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2. My First Date in the U.S.

Partly because I was a late-bloomer and partly because I was raised in a conservative family (plus the fact that I didn’t have much pocket money), dating was only something I read about while I was in Hong Kong.  That’s right!  My first date in the U.S. was also my very first date.  Indeed if I hadn’t gone to the U.S. for college, I probably would not have had my first date until I was old and wrinkled like a dried prune!

Anyway, as the Chinese saying goes – “Lut Sing Ma Lau” (A monkey unleashed) – I felt like a kid on his first visit to a candy store…what is more, this store offers free samples!  Statistically speaking, BereaCollege had a near 50:50 student distribution by gender (in plain English, there were equal number of boys and girls on campus.)  That roughly translated into 600 girls for me to observe, study and investigate. 

My attention was however promptly focused on one particular student in one of my classes.  Her name was Sissy Riggs.  She’s got long yellowish hair, sharp facial features and very light complexion: an 18 year-old Meryl Streep.  Not gorgeous, but very intelligent looking.  We exchanged glances and she smiled and we struck up a conversation.  She sounded nice and very friendly.  Most importantly, she understood my English and I hers.  She had never met a Chinese and she thought Hong Kong was part of Japan!  After a few more separate conversations, I decided that someone should tutor her on Asia geography, to broaden her horizon.

“Sissy, would you like to go to the campus movie with me – this Sunday night?”

“What is the movie?”

“I don’t know (and I don’t care!)  So would you like to go?”

“Yes, I’d love to!”

So I had my first date with a girl from Tennessee one week after school started.  The movie lasted until around eight.  I couldn’t remember what movie it was…not even if it was color or black and white.  After the movie, we proceeded with the geography lesson and cultural exchange at a quiet, dimly lit location.  I learnt that she was a Mormon brought up in Utah.  She’s got straight teeth and was a good kisser.  It was really embarrassing: she had to tactfully suggest to me that the proper way to kiss a girl was to relax my lips and not to pucker.  Luckily, I was a quick learner and managed to master the art of French kissing before the end of the session.

My first date was a complete success except for one thing:  I and the other new students from Hong Kong (there were four of us) were invited to a welcome dinner hosted by the “senior” Hong Kong students (there were about 8-10 of them, Lin Chi Chung was there too).  I was supposed to get to the venue around eight when the campus movie ended.  I didn’t show up until much later.  There was hardly any food left when I got there.  The senior classmen were not pleased with my showing up late. 

I made a vital error in telling them that I was late because I had a date earlier that night.  I thought they would understand.  Well, they didn’t.  It turned out most of them hadn’t dated any American girls, at least not in their first week…or the first year.  What I did was therefore considered as a heinous act. 

One of the senior classmen actually volunteered to teach me a lesson right then and there.  He’s much bigger than I was and he was ready to charge at me when the other students grabbed hold of him.  Interestingly enough, I was not scared at all.  My adrenaline was running high and I was prepared to stand on my ground and fight.  In my mind, I came all the way from Hong Kong to be liberated from bondage, to enjoy my freedom and to pursue happiness on my own rights.  I was not going to be bullied by a senior classman even if he had biceps the size of my thighs.  Good thing the other students held him back, or I would have been beaten into a bloody pulp, for sure!

By the way, the bully’s name was Tony Barreira, a Chinese Portuguese from Hong Kong.  Needless to say, Tony and I never got along when we were at Berea.  Shortly after I returned to Hong Kong in 1991, I looked him up.  He is a law professor at BaptistUniversity.  We became very, very good friends.  All past trespasses forgiven and forgotten.

As for Sissy Riggs, we dated regularly for a few months, and then I drifted off to other areas of interest as I continued on my quest for cultural exchange.

- To be continued -