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We already had absorbed a total of thirty hours with two nerve wrecking flights and a transit in between from our hometown to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. That humid noon was of August, 30 2014 when a taxi dropped three of us in front of main gate of a famous university in Chengdu. I was an International Student arriving to start studying for a doctorate program along with two other guys I met at the airport and became friends with.

The story of happiness started from our new university gate where two Chinese students gave an overwhelming response when asked for directions to registration office. After a tiring and long journey, there behavior was just as pleasing as finding an oasis in a desert. Not only they guided but accompanied us with their bicycles and loaded our heavy luggage onto their carriers all the way to office. Amused by all that sweetness I almost forgot my jet lag, sleep deprivation and tiredness. This was the first encounter with state of well-being widely termed as “happiness” in here.

This feeling overwhelmed me many times whenever I asked for a hand, directions and complex situations inside campus or in city. I had been to other cities in my home country and abroad, in fact graduated from a university in UK but never experienced hospitality of this amplitude before that humid noon of August 30. By travelling around Chengdu and spending more than year and a half, I finally got a gist of Land of Abundance (天府之國). Perhaps, the kindness and affection I have received is in this city DNA from centuries and it’s the same reason why I like staying here.

The last part of story is about a visit to Panda Base, only one in the world of its nature located hereby. I got lucky as there was sunshine there. It means pandas will come out of there enclosures and we got a chance of mirrorless view. The first encounter with the cute creature affirmed my theory of happiness. Law of nature dictates that animals only chose the climate and geography that synchronize with their behavior and surely panda made the right decision a million years ago. They made all the right calculations about their laziness and still surviving as the Land is cordial to everyone.

There are many experiences and people that stimulate me gathering all these words and put on a page. This article is a way of showing my gratitude to all those who spent an extra mile leaving their responsibilities aside whenever I requested help. It doesn’t limit to those Chinese friends who help renting an apartment, my lab mate always been there for me, the land lady understanding my situation, that prevailing smile on delivery staff for water bottles every week, that man who walked a long way with us to make sure we catch the right bus.

It is time to thank all of you who made this stay comforting and open your arms for us to integrate in Chengdu

The happiness continues……

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