Joanna in the red shirt is the adopted daughter of Sharon Owens, director of the Concordia English Center. Joanna is eight years old and speaks English and Cantonese fluently. She is also learning Mandarin. She accompanied three of us volunteers last Sunday on a shopping expedition around Macau and to the island of Taipa. She knows all the bus routes. She is about the same age as my grand daughter Kelsey, actually I am going to Joanna's eighth birthday this Sunday. She was adopted from an orphanage in Macau and had a rough start in life, as her mother is an alcoholic. She is very much loved by everyone at the Center. She is incredibly bright, and occasionally acts like the eight year old she is. The other young woman in the picture is Hilda who works at another English Center.
