My friend (Rudlf)

By some strange rules that I made up right on this spot, one of his Chinese character in his name becomes Rgdlf. And I change the second letter, to make it Rudlf, and make it sounds like a good English name, although not exactly.

In age, Rudlf is smaller than all the classmates. But physically, he is large. He never got used to the dorm life. In my sense, he likes a place where power hierarchy is clear and people either give commands or receive commands. For this, dorm life is too much politics for his to handle (Did I mention that he always aspires to be in the army?). He got some trouble in junior year for sleeping trouble. He had to quit school for a while to put himself together. Maybe he is gay? (I do not know why I suddenly think of that, but just to make my blog more controversial, I want to announce here: I am quite sure that one of my dorm mate is gay. Just wait and see!)

Rudlf eventually finished college one year after us. He got a job in public security bureau. He seemed to enjoy it, as it gave his a lot of predictability that he could not receive from a dorm life full of politicking. For this, I am happy for him. In the big gathering, someone mentioned that we had some smaller gatherings on Sunday. Almost everyone knew that we just said so with no real actions intended. However, on Sunday, I got his call, when he got a car from his unit and waited for me and other friends in Renda. Other friends eventually did not show up, but I did. I want to meet friends, but more importantly, I know I have to. As he made such a good deals in trusting friends, I need to try my best to not make his trust to be disillusioned. I always say that friendship is really about showing up and being there. When I say that, I really mean it.

However, he is no longer a nice person any more. His work requires him to go down to different branches to inspect local operation. With the power, he got some habits that I hated the most. For example, when we went to eat, he treated the waiters and waitresses badly when the dish was a little bit late. Also, he likes to blab about his power of getting rid of traffic violation bills by “guanxi”. I can imagine that I would be treated badly if I weren’t his friend and had something to ask him.

Luckily, I am his friend. Living overseas added some more auras on my head. He still showed off, but in a nice way. He sincerely asked me for information about living in another country. Obviously, he is proud of me, and proud of himself by the association. He drove his car from his unit, very proud of his power of getting a car for his private use. I am happy for him too. But deep now, I hope he could be the Rudlf I knew back in college. Societal experience made him growing up, but also taught him survival skills that benefited him by crushing others. Maybe he would never realize my worry. And he does not need too. As people take different paths, who am I to judge which path is the right one for him. On the other hand, I know I would never cherish my friendship with Rudlf as much as Mr. Q., even if I try hard, even if I have something to ask him for favors, even if life teaches me survival skills just like his.