给我改错指正。只要我有一点点进步，她都会大大地鼓励我。在我即将离开耀中之前，王老师给我做了一个特别的贺卡，贺卡上面写着：希望不管何时何地，你都要记住“求知若饥，虚心若愚”。而我每次想王老师和同学们的时候，就会拿出我们班级的合影照片，看到我们和老师挨在一起开心笑着的样子，我的心里总是感到温暖极了。

过去的三年半时间里，耀中不仅教会了我知识，还教育了我如何去爱，如何交朋友。我在耀中有好多好朋友，二年级时认识的德国好朋友Lucas，三年级认识的游戏“专家”Ken，但印象最深刻的同学是特特，我和他的友谊开始得很简单。一年级的时候我心里打着鼓地问他：“我能跟你玩吗？”他毫不犹豫地回答：“可以” ，然后我们的友谊就开始了。有一次，我的爸爸来学校看我，特特悄悄问我：“他是谁？”我高兴地说：“他是我爸爸。”然后他就很自然地给我爸爸介绍说：“叔叔，我是林恒毅，您也可以叫我特特，我的英文名是Charles。”我爸爸欣慰地说：“你的同学真有礼貌，把你送到耀中和这些小伙伴一起学习，我们就放心了。”

我在耀中学习期间还有一件事情让我一直很难忘。那时我还在一年级，我的爸爸接受学校邀请，在我们班级当了一次老师，用母语给同学们讲述自己家乡的故事。我和爸爸都是傈僳族，活动那一天，我们都穿了傈僳族服装，我们一起给大家展示了傈僳族的风土人情，特别是神奇的傈僳族“刀杆节”。当大家看到“上刀山下火海”的画面时，所有人都很目瞪口呆。我的朋友Andy问了所有人都想问的问题：“这些人的脚都不会划破流血吗？”爸爸在我的配合下现场解答了所有人的疑问。从此以后，大家对我和我的民族傈僳族都有了新的认识和印象。

离开耀中后，除了学校的同学和老师，我还很想念食堂的大厨叔叔。他和我关系也很好，我们都亲切地称呼他“光头叔叔”。有段时间，我吃午饭总是忘记带饭卡，每天一到餐厅特别不好意思听到他提醒说：“Bowen，你今天又忘记饭卡了吧。”不过，我确实忘的次数太多了。每天午饭时间我都和朋友们抓住机会不着边际地吹牛，他总是来我们身边善意地提醒我好好吃饭。离开耀中的那天，我妈妈去食堂退饭卡，他给我妈妈告了一大堆我调皮捣蛋的状，但也说了很多祝福的话。那天，妈妈从耀中食堂里带回的面包特别香甜，那个熟悉的味道深深地烙印在我的脑海中。

总之，虽然离开了耀中，但是我相信我的朋友们会记得我，我也不会忘记他

们。亲爱的耀中老师和小伙伴们，世界很大，也很小，我们总会再见。

作为四年级A班的班主任和母语班中文老师，我很幸运能够结识这样一群聪明可人、努力上进的学生，也很珍惜和孩子们朝夕相处的每一天，享受着和他们一起进步成长的快乐。我相信对于孩子们来说，这份简单的幸福也同样地被感受着、体会着。未曾想有一天，我们多才多艺、聪颖谦虚的沐恩会把这些真实的点滴转化成真挚的文字，写出来留存纪念，一笔一划中流露出的温馨和想念，让那么多美好的瞬间和回忆都被放大成了永远。谢谢沐恩送给我们、也送给自己这么一份值得珍藏的“礼物”。如今你以母校耀中为荣，不久的将来相信耀中也会以你为傲。多年后，当我们在耀中重聚时，让我们再次打开这份“礼物”，一起重温在母校的幸福时光吧。