5 o’clock , Wednesday afternoon , Oct. 29, everywhere is pink near RotoruaLake. Rotorua Pink Walk will start here at six. The walk covers3.5 km, starting and finishing at Village Green, along the lake front , viaGovernmentGardens. Every participant must pay $ 5 as entry fee, and all the fund raised will go to Rotorua Breast Cancer Trust.
Learing the news from my hostess Linda, I decided to take part right then, wishing to experiencing local customs and culture inNew Zealand. Linda is one of the members in Rotorua Athletic Walk Club, who once won 2012 London Marathon and 2014 Rotorua Marathon Medals. As arranged before , I came to the meeting place on time ,but couldn’t find Linda, as everyone disguised in pink. At last , I found the possible group according to the accessories Linda showed me the night before and found her with the help of her mates. In order to participate in this walk , their club designed the costumes as pink porket s and they won the best-dressed competitors. For me, I didn’t have the time and the efforts to buy something new and pink. With Linda’s yes , I wore a pinkish scarf and tied a pink flower used for a present package.
There are so many types of pink dressing and making up that I never see such a scene inChina. An old man with pink bra, disabled girl with double crutches, very fat men and women with walking problems, and babies in the stroller. Whoever he or she is , they are all in pink, at least to some extent, to feel the spirit. At the site，I also met Ada’ s family---husband ,two daughters and her mother. Her mother acted as a professional photographer and told us she had been inNew Zealand for more than ten years and still feel curious why New Zealanders take so much enthusiasm to do such a thing. However, she would like to do whatever her daughter tells her to do.
I think her daughter understand and I understand in a sense. The answers are simple.: New Zealanders don’t need reasons , nor they care much what others think about them. They simply act, taking active parts in doing such simple things to do good for some people. I found two pink girls in high stilts at the finishing line, both in sweat, I walked to them and curiously asked if they covered the course that way and they gave me a definite “yes”. I was much impressed and took a picture with them, only to find one of them bending down to favor me, which made me very moved. The pink walk gave me warmth, inspiration, encouragement and positive feelings. For me , it was an emotional experience.
(Translated by Wang Yanning)
