Growing up, I was always the kid to admit that math was my favorite subject in school. While other children were only excited by P.E. or art classes, I embraced my “nerdiness” and got excited about mathematics and reading. Well as Michael Scott would say, “Oh how the turntables have turned…” Because my mathematics courses here at HKBU have actually been very difficult, I have found that I really enjoy my courses in Table Tennis and Chinese painting. They give me a break from all of the rigorous math and a neat insight into Asian culture.
My first day in Table Tennis, the professor looked at me and asked, “How do you say your name?”. We then went on to do stretches and he said something in Cantonese and the majority of the class sat down. I looked a little confused, trying to decide if I should sit or not, when he said in English, “If you are still standing then that means you don’t have a partner so partner up with someone else still standing. ” I was obviously the outsider. But I took this as a challenge. I was going to make friends and we were going to play ping-pong whether they liked it or not! As the weeks went by, I actually did make some new ping-pong pals. With each class I became more and more comfortable playing and talking to people.
Last Friday I gained the courage to ask another boy in the class if he wanted to hit with me. I always noticed him hitting with this other guy and they both were really good players. I was afraid he wouldn’t want to hit with me, but he said yes and it was the most fun I have had in the class. At one point the professor walked by and said, “Hey, you finally found someone good to hit with!” The guy told me after we hit that he was getting really sweaty. I guess that means I was pretty good too 😉