Fifteen-year-old Beyoncé from Mississippi met 17-year-old Yvonne from China on arrival day and they've been nearly inseparable ever since. While they share similar interests, the pair also celebrates their differing talents. Sometimes, your best friends are from across the world — you just have to come to EXPLO to find them!
我爱你 (Wǒ ài nǐ). That means I love you. She’s been teaching me how to say all of the important words in Mandarin. I just want to learn enough to have a whole conversation with her. She calls me BB.
Yvonne came in the gate on arrival day and I just walked up to her and said “Hey, my name’s Beyoncé.” I saw her parents behind her and her dad had this big smile on his face.
We’re actually taking two classes together. It wasn’t planned at all; Personality and Behavioral Psychology and Game Theory. She plays all kinds of sports and is taking a basketball workshop. I love to dance and sing and want to be the next sensation. The next Beyoncé — except I’ll have to pick another stage name; I don’t want to steal Beyoncé’s thunder.
It’s like I found my other half. I just didn’t know that she was all the way around the world.
Jill Luoma-Overstreet