Moraine, Estes Park, Colo.,
August 25, 1915My dear Miss Turner:-
Your letter came while I was cooking dinner for our family. Of course I stopped to read your delightful letter, which made me so happy. I was glad to get every bit of news from you. My mind visited the college, you, and your mother several times during this week.
I cannot tell you how happy I am to be here with Dr McLean. This is a true christianly home where love rules. It is so nice to be the youngest of the family, for I have many privileges that others do not enjoy. We have no maids here; so we three girls do all the domestic work of the house. My duties are carrying wood, chopping wood, sweeping and mopping floors, and getting milk. We take turns to get meals. I am learning to cook American dishes. I have made corn-bread, biscuits, muffins and etc. for breakfast. I am the carpenter of the family too. I have made a screen door for our ice-chest and a shelf for our shower room. Dr. McLean was very much pleased over my carpentry. I never had the opportunity to learn to do things in China and I am glad to learn to do things.
The scenery is perfectly wonderful here. The peaks cover [sic] with snow, the beautiful flower [sic] decorate the hilly valleys, and the happy birds sing their cheerful songs to us every morning. What is more wonderful in the quietness of the place. I feel I am rested already. We have been out fishing and we caught only one trout, which was rather discouraging to us. We take long walks and climbing daily and they give us such good appetite. I am hungry all the time. We told mother that she will be bankrupt if we should stay with her for a year, for we eat so much.
Dr. McLean is anxious for me to finish my college education in Mount Holyoke before I study medicine. She asked me if there is any possibility to finish my course within three years. I might be able to do so if I am studying all these subjects in my mother tongue. I can study some in summer school but our college only gives three hours credit for the summer work. If I should finish my college education first, that means another year stay in America. That will be seven years more, as I am planning to stay six years only. She wants me to go to John [sic] Hopkins for my medical education. Of-course [sic] I want to go back to work for my people as soon as possible, yet I have the desire to get this opportunity, since it is offered to me. Even the government scholarship only lasts five years, but Dr. McLean will be responsible for the rest of my education. What do you think about it?
Yes, I know about Madeleine's story too. I really do not know whether it is the best thing for her or not. I shall love to see her in my country after a few years when she is more settled. She is such a bright lovely girl and I shall miss her dreadfully in the coming year. She has been such a help to me during my first year in college. I owe her a great deal.
I am invited by the Young Women Christian Association again to attend Western Student Conference in Estes Park. I did not want to come. Dr. McLean wanted me to come at least for two days. I came to conference yesterday and I am going home tomorrow. I am asked to speak again and this comes on Saturday afternoon. We have no students in this part of America, all our girls are in eastern colleges. They are very anxious to have some foreign student with them. Since America has given me so much, I guess I will try to do the little I can to please my American friends. This is my third student conference this summer and I hope it is the last one of the year.
Miss M. I. Bentley, secretary for the Pacific Coast Field is here. I met her last, full on my way to East. She told me she met President Wooley [sic] and Dean Purington. She told me of our president's talk in the conference there. There are two Mount Holyoke graduates here. It is so nice to see anybody from my own college.
I wish you can come to Colorado next year. We could not get any cottage; so we came to Estes Park instead of Colorado Spring. [sic] I think we are coming out again next summer, for Dr. McLean is thinking of building her cottage in Green-Mountain Falls.
Dr. McLean has twenty one adopted sons and daughters, most of them are Japanese and Chinese. Only three of them study medicine. One is already a doctor. She is in China. The other finished her medicine course this last June and is now an intern in Mary Thompson of Chicago. I am an embryo yet. Of all her adopted children, so far only one disappointed her. I told her that what will be the final product of myself, I do not know yet, but I hope I will never give her the chance of disappointment in any way. She works so hard just for others.
I forgot when does the college open for the new term. Will you kindly let me know? Your time is precious and I only expect you to drop me a post-card to tell me the date of the opening. Certainly I will come to see you when I come back. I thank you for offering your home and office as a friendly place to me. I feel very free in talking to you. With love.
Yours Sincerely,
Me-iung Ting.