A Lecture in the Public Library

    When we got the assigned task to give a series of lectures about Chinese culture in the public library, I am sure that most of us felt a little nervous, excited, anxious, etc.. After all, this was a total new program for all of us, and we all wanted to show the excellence of Chinese culture. Since the first group had done a good job in showing the aging society of China, we, the second group, decided to show the public the tradition and festivals of China. The first idea occurred to my mind was Chinese tea culture, for tea culture is one symbol of Chinese culture.

After several days of preparation and a few times of edition, finally I’ve got ready for the 11-minute-speech. I rehearsed several times to design the well-timing of the PPT to match my speech. And it proved to be rather useful and convinient. To be honest, I did not feel that nervous as I had imagined. Actually, when more audience came for the lecture, I was so busy preparing for the tea. When It was my turn, I began to tell a legend of tea. Looking around the hall and sensing the friendly smile of the audience, I felt somewhat relaxed and thrilled. Was it good to offer some tea to our guests? When was it appropriate? After thinking about a few solutions, I did decided to offer some tea for the guests to show our respect and gratitude, which is an etiquette of China. When I presented tea culture step by step, I really hope everyone of the audience, including me, will be happy and healthy by drinking tea. In fact, tea is also popular in America, some of the audience seem to know much about tea. At the end of the lecture, one of audience came forward and told me that he liked drinking tea. I was quite move by his words.

The whole lecture was a success, I think, we all tried our best. Thanks for the cooperation of all my colleagues.

An Impression of Boston （1）

   As one of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston is a center for education and culture. Although our timetable seemed to be rather crazy, we really had a good time to get to know some history of America. There are so many “firsts” in Boston.

At the first sight of Harvard University, we believe that we love Yale even more. Comparing the campuses of the two universities, Yale overwhelms Harvard by its more various architectural styles, mainly classic Gothic and George Dynasty style of architecture, as far as I can see only as a layman. Such kind of feeling seemed to spread our whole group. Maybe egoism? Whatever, we are so proud to be a part of Yale, although only for a short time.

    We wandered around the Harvard campus for about 2 hours, touching the shining toe of Mr. John Harvard in good wishes to bring us good luck, and still impressed by those red-brick-buildings of several arts, cultural, and scientific museums alongside the Harvard Library.

 

 Standing on the grounds of these famous universities, I’m quite moved by the history and the combined efforts of generations to make them the cradle of education for brilliant young people. And I’m also proud to be a teacher--a rather holy profession.

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A Day in Boston

    It is a crazy trip. Friday evening witnessed us in a haste planning a one-day trip to Boston. I searched for some materials about this city and got some ideas of this trip. Hoping for a nice trip, I went to bed at 12 pm. We 7 people got up at 3:40 in the morning and began this hope-to-be-nice trip. At 4:40, the train started. The first embarrassment was that we couldn’t buy tickets through net, while with the kind conductor, finally we succeeded. So here in America, we met so many nice people.

As One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston is so famous for Harvard Universtiy, MIT and freedom trail, and lobster as well. First of all，we experienced the old culture by taking subway to nearly every corner of Boston. The red bricks of Harvard Unversity and somewhat modern buildings in MIT mean a lot for Boston to be a center for education and culture.  

    At noon, we enjoyed a big meal--Boston lobster, rather delicious!

   As far as I know, Boston has earned a reputation as “the intellectual capital of the United States”. That afternoon, when we wandered around the ancient old buildings along the freedom trail, I truly believed that history can make a city so charming.

    At 11：30 pm，we returned to Yale. Although tired and sleepy, we did have a precious experience.

The Friendly American People

   What impresses me is the friendliness of the people here. Usually we seem to pay little attention to the passers-by in China, maybe because of the large population there. We say hello to our acquaintances, friends and family members, instead, here in Yale, people often kindly say hello to the people around. That day, when I went to the gym to find out where the swimming pool is, a nice safeguard came forward and patiently led Lauren and I to look around. Wow, an  experience I can seldom have in China. What’s more, on that night, a handsome and kind librarian of the Sterling Library helped me find the book I wanted and instructed me to borrow the book.

    So I begin to think about the distance between Chinese people. The fast life rhythm makes us always in a haste, not event to pause and greet each other. And I am also worried about the somewhat indifference and doubt between people. We grow up in different environments, affected by a unique range of influences. Surely, I want to give my daughter a kind of positive influence. I want to tell her that most people around us are kind and honest, we should try to believe in each other to foster a harmonious relationship. As we discover the importance of truly greeting others, our ability to find a mode of interaction that is pleasing to both of us is enhanced. Thus, we can go a long way toward encouraging mutually satisfying relations by saying How are you in the spirit of kindness.

My First Impression on USA

After a long and tedious flight of over 15 hours, I finally arrived at the JFK Airport. I am safe and sound, thank god! To breathe the fresh air seemed not to be the important task, instead, I had to carry my two heavy baggages to the Ground Central Terminal. Luckily enough, I’ve got on the right bus. Then, I wondered what was waiting for me all the way through the crowded New York Street. When I got on the train to New Haven, I could only feel the cold air. Why, is the electricity free of charge? And this is the problem I’ve often met with during the few days in Yale, especially in the classroom.

Homesickness is the certain thing. I miss my daughter, my husband and my parents very much, so each day I send them pictures of the campus to share my experience. Maybe this is my way to tell  them I am OK here, while sometimes I have to adapt myself to the inconvenience in life here.

Blue sky and fresh air are the two things we mention very often. I hang around the campus during the first two days here. Various architecture styles which show the history of this university impressed me very much. Still, I’m impressed by the loud music of most of the cars passing by and the noise of the ambulance. It seems that some of the people here are too enthusiastic, either to  life or accidents. ( a joke)