Student
Derek Pan

Hello Goodbye

I was in China last week. On the plane back home, I watched a Dutch tear-jerking program, Hello Goodbye.

It’s a show about the re-u or farewell stories at Schiphol. Its background music was so perfectly chosen that it watered my eyes. It’s an incredible feat as I had hardly cried in the past two years. The show also reminded me of a big family I encountered at Schiphol last year. They were quite striking in the arrivals hall, especially those more than ten kids putting up the pink heart-shaped signs above their heads. I asked one Dutch lady among them. She said they were waiting for her sister, who was coming back from Colombia with an adopted child. Moreover, she herself was a mother of two adopted Chinese girls. I was impressed by this family full of love and charity. Could such touching scenes happen in China? I wanted to take this opportunity and find out the answer at the Guangzhou Airport. The result was a bit disappointing: at the arrivals hall I found no children but all adults in the waiting crowds, whom were mainly waiting for foreign guests in business. I saw several teenagers walk out of the exit, but without parents’ pick-up. During my 20 minutes’ stay, no flowers or colorful signs, no hugging scenes appeared, which were all commonplace at Schiphol. How come? No ‘Hello Goodbye’ story at Guangzhou airport? Is it because the Chinese third largest city isn’t international enough? Or is it just unnecessary, given that the airport express buses reach every neighboring city? As one of those bus passengers, I find no problem to go home alone: rather than my mum’s hug at the airport, I prefer a bowl of chicken soup made by her at home. Nevertheless I still would like to see an airport in China with balloons and flowers in people’s hands, an airport with human touch. So don’t be surprised if one day you see me on TV, coz I really want to make a Chinese version of ‘Hello Goodbye’. Vid of the Week: An old trailer of Hello Goodbye

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