June Gymnast of the Month
Maya
Let’s play pretend….
Pretend you are a two year old little girl.
Pretend you live in China.
Pretend one day your Mother takes you to a park,
Sits beneath a tree, waits until you are asleep, and then….
Quietly walks away.
It’s a scary version of “pretend” isn’t it? To be abandoned at such a tender age. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a game of pretend for a young girl from Hubei, China…… it was ugly reality.
She was taken to an all-age facility called the Jingmen Social Welfare Institute where she occasionally fought for food and to keep the older boys away. Still, through it all she kept a happy, playful attitude. The staff called her Zhou Die. Zhou was the family name given to all the children. Die meant “Butterfly” in Mandarin. The family name Zhou is about as common as Jones in the US, so if she had been in the US she might have been named “Butterfly Jones”. It was this happy little 3 year old “Butterfly” that my wife and I flew to China to meet and adopt on July 21st, 2001.
We signed all the papers, paid all the fees, and required “donations” and started back to the hotel. Zhou Die (Now Maya Jenai) quickly ran around in front of me (her new Dad), slapped me on the stomach and yelled “PONG”. She then started giggling like crazy. We asked the interpreter “What did she say?” (thinking that Maya was showing a sign of deep respect or some family honor thing – after all we had heard that these Chinese kids were shy and retiring until they knew you a while). The interpreter looked embarrassed and slowly looked at us…”She says you’re fat”.
WOW!! Just had the kid for 30 minutes and she was already showing spunk!!!.
Let’s play pretend again….
Pretend six years have gone by.
Pretend “Butterfly” Jones” (now Maya) speaks English instead of Mandarin and has discovered a hidden talent – gymnastics. It is a talent that she loves practicing with her friends at her “home away from home” - the Gymnastic Center of Hershey. Maya has been taking gymnastics at the GCH for four years and loving every minute of it.
I will admit up front and unashamedly that any attempt by this writer at unbiased writing of this Gymnast of the Month interview is bound to fail miserably. For Maya is my daughter. I’m the guy that got the “Pong” belly slap and gets to tuck her in at night. With that literary warning, let’s talk to Maya:
Why did you choose Gymnastics for a sport?
“I started out in ballet and I liked that, but it didn’t let you move around enough. I took a class in tumbling from the township and the teacher said that I should take Gymnastics”.
“I was in Little Aerials, then skipped Swingers and went to Level 4. Now I’m in Level 5 with Missy as my Coach”.
“My favorite event is floor. I love the moving and tumbling gracefully; it let’s me use my ballet training a little. I’ve done pretty good at meets this year, especially the floor and sometimes the beam. My best floor score was 9.4 at Dave Moskovitz and my best beam was at Funny Bunny - a 9.45 first place.”
“I’m planning on being an Ear Doctor – My Granddad is deaf and I want to be able to help people hear music and the wonderful sounds like their children’s voices”.
“ I have three dogs: Daisy Dumpster (who was found in a dumpster), Pansy and Willie. I also have a cat named Snickers. My favorite is Willie; he’s a Sheltie who is small and playful, but he barks a lot”.
“My favorite hobby is collecting stuffed animals – especially pandas. I also love my three Webkinz.”
“I’m soon moving to level six. It’s going to be a lot harder than level five, with more difficult moves and tougher judging, but I’m looking forward to the challenge”.
“I can speak three languages: Chinese, English and Southern”.
Maya then said “Now Daddy….Ah’m all talked out ….Ah’l see y’all later” in her best Southern drawl. She picked up this dialect from me, her Southern born Dad and uses it to make herself look cute or me ignorant….I haven’t figured it out yet.
So our June Gymnast of the Month is a Multi-National, Multi-Lingual Level 5 whose favorite foods are:
1. Hot Wings! – Kokomos
2. Chinese Food – Grand Buffet on Rt. 22.
3. Daddy Eggs – Sunny Side up eggs with toast for dipping
4. Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream - Breyers
What I do know is this: For a born Southerner, there is something flat-out scary and unsettling hearing and seeing a southern drawl coming out of a Chinese face…..even a cute one like Maya’s.
Say hello to Maya/Zhou Die/Butterfly Jones our June Gymnast of the Month!!!!!