This proved to be another difficult query for Ruo-wei. Her answer brought on loud laughter from her friends, all Caucasian Americans. One could hardly blame them for their lack of proper respect for the power of turtle eggs. From the American point of view, animals are created equal. Anyone who has ever visited a pet shop, a veterinarian hospital, or a pet cemetery may even argue with success that some animals are more equal than humans.
Turtles are simply one species in the animal kingdom.
After the laughter died down, one astute fellow pointed out that their own school namely, the University of Maryland, had a unique connection with turtles. Indeed, every high school and university in this country has its own mascot, an animal that is supposed to bring good luck for the institution. Every University of Maryland sports function prominently features a student waving the university flag while wearing a grayish- green costume depicting the terrapin. A sobering thought, but Bryan said not to worry. Look, we are graduate students, students who have graduated, so we are eggs that have already hatched.