Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 447

Diaries from a New World
Marymount Secondary School, Siriwardena, Nethmi - 13
23rd of December 2019
Today me and my parents went to Dameisha Beach. I excepted Shenzhen and altogether the Greater Bay
Area to be a place full of hustle and bustle, but to my surprise, I found it to be a calming and peaceful place. But
the most shocking thing happened to me today was when I was walking along the coast. I saw something sticking
out of a pile of seaweed then I went over and saw a wooden box but it looked really old, I opened the box and
saw a frayed and yellow photo of a little girl. It had the year 1841 in the box, there was a little porcelain doll. I
was speechless when I saw the detail on it, then I saw a piece of cloth wrapped into a ball I opened it to find
extravagant style of clothing, I think that they were for the doll the last thing in the box was a note it was dated
27th October 1841. I realised that this time capsule was probably buried during the First Opium War maybe it is
worth something? What did the letter say? Why the little girl left the time capsule?
1st of January
Today I made a new friend. Her name is Faatima and when I heard about her story I am now grateful for
what I have. Her family fled Syria after the Syrian war got worse and her older brother was killed when he was in
the army but surprisingly this hasn’t stopped her from being a happy person. I also signed up for Cantonesia
lessons and Faatima is also in my class I am so excited to learn Cantonesia with her. I hope that soon I can read
the note the little girl, whom I decided to call Little Lin (meaning “pure as Lotus” in Cantonesia) for the time
being, left in the time capsule.
6th of January
Today was my very first Cantonesia class, I went to the class which was in Central and saw Faatima
already there talking to Laiba my dad went to talk to the Cantonesia teacher Miss Louisa Cheung while I was
talking to her new friends, turns out it went better than expected today I learnt about how to count and the
colours, it may sound easy but it was hard for me since it was hard to pronounce it right, but with the help of
Miss Cheung and Faatima, I got it right! To be honest, Cantonesia is better than going to school I feel like I
don’t fit in with my classmates since they are from the Greater Bay Area but in Cantonesia class I feel like I can
relate to everyone, I like that we play fun games and get to collect stamps to get prizes, but I can’t believe how
kind Miss Cheung is When I couldn’t do something she took the time to teach me separately and she never
shouted at me once, unlike my teacher at school Miss Rebecca Leung she always shouts at me I nearly cried
under the pressure from school.
3rd of February
On 6th of February my Cantonese class will be travelling to some of the parts of the Greater Bay Area.
Miss Cheung said that we are going to Guangdong and Zhuhai for 2 weeks for free. I think the trip was paid by
some famous bank and it is during the CNY holiday so we won’t miss school but I am glad that I get to explore
more of the Greater Bay Area. Also since the trip is for educational purposes there is a catch, on the 25th of May
all of the students have to do a presentation about the visit the winner will get an all-expenses-paid trip to any
country for free! I have to get that prize it has always been my dream to go to Europe, but I am so excited about
the trip. I hope that Faatima can also go on the trip with me.
28th February
The trip to Guandong and Zhuhai was eye-opening, I expected China to be you know modern and
commercialized with waterparks, shopping malls, I never thought that there would be historical sites but still, I
thought that it would be boring but it turns out it actually changed my perspective towards history, hearing about
the environmental situation in China when I lived in Sweden worried me air pollution was so bad and there was
little to no plants anywhere because they need the space for urban development but after the Greater Bay Area
was established, I heard from the news that the Greater Bay Area has been signing many contracts for better air
quality and water quality and I think that it is showing positive improvements.
First, we went to Zhuhai by train which took less than 6 hours and we had to pass through many
other areas with the new transportation system which in my opinion is very efficient in the Greater Bay Area no