Stella

Today I saw Stella compete at the school ping-pong tournament. She didn't win, but she had a good time. Stella is characterized by her pig tails, an incessant giggle and a flair for the dramatic. At one moment she is like a little girl, and the next she is a serious student, trying to grasp a concept or word and make it her own.

I met Stella in class and had the privilege of naming her. She wanted to be named Steve, but after a peek at her purple shoes, I thought we should go with Stella. Stella always makes me laugh. Her Chinese name sounds similar to "Wrong Way" and she likes to joke about it. She also has frequent hilarious dreams which she describes in detail.

Today was a pretty hard China day, but was good to see Stella in the middle of it and have her be so excited to see me. I took this picture while she was trying to run away from the camera, and I think it captures some of who Stella is.... (When she saw it she said, "Monster!" and pretended like she didn't like it, but I'm pretty sure she did.)