Blog for caic2

i enjoyed a whole package of art today, which has been EXCELLENT!
we had an artist do some painting in the morning. i know nothing about painting, and the fact that he never used the color black strike me. he said that black practically kills all the other colors, and it makes a painting dull and muddy. i would take his way of painting as an optimistic attitude of life as well. you can actually choose other colors to substitute blackness because you are the one who paints your own work. i like that!

the biggest lesson i have learned in the acting introduction class was that, according to what the teacher said, introverted people can also be great actors. sometimes loud people are too busy speaking about themselves to observe what other people do, and introverted people tend to be more observant.acting is more than performing, it is also about accumulating the expressions and emotions of others. in other words, inputs are crucial before you do the outputting work. i would definitely try out some acting if i have chance, doing different role plays in life would be fun!

the jazz lecture at night was GREAT! i am a complete outsider of jazz, but the sound and rhythm really touched my skin besides my ear drums. as the teacher put it: jazz is something that comes out of the blue. for me, it was also a great pun. i will definitely pay more attention to this kind of music. besides pop, there are really alternatives out there, just don't let the radio djs take all the charge of what goes into your ears!

i had a great fun today. i have always been a big admirer of art although i know very little about it. i believe that there is an element of art in everything , be it business, politics,cooking or simply speaking. and that means, everyone can be an artist of some kind by using his heart as well as brain and sticking to the pursuit of mastery. some day, i believe i can be an artist too.

some of the lines on that bridge were impressive to me.
just think about this: i was being in that historic surroundings, reading the lines that were enriched by profound meanings conveyed by great people. decades have passed, a country has gone way further on the path paved by those founding fathers, and i, as a visitor, could then feel part of the solid TEXTURE of the American history. it was amazing.
WE MAY NEVER MEET AGAIN. this line shocked me most. it might be sad words, but don't forget the understatement here: the time we met is anything but ordinary.

i was amazed when a class was to be given in Chinese this morning. the lecture was about adapting to new culture, i LOVE this topic. the taiwanese teacher said something really impressive. he said this summer program for us is actually an investment, enabling us to be more sensitive to cultural differences. i have been in the U.S for almost two weeks now, and i enjoy every moment of the program. because cultural clashes can happen at anytime, arousing my curiosity to think about the reasons and draw lessons from them. i guess that's what people define as HORIZON. the world can be so much bigger than what i think. there are various beliefs, life styles and cultures out there to be discovered. and differences are not just for people to be aware of, they can also be adopted to make our life FRESHLY BETTER.

i also love what this teacher said: not to deny one's own culture, but to adapt that of others. wow, the lesson sounds inspiring and exciting! let's wait and see how my actual experiment goes.

and so far, there is this problem that i have not yet able to improve that much in the U.S: i still can not figure out how to deal with the coins. they are of various kinds and they look pretty similar. during my first few days here, i simply poured out all the coins i got in my purse and said to the cashiers: CAN YOU PLEASE CHOOSE WHAT YOU NEED? embarrassing enough, but it worked^^ good news: i have successfully purchase a taco with COINS all on my own this afternoon!

i think i am almost there~

again, we went shopping. and again, we went to the Short Pump. have i got tired of it? NO! we crazy shoppers spent 3 hours in the mall, but still there is this whole bunch of us crying over the cute stuff that we should have picked up but did not buy. please don't take me to the mall because i miss it so bad!

almost every one has bought at least a pair of Levi's jeans. i couldn't believe my eyes when i saw 19.99 on a Levi's price tag. it seems that Levi's jeans is not nothing but ordinary in the U.S, but in China, young people love it. the design and cutting is not bad at all, no doubt about that. however, i guess the relatively high price of this brand of Jeans in China has somehow makes people think that it is classy. back at home, Levi's jeans are seldom on sale. there would be some discount on shirts but the price of the jeans has always been above 70 dollars. once i asked a sales girl why, and her explanation was: Levi's jeans can hardly be out of fashion. a clever reason, not that reasonable though.

Levi's obviously has been much nicer to its American friends. the sad thing is that its Chinese customers still love its products. perhaps i should launch a protest sometime :p

the teacher who taught us globalization this afternoon was like a comedian actor. he cracked numerous jokes at the beginning of the lecture, some of which were funny, but some were incomprehensible. can any intern be kind enough to tell me what was so funny about the SHIFT HAPPENS thing? it was frustrating to see Julie sharing some kind of happy laugh with Erick who was sitting like a mile away, when we did not have any clue about what the humor was!

anyway, there is also some kind of border in terms of humor. sometimes the Chinese type of humor is so ingrained in my brain that i simply put this Chinese logic into English when i am chatting with the interns. and there have been situations that the air simply went dead when i cracked the jokes. the interns usually gave me a blank face wondering what i had intended to infer. it was embarrassing! but my biggest wish is that they had guessed my meaning in best way. please trust me: I WAS NOT REFERRING ANYTHING BAD ^^

i actually had been biking for more than 3 three hours along the coast of Virginia Beach! it sounds crazy enough. i never thought that i could be that keen on biking. in china, i don't even have a bike, because the traffic is scary and i am not a good biker. and this means i haven't rode bicycle for about fifteen years!

i like the breeze brushing by, i like the view of the Atlantic Ocean.And most importantly, on the biking lane, i could see lots of people either individual or family with really content and happy faces.
every one of us seemed to be drunk by the aroma of the sea and sand ^^

after all the happy moment, i had a price to pay. my skin is still burning, red and tense. i just know that i am going to be soooo tanned! i still feel compulsive to take out my little umbrella whenever the sun comes out, because a tan does not add any credit to beauty according to Chinese standard and i have to go back home after all. but i am also aware of the fact that i would be complete freak if i do so. So to tan or not to tan, it is a problem.