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In Cambodian culture, the expression “to have golden bones” is used to describe someone who is greatly blessed. Former U.N. Ambassador Sichan Siv, who visited Lowell High School yesterday, fits the description as someone blessed with brains, guts, determination, and the courage to seize opportunity—as well as a healthy dose of good luck. Siv spoke to a packed auditorium of LHS students yesterday as part of his visit to Lowell and a national tour promoting his book Golden Bones: An Extraordinary Journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America. As a Cambodian-born American who lived through the killing fields, Siv’s experience resonated with our students, who were enthusiastic and respectful, not only for its status as an amazing immigrant-success story but also because of its message of hope and perseverance through hardship. Siv told the spellbound audience how he threw away his glasses when the Khmer Rouge arrived so he wouldn’t be killed, volunteered to run a crane for them and then taught himself how to do it, and ultimately escaped across the border to a refugee camp in Thailand. At the refugee camp where thousands were cramped into deplorable living conditions and depression was rampant, Siv taught English as a way to provide hope to his fellow refugees, who were waiting for passage to places such as the US, Canada and England.  He told about his entry into the United States, finally, with two dollars in his pocket and an attitude to “adapt to be adopted,” which meant he took whatever work he could get and did his best at it. At first, that work was picking apples; later it became flipping burgers and driving a taxi in New York while earning a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University. Siv also decided to become involved in our government, and so he volunteered on the presidential campaign of George H.W. Bush. With the success of that election, Siv was offered work at the White House. Within 13 years, he went from the killing fields of Cambodia to the White House of the United States. Last night, I saw him again at the Angkor Dance Troupe celebration of the Cambodian New Year. He told the audience how our city epitomizes the American spirit, and I was struck by how true those words were and how happy it made me. For more on Siv, check out his website. I’ll be back with a review of his book later.