Chris with his students.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

There is an old saying "Ignite positive energy, detonate small universe". The definition of the positive energy refers to all the motivation and emotion that gives people hope, encourages them to pursue their goals. I had never imagined that I would meet a foreigner who was so full of positive energy. His help makes me look like a duck in water. I really appreciate that, and he has also inspired many others.

His name is Chris, a retired navy officer from United States, who was the first foreign teacher in my university in 1986. To be exact, he is Chinese –American. First, I'd like to share our first encounter. I still remember clearly the first time I met him was in the English corner held in our college. I didn't pay much attention to him because he was an old little fat man. He stayed for a long time not only talking with students but also brought his personal computer and showed us a video about old JiaYing University. We were amazed by the old video. Our university looked so poor in 1986. He told us he was the only foreign teacher in our college at that time. When I got to know him, I found him to be a very kind, grateful and happy man. After his retirement, he came back to China to help students.

From then on, I met him frequently. He told me about his life and interesting stories in the US. We talked a lot about western culture. It's always fun to talk with him. With his help, my spoken English improved a lot and I became more confident about myself.

But Chris was not just helping me but helping everyone who needed his help. As long as the students wanted to practice English, he would welcome them. He went to our school's English corner every week. What’s more, he would invite some students to his house and then they would talk while cooking. Now, he is very famous and popular in our school just like Chinese model Lei Feng. He did all the things totally for free and he’s happy and fun.

He's my idol who is always full of positive energy which affects me a lot.