Willamette World News

友谊・友情・Freundschaft・Amistad・Amitié・Friendship

Dear Readers,

This issue our contributors are addressing the topic of friendship.  Each culture has a different method of defining relationships, and sometimes those relationships are passed down through generations.  Come learn a bit more about what friendship means to our contributors, and expand your world view!

Sincerely,
WWN Editors
Jaime, Lars, and Mary

Growing up I have had many friends; I cannot recall the names of all of them, but at least I will name some of them in order to follow the story thoroughly. During my elementary school age, I played soccer, marvels, spinning top, hide and seek, and tire race (roll down bike tires at very high speed) with my neighborhood friends. In middle school, my classmates and I played fuzzball after classes for long hours, which got me in trouble with my mother many times. Gonzalo was my close friend at that time; we used to go to folk music festivals during the week, and some parties and movies on weekends. Read the rest

The Chinese translation of  ”friend”  is “朋友” (peng you), but we might use “peng you” in a broader way than “friend” in English.  ”Peng you” can refer to an acquaintance you just talked for a while, or it can also refer to a person you’ve been friends with for many years.  We have many different words for very close friendship, but all these words is under “friend” category.  So when you say someone is your “peng you” in Chinese, you are showing your kindness and friendliness in a way that shortens the distance between you and this person. Read the rest

When I thought about friendship one of the words which came to my mind is “door”. I strongly believe that friendship is like a door which leads people through astonishing and sometimes mysterious journeys. I have to admit that this door has often been opened to me and I’m really grateful for all the friends who in some way or another are part of my present, past and hopefully my future. Throughout my life, God has given me the blessing of having the best friends I could ever have. Some of them are in my home town and some others will be really far soon, so I’d like to give them the little gift of expressing how much they mean to me and how they have touched my life forever. Read the rest

In America, there are yearbooks: pages recollecting some random faces, (too) close-up shots that will be out-fashioned in a few months or a few years if you’re lucky and have a extremely good sense of visionary fashion. Read the rest

I think this quotation summarizes the meaning of friendship in a really good way and provides a wonderful metaphor. Friendship is something exceptional and incredibly precious. I think when you have found a real friend, then you won’t lose him/her anymore, no matter what has happened. Read the rest

Hi All,

How do you become friends with a stranger? How do you make a good strong connection with your friends? What do you do with your friends? Do you usually argue with friends, or not? What do you talk about with your friends? I think you already realized this week’s topic: it’s friendship. Read the rest