Monday, December 22, 2008
'They want to go outside and make snowballs'
One of the nicer things to happen during the weekend storm: Seeing two bundled-up kids crunching along the snow-covered street, shovels in hand as snow fell hard all around. Initially, I thought the duo were, admirably, looking for a few bucks the old-fashioned New England way: shoveling out neighbors' cars, walkways, etc. But nope. They were exchange students from Vietnam -- and they offered to help shovel the fluffy stuff for free. They had never seen or felt snow before. They just wanted to experience it. They helped shovel out the car, declined payment, and went on their awe-struck way afterward. I tried to imagine how they'd describe the winter wonderland to their friends and relatives back in Vietnam. I concluded it was almost impossible to convey. ... Paul Pierce, who rightly won the Globe's Bostonian of the Year award, has had similar experiences with friends arriving from the West Coast.
One of the nicer things to happen during the weekend storm: Seeing two bundled-up kids crunching along the snow-covered street, shovels in hand as snow fell hard all around. Initially, I thought the duo were, admirably, looking for a few bucks the old-fashioned New England way: shoveling out neighbors' cars, walkways, etc. But nope. They were exchange students from Vietnam -- and they offered to help shovel the fluffy stuff for free. They had never seen or felt snow before. They just wanted to experience it. They helped shovel out the car, declined payment, and went on their awe-struck way afterward. I tried to imagine how they'd describe the winter wonderland to their friends and relatives back in Vietnam. I concluded it was almost impossible to convey. ... Paul Pierce, who rightly won the Globe's Bostonian of the Year award, has had similar experiences with friends arriving from the West Coast.
