“THESE PICTURES were taken four and a half years ago. My first time to see our school, first time to ride a tricycle, first time know what a jeepney is, and first time to walk on the street. Time flies. Everything is still same as before, but me, I am not what I used to be,” thus writes Qin Lan, a native of Liuzhou, Guangxi, China. Today, she becomes an alumna of MMSU. She is receiving a degree in Bachelor of Secondary Education, major in English.

“Lannie”, as she is known in the Philippines, was encouraged to study at MMSU by her aunt who earlier took up a speech enhancement crash course at the College of Teacher Education as part of the sisterhood ties between China’s Laibin City and Laoag City.

Some students misconstrue Lannie as “snobbish” but she is described by Dr. Shirley Mina, her closest mentor, as “very independent” and “transparent.” Dr. Mina, former chair of the BSE program, says Lannie is friendly but “she chooses her friends well.”

“I am very proud to be a graduate of one of the best universities in the Philippines and I look forward to be a good teacher in Liuzhou,” Lannie said in an interview. “I will surely miss my Filipino friends,” she added.

Lannie’s posts on social media show how much she has been enamoured by Filipino culture. “Yummy!” she said of the pictures of pinakbet and tortang talong she posted on Facebook. She also has a selfie in an Igorot headdress.

Among the young Chinese lady’s biggest fascinations are pandas and sunflowers. There may be no pandas at the Sunken Garden today, but a wide sea of sunflowers bear witness to her achievements in a foreign land she has come to call her own.