My first year at Cheng-Kong was a very happy experience. My parents bought me a new bicycle so I could peddle my way to school under my own control. A bicycle in Chinese is called a "Self-Free vehicle". I like the name. It was better than feet, since it provided me a fourfold extension in both speed and distance. It took me about twenty minutes from home to school when I peddled as fast as I could. We got to school before 8am and got back after 4pm. One usually brought his own lunch daily since you could not go off campus for lunch-break. The school provided a steam room, so your lunch would be piping hot when you ate it at lunch time. The students took turns so that each day two were assigned to deliver all the lunch boxes to the steam room, then take them back for lunch. At the end of day, we could stay for some basket ball playing. With singing and basketball, I was in seventh heaven!
At the end of my first year, on the day to get my final report, the teacher again as usual read the name of the student with highest grade first, then the second, etc. I was not bothered by the order, but when my classmate in the next seat was called (the 11th), he made a gesture to me that he was ahead of me. Even though he did not say a word, I still remember that gesture today. I swore that I would never get behind him again. That was the incentive for me! I improved enough to reach the top of the class for the next two years of high school. (remember that in China there are three years of high school, not four.)
A picture of all the model students was taken with the president of Cheng-Kong High School:
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