I just visited the office at my school where we were told to pick up our tickets for the Dalai Lama’s visit on May 9 to Smith College.

With just my blogger’s luck, the person in line behind me for the tickets happened to be the one Chinese student that I had met almost a year ago, whom I knew was actually a visiting student from China.

I chanced a question….though I had never talked to her before. I did know from a friend of mine that she was very much pro-CCP, from her outspokenness in a globalization class about China’s policy on Taiwan:

“So, you’re coming to see this heretic?”

Maybe not the best first question to ask, but it opened the conversation that I wanted to have.

She nervously laughed and said “Yeah, I guess.”

“But he’s a traitor,” I replied.

“Yeah, I’m not supposed to see him…I’m not really allowed, but I figured I would just go check it out since I’m here anyway. It’s my birthday and I’m flying back to China later that day. I know he’s anti-Chinese government,” said the Chinese student.

“You know, I think he’s actually a pretty nice guy,” I pressed,  slyly, “and he doesn’t do anything that’s that bad.”

“That’s true…well I guess that he’s trying to work things out. He’s not so bad,” she admitted.

I think that’s the power that the Dalai Lama’s compassion has had. I closed the conversation, walking away triumphantly:

“No, he really isn’t.”