Blog for chaij

I myself had never thought before that one day I would be able to spend my 20th birthday in the United States. Images that my family and my friends are with me in a beautiful garden celebrating my 20th birthday had always occurred in my mind. This is because we Chinese consider that as important.

The importance of this birthday comes in a special way to deeply impress me---- I will be in the USA for the first time in my life.

Yes, this trip has its own way to demonstrate its specialty even at the very beginning---- 20-hour torture on the planes. During the waiting period of transfer, different airports have shown me the different features of their own countries.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport----Starting to fly high.
Our trip started from my hometown airport in Pudong, Shanghai. There is no airports can be more familiar to me than Pudong because it has now been the 5th time of the year that I have been there. It is equipped with all the necessary facilities as well as something related to the software, namely services and security. It is not exaggeration if I rate it as the best and the busiest airport in China. The booming flights and the crowds from all over the world are the best evidents..
Truly, Chinese crafts like fans and paintings are sold almost in every shop located at the airport. However, to me, Pudong has nothing special to attract me partly because of my familiarity with the airport and Chinese culture. What I mean is that it’ an excellent airport with all-around high-quality business in almost every aspects. Yet what’s its real symbolic features that distinguish itself from other airports?
Anyway, what I have experienced @ Pudong has give me the confidence that it will become the state-of-the-art airport in the world, if added some more flavor of Chinese features.

Japan Narita Airport---- Shopper’s paradise.
When I was in Hong Kong earlier this year, Hong Kong locals are crazy about their shopping experience in Japan. Just from a glimpse of the Tokyo Narita Airport, you will tell what is “shop till you drop”.
Cosmetics are the first display that appeared in our sight. In the duty-free cosmetic shop, all we could see is famous brands like Kanebo and Lancome in relatively lower prices. What I love most is the Japanese crafts and food shops. Puppies wearing kimono, fans painted with heron and bamboos are the most popular ones. If you are lucky enough, you will have chance to have a taste of Japanese alcohol.
The whole airport has had a strong impact on my sense of smell, taste, sight and hearing. It would be weird if you are not gonna buy anything at the airport.
Everyone, young or old, man or woman, will make up his or her mind to go to Japan sometime in the future when s/he has got the experience to shop @ Tokyo Narita.

Dallas Ft. Worth Airport---- An airport of azure blue.
When I got off plane in Dallas, I knew that the land under my feet is the United States. Compared with the gloomy sky in Tokyo, Dallas showed its vast and azure sky to wipe off my fatigue on the plane. It has made me to have a much more strong feeling that I was in the sky than the flying carrier to me.
Gazing into the distance, several clouds were floating in the azure sky, which reminded me of the Famous animation “Laputa, the Castle in the sky” directed by a Japanese director. And the sky just extended into the horizon, immersing me into deep thought.
The souvenirs, of course, are the typical cowboy hats. This is because of Texas’ legendary history of horses and cowboys.
Sitting in the waiting room near the boarding gate, aromas of different kinds of American food drifted around, stimulating my appetite. “American food”, I thought, typical American food. The smell was so pure that I could even recognize what ingredients it consisted of. However, that purity had no way to exceed that of the sky.
It was 6:30 p.m., Dallas time. I got onto the plane heading for Richmond to begin my first day there.

It is always heard that the universities in foreign countries are open campus with no gates or enclosing walls. And VCU is the second university that I’ve been on the scene physically. (The first one is the University of Queensland).

Buildings:
Located in a historic city Richmond, VCU are surrounded by many old buildings. When our intern Eric took us a ride through several blocks, we saw many sculptures of famous people standing lonely at the center of the road, one of which is Thomas Jefferson.

Tour around the campus was like touring a community with residence, different functional buildings, cars and various types of restaurants etc… We can almost do everything on the campus. To me, every building is an elegant lady with her own appearance and character. Some are sedate while some are so lively. Are they here to show the long history of VCU or the fields of art where VCU excels other universities?

People @ VCU:
As a university, VCU embraces students from everywhere and of every skin color. As a community, VCU are open to the Richmond local to touch a sense of academic atmosphere. I saw people coming in and going out restaurants, pubs and book stores. Even its beautiful park sometimes acts as a shelter for the homeless. People come and go, also as visitors or participants in a special program just like us. Most importantly, people come and go to serve others or to be to serving others in futures. My point is that those who are now serving others like interns or staff members help people who are in need of help. While for those who are to be serving others are currently preparing themselves for the future by taking different courses, researches and programs. And therefore, when they are off campus one day, it will be time for them to help others who are in trouble. And that is the way the society running its cycle.

People and buildings @ VCU are the first 2 things that impress me most here on the first day. I believe there are more to be discovered and to be explored.

When it comes to the best for learning about the American History, Richmond, VA is the best place. If you are taking a walk around Richmond, you will probably encounter a building elegantly erected in front of u, full of history and stories. And the bus tour around Richmond was just something like learning the American history.
Proud enough to have 8 presidents in the U.S., Virginia’s history can trace back to the first batch of people from Europe. A new world was then created by the hands of immigrants.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Robert Lee etc, these are the names that are deeply engraved in American people’s heart. However when I entered a room in the Virginia Capitol, a portrait with a touch a peace caught my sight. It was merely a portrait of Pocahontas. How familiar this name sounded to me. Later I asked a lady there and got to know that she was the figure that appeared in Disney’s movie “Pocahontas”, which several years ago I happened to get a chance to view and even sing its theme song in a school singing competition. As far as I remembered before I saw her today, I always considered her as a beautiful princess who later became an ambassador between the Native American tribe and Britain. What she has done has saved her tribe and eased the tension. And Britons also got some knowledge about the native Americans, who they always thought American Indians are all ignorant savage. Her courage and visionary sight really subdued me. And her love for the man she loved, for her tribe and people, for nature has mesmerized me.

In order to get to know more about her, I turned to Wikipedia to dig deep. From her several portraits and sculptures, I have to say that she was really a beautiful, elegant girl at her time. One can tell from her eyes a power of determination. Just think about that, for a woman at that time, it required great courage to communicate with alien people, not to mention marrying a man and settling in his home country. However, was Pocahontas positioned really highly in history? After browsing through Wiki, I gradually converted my previous view toward Pocahontas. For Robert Lee, his weight in the American history has become irrefutable now. Yet for Pocahontas, her legend has been painted with colors of the wind based on others’ records and portraits. What was her true feeling about her husband? Was she used as a marketing ploy by the Virginia colonists and investors to convince the people in U.K. that the New World was safe and prospering?

Maybe to me, Pocahontas is just a beautiful and wise girl who finally got what she strived after and finally made it. Maybe sometimes the best way is let mystery remained fresh, not trying to be uncovered.

Lectures finally began this morning and the first was, of course the American history. To my surprise, the content of the lecture was pretty much the same as what I have learned in China. The difference is that my teacher didn’t focus too much on the Native Americans, but much on what impact the European colonists have placed on the history.

As the lecture progressed on, it was inevitable to highlight the serious mistake Colonists have made---- the harsh and inhumane slavery. The teacher talked about this horrible system from different perspectives. One is from slaves themselves. They died during the long torture of the voyage. The saddest is that the miserable life of the next generation. Because many of them were born with the label of a slave and they didn’t even realize the importance of freedom, equality and rebellion. Staying numb about the miserable plight of their fathers and mothers, their status remained unchanged until the Civil War. Another aspect of the slavery is kind of irony to most of the leaders at that time, which included the greatest people, the founding fathers, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson etc. How could these visionary people who were the pioneers and even also made a proposal that all men are created equal own a large batch of slaves?

Next talk about something I know about slavery from the literature. Uncle Tom’s House depicted the life a numb slave. And in this book slavery was slashed by the author. On the contrary, however, in “Gone with the Wind”, one can’t tell from the book that slavery was that harsh. Scarlet and her black nanny actually got along with each other so well. It was nanny who took care of and guided Scarlet since her childhood, which might be considered as an exceptional façade to reveal something different of the slavery.

Anyway, here, I have no intention to defend slavery. I just want to say that things sometimes have a another side.

Last night, our interns drove us to the Short Pump Mall to preview the shopping experience for New York. On the way there, our intern Gnami and us were so excited cuz all of us are dreaming about New York. Then suddenly a song called “New York New York” stroke on me, which added more excitement to the expectation of the trip in New York.

The shopping center we were visiting actually was a quite fabulous one, with stores of different kinds glowing to attract us. What’s more, the environment there was just as beautiful and delightful as a park. People walked through the center slowly with a relaxing mood, also stimulated by the environment to be attempted to eat at the restaurant. The cool breeze gently passed by and I really hoped that I would like to take an afternoon’s time to have tea and take a walk around the Mall. During my stay in Hong Kong, I once had such an experience in Lamma Island, walking on the beach and breathing fresh air under pretty refreshing weather. But this was the first time for me in 2007, and was the first time for several years. After I entered university, seldom have I ever had enough time to appreciate literature or to take a walk with parents in a park. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t have leisure time. Yes, of course I did. It’s just that I was too tired to even turn a page of a certain book. Sometimes, I just wanted to watch DVD or TV to passively receive the so-called entertainment.

Another thing that occurred to me is that why Shanghai cannot create such a delightful shopping environment? Every time I went to Nanjing Road or other major shopping areas in Shanghai, I was just shocked by the large crowds of people at the mall and then I quickly retreated. Shopping centers in West, Nanjing Road and Pudong are actually satisfactory. Yet speaking of East Nanjing Road, I have to downgrade it due to the excessive number of people. Then I started to think of Hong Kong again, the city I have spent 4 months there. Many as there are people in the shopping center, it never give me a messy sight nor an anxious mood.

Anyway, New York still ranks top in my mind as a international shopping center, not to mention other fields where it excels other cities in the world. New York, New York, I’m coming. Hope that one day I will be able to walk on the street of New York with the best shoes in the world!!!

The lecture in the afternoon was quite interesting. And of course, thanks to Jennifer, she has made this serious topic more summarized to us. During her lecture, I was keeping searching the content of a movie----Mona Lisa Smile starring Julia Roberts. Though it may focus more on a woman teacher’s personal life, but what reflected the teacher’s spirit was the background of the campaign of women’s liberation in 1950s.

Below is the brief plot exacted from www.imdb.com

Set in 1953, Katherine Watson (Roberts) is a free-spirited graduate of UCLA who accepts a teaching post at Wellesley College, a women-only school where the students are torn between the repressive mores of the time and their longing for intellectual freedom.

During the lecture, a famous picture impressed me deeply, i.e. ”Rosie the Riveter”, a poster to encourage women to work outside during the war. And in this movie, Katherine showed the girls a shocking picture that just presented the opposite of “Rosie the Riveter”. It was a picture with a pretty face just like Rosie, but with a apron around her waist, a book in one of her hand and a long pipe of the vacuum in the other. During the 1950s, women were encouraged to go back home and serve the whole family, which led to the creation of a famous book “Feminine Mystique”, telling people the cruel fact that housewives were living in a comfortable concentration camp. It is true. Betty, the Wesley College student, sadly found her life was deeply buried in loneliness, isolation and indifference. Her husband cheated on her. Her mother didn’t even offer her an accommodation when her husband was out at for business. Betty suddenly regretted for what she had done to Katherine cuz she once strongly opposed the teacher’s view about a woman’s role in the society. But there was also some exception. Joan, a outstanding girl qualified for Yale Law School, finally decided to stay as a housewife because she enjoyed the domestic life with her husband, which made Katherine so upset. Actually I am quite for Joan cuz it’s the life she wants. No one’s gonna put a limit on her choices about her future. Besides, Joan was smart and insightful enough to realize that the status of a woman was about to change soon..

The situation of women in China, for most of the time has been remained good though it did suffer some ideology that women are inferior and have to obey their husband and father or mother in law. Compared with the status of women today in Korea and Japan, I would like to say that Chinese women have much say in the society despite of similar cultures these 3 countries share.

Now I would like to post a part of the script to share with u guys.
Katherine Watson: Slide. Contemporary art.
Connie Baker: Now that's just an advertisement.
Katherine Watson: Quiet! Today you just listen. What will the future scholars see when they study us? A portrait of woman today? There you are ladies. The perfect likeness of a Welesley graduate, Magna Cum Laude doing exactly what she was trained to do. Slide. A Rhodes scholar. I wonder is she recited Chaucer while she presses her husband's shirts. Slide. Heh, now you physics major's can calculate the mass and volume of every meat loaf you ever make. Slide. A girdle to set you free! What does that mean?... What does that mean?... What does it mean? I give up. You win. The smartest women in the country... I didn't realize that by demanding excellence I would be challenging... what did it say?
[walks over to student's desk and picks up newspaper]
Katherine Watson: what did it say? um... the roles you were born to fill
[looks up at Betty]
Katherine Watson: is that right? the roles you were born to fill?... It's uh it's my mistake.
[drops paper and walks out of classroom]
Katherine Watson: Class dismissed.

The first night @ Virginia Beach was an amazing experience for me, Sabrina and Ellen. Hanging out on the beach at night, we 3 stood and let the wind blowing past our face, the moon shining on our shoulders and sand burying our feet.

The sea at night has totally turned its temper and mood from a hilarious little girl to a gloomy and even furious guy. The sea, in front of us, was black, vast into the unknown, which creates a sense of horror. What lay at the end of the dark horizon? What if I walked further to check? The white wave in the distance looks as if they were not moving forward, rather running in parallel to the horizon like a white dragon appearing indistinctly in the sea.

The sound of the wave repeated monotonously in rhythm with the surging in and retreating away from the beach, which rendered a perfect environment for deep thinking. Ellen, who is usually a very active, lively and lovely spoke like a philosopher, which surprised me a lot.

Ellen gave us a hint that what lies on the beach would appear differently in various places and different times. But what lies in front of them is the eternal sea. Facing the sea that night, I felt how insignificant I was. And Ellen also said that in countries like America, Japan and China seldom would a philosopher would come into being cuz the fast pace of the society. In contrast, there is a greater opportunity that Greek and Germany become cradles of philosophers and pioneers. It is because people have time to slow down to meditate, to criticize, to doubt and even to deny something. When the clock ticks to afternoon, they come out the office to take a sip of tea. When summer arrives, they pack up stuffs to tour around the world. Then I came to a conclusion that now the world has come into a paradox, that is, we’ve been witnessing advances in material prosperity, yet on the other hand, there is also a degradation in culture, in ideology and spirit. So irony and sad, isn’t it?

The sea is such a mysterious and amazing place for it fosters thinking, eliminate noises from heart and let our pieces of minds precipitate in peace.

A late Chinese poet once wrote, ”Facing the sea and you will find that spring has come with flowers blooming.” It is true even the sea is in front of u late at night.

I definitely love Williamsburg, which is a small town in colonial America. Small houses of classical styles and various colors depicted a whole picture of what the first established town looked like that we just couldn’t bear part with it.

There are old residential houses, carriages, barracks, churches and even places where criminals were executed, yet all of which are bearing a taste and flavor of Great Britain. And we even saw souvenir stores featuring England, Ireland, Scotland and Welsh. The green Irish magnets and handmade crafts immediately caught my eyes, filling melodies of Irish fiddles. For the Scottish ones, a cute bear wearing the traditional uniform stood out from a superb collection of beautiful souvenirs and suddenly the music of bagpipes.

We were lucky not only because we were in Williamsburg, but also we got a great opportunity to have a quick view of College of William and Mary just nearby. As one of the oldest college in American history, College of William and Mary is combined with all the features which a college with a long history should have---- a large piece of green lawn, classical style of buildings and solemn statues or sculptures. Peaceful as a royal, profound as a philosopher, College of William and Mary was exposed wholly under the intensive sunlight. Truly, we saw a group of students doing an archaeological project. Bathed in the sun, the students dug earth out in the shape of squares. Our program director told us that Williamsburg was such an old town that maybe one dig would probably discover something new.

This college has reminded me of Fudan, my university, which is also an over-100-year uni in China. In Fudan, I do see green lawns, classical style buildings and busy smart and diligent students rushing from one teaching building to another. Yet still, I find many buildings not in consistency in terms of style and height. When a tall building call Guanghua Building was erected in 2005 to commensurate the centennial anniversary of Fudan University, almost all of us got angry and confused with this weird building, wondering why the dean spent so much money to construct that instead of repairing the broken equipment in the old dorms.

Anyway, Williamsburg has already impressed me with its peaceful beauty, a touch of romance and a taste of classics.

The 2 lectures today talked about a relatively serious topic for Americans and the world by and large, international relations. In theory, international relations are so complicated to define in that what binds the nation-states can be the fear of power, common interests or state identity according to realism, idealism and constructivism respectively. In the afternoon lecture, we focused on both the pre- and post-9/11 US homeland security system to how it works and how effectively it becomes.

During the lecture, time after time, I began to question the order the world----what is wrong with you? Bombards, explosion, terrorism, racism, religious conflicts are always among the top lines of every single new medium. So much we have heard about blood shed and hatred and there is a tendency that the situation is becoming more and more intensive and severe.

A lot of songs popped up in my mind, reflecting my feelings about the lecture.
One is written by Black Eyed Peas. It’s called “Where is the Love”.
Another one is “Heal the World”, by Michael Jackson.

The reality is cruel because of different religious, cultural, economic and political background. It is so disappointing to deal with such a disorderly world. However, these 2 songs propose a solution, i.e., love. This love is not only the intensive feelings among family members and friends, but also a big love for all people in the world. How difficult this love is to be felt and to be expressed!!! No wonder when the famous picture showing a skinny and dying African kid being pecked at by an eagle is released, the journalist who took the picture was slashed by the public. Oh, God. This guy didn’t even have a thought to rescue that miserable child.

At the end of the lecture, I posed a question to Professor, asking why the rate of gunshot is much higher in US than in Canada under the similar background of access to guns and to programs that is relevant to violence etc... The professor gave me 2 possible answers: the love for hunting in America and the feeling of insecurity of most Americans. Where does this feeling of insecurity come from? What is wrong with U.S.?

So let’s call for love, love and big love!!!
From “Where is the love ”, by Black Eyed Peas:
It just ain't the same all ways have changed
New days are strange is the world the insane?
If love and peace so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations dropping bombs
Chemical gases filling lungs of little ones
With ongoing suffering
As the youth die young
So ask yourself is the loving really strong?
So I can ask myself really what is going wrong
With this world that we living in
People keep on giving in
Makin wrong decisions
Only visions of them livin and
Not respecting each other
Deny thy brother
The wars' going on but the reasons' undercover
The truth is kept secret
Swept under the rug
If you never know truth
Then you never know love
Where's the love y'all?(I don't know)

The very place I would love to go in Richmond is Maymont Garden. The Garden, used to be a private manor, now is a free-of-charge garden to the public. Brian drove us there and on the road we also saw a cemetery with stone graves inside, a sense of peace.

The sun so cruelly shone over our skin, but so gently over the creatures everywhere in the garden. Colorful as the Italian garden is, I prefer the Japanese garden cuz it’s more peaceful, elegant and of Japanese taste. I was so obsessed with the stone lamp, lotus and bamboo pavilion, which are the basic ingredient to compose a Japanese garden.

As I walked through the whole garden, I couldn’t help being attracted to the little blooming flowers on the side road. And it was the first time that I saw such a large piece of lavender. The sky above was azure blue as if the atmosphere didn’t filter any component of the sunlight. In my memory, it is only the sky in Australia is able to compete against the piece of sky here.

Maymont, in my personal view, is built for May day and the people who love spring. In Maymont, every single day with sunlight is a May day, cuz the various colors, azure sky and the vitality of every creature in it are all elements of May. Everything in Maymont, just like what Pocahontas described in the movie “Pocahontas”, has a life, has a spirit, has a name. Pocahontas said every creature is painted with the colors of the wind, while in Maymont, the tree, flowers and animals here are painted with sunlight of May.

Life is a box of chocolate. You never know what you’re gonna get.
This thing happened to Forrest, and the same to me. These 2 days, I really got so much surprise.

The time when I got chocolates was in the evening, when the sun was still brightly radiating its enthusiasm in the sky. And the venue was located in and near the Science Museum of Richmond with an Imax cinema nearby.

The excitement started from last night’s movie ”Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix”. I cannot remember how many times I have read Harry Potter, but the thing is I know Harry and I grew together. It was Harry Potter who accompanied me to go through hard times in the finals of junior high school and senior high school. In this movie, I saw so much darkness as well as so much about love and friendship. The twin brothers were like sunshine in the gloomy school life of students and Sirius Black kept nurturing Harry to become a real fighter. On the way back, our intern Katie and I talked about some of the inconsistencies found in the movie, though, we still found it a good one (not as perfect as the fourth one). What thrilled be most was the kiss of Harry and Cho. That was a real kiss, except for the fact that Cho was not considered beautiful in the eye of we Chinese. It was also strange that at the moment when Sirius was down, I had no tears to shed. On the contrary, I was quite peaceful and accepted the fact. As far as I remember, I used to cry a lot when reading that Sirius was dead. Maybe it is a proof that I have been more mature than I was in the past.

One more thing to say, after we had dinner @ our lovely intern Phuc’s apartment, and after I was just taken to the planetarium, I received a message from my friends saying that my friend from VCU have come to visit me, which was totally out of my expectation. Jay gave me a ride back to GRC where I was lucky enough to meet him for the first time. As a UVA math student, my friend Bowen led a typical campus life, busy and also having fun. However, now on summer vacation, life on campus has suddenly dived into silence. My friend feels so lonely as his girlfriend has gone back to Shanghai for a vacation. My arrival seemed to save him temporarily from loneliness, keeping speaking Chinese and Shanghai dialect all the time to him.

Life is a box of chocolate, for me and for my friend. For so long time, we haven’t met each other. And who knows that we’ll meet 2 years later in the United States. Life is also a chip of the chocolates in the box with different tastes and shapes offering us happiness as well as bitterness.

In China, I am a fan of Discovery Channnel, fanscinated by the rescue team saving people stranded in a cave or sort of desolate wilderness. Yet I've never imagined that I could be in such a situation.

Well, my story was exaggerated if I call it a rescue. But it does add a dramatic sense to what has happened to me this morning.

I was locked in the bath room. Sounds ridiculous, right? The door locked didin't work when I spinned the handle. "Oh My God!" my almost screamed out. And then my friends realized what happened. And they rushed to the counter @ GRC.

I was locked and could not get out. I couldn't believe. The only similar thing i've encountered was that once I got locked outside my apartment. Obviously, the staff member working at the counter of GRC has never encountered this before. He popped up,"That was amazing!", which made all of us, including me, burst into laughter.

In order to hear what my friends and the maintenance workers were talking about, I switched off the ventilation system, which meant, I also turned the light off cuz they are connected to the same wire. I stood still in darkness with nothing to do but to listen to the rumbling sound of the machine which produced it.

All of a sudden, the door handle became loose from the door and fell to the ground. I was so excited to see the light again. Outside the door, my friends were talking and the maintenance staff were still working hard. After several minutes, I finally got released.

The moment I stepped outta the bath room, everyone cheered and a camera was projected at me to record the whole process and my facial expression. I appreciated my gratitude for taking me out.

Instead of feeling upset, I was in very high spirits. This is because my friends contacted the staff member right away and they all accompanied me, telling jokes to let me calm down when I was in trouble.

This is the most ridiculous and funny thing that occurred to me at the GRC.
I've only got one week left @GRC and it has deeply stored in my mind!!!
Anyway, I do love GRC. HAHA!!!

Home visit---- Sweet, Sweet Home

It was so lucky for us because it was our intern Kati who invited us to her house and we finally made it.

Peaceful Town:
Scorching as the weather was today, it didn’t upset us at all. On the contrary it was the bright sunlight that rendered us such a perfect light to take photos, especially in such a beautiful place of Urbanna, where Kati’s home is located. Kati described her hometown as quiet, small and pleasant. It is true. As soon as we got onto the bridge over the bay, the landscape spread out and it seemed that we were able to have a whole view of the beautiful and historic town. The bay where once oyster, crab and tobacco industries was located in or nearby, was the carrier of the whole history of the development of Urbanna. Driving past a lot small houses with lawns, flowers and even water surrounded, we felt so relaxing and refreshing. The town itself is just like its peaceful appearance, with very friendly residents and very low rate of crimes.

Meeting Kati’s family:
Kati has a very nice and clean house. When we got out of the car, we saw a girl in orange lying on a bench. That was Kati’s little sister, Grace. And there was someone else curling up on Grace’s chest, a tiny cat. We call it “Tiger”. Inside the house was Kati’s Mum Dona.
Grace was a very athletic girl, playing all sorts of sports like baseball and basketball. Dona told us that she is a tomboy, which made us all laugh. Grace was curious about almost everything around her, on the road and beside the river. Sometimes she picked up an oyster shell to observe and sometimes she would found something that none of us would notice, say, a crab basket. All of a sudden, I felt that I had already beyond the age full of curiosity and the motivation to explore the unknown. And Grace has no homework for her summer vacation, which reminded me of my busy vacation time, rushing for summer classes under sultry weather and for school assignments. Lucky Grace, isn’t she?
But Tiger the kitten is even the luckier. It attracts everyone’s attention, much more than Grace. To our surprise, it didn’t uncomfortable when humans approach it, huddle it and stroke it. Tiger is so tiny and soft that we can even bent its legs a little due to its excellent flexibility. An outside cat it is, Tiger still gets a cozy place to stay and a good protection. A spoiled cat, isn’t it?
Dona is a very kind and extroverted mother. We 4 started a very pleasant with Kati and her. Through the conversation, everyone got fully involved in it and tried our best to learn as much as possible about America and China. And there seemed not be a very big gap between the parent and “kids”. Dona is a mum who is with her children and be very considerate and understanding. When I tasted the tasty browning cooked by Dona, the sweet and sticky browning. This small snack made me feel so warm inside my heart.

This is a sweet home of Kati. In China, there is a saying that 3 girls/women/ladies can complete a stage performance. To Kati’s home, it is the same. A mother and 2 daughters can perform a perfect role in their sweet home.

Hiking---- My favorite
Childhood experience:
I definitely love hiking, which has been my hobby since my childhood. I have to admit that I did possess a very happy childhood. From Hangzhou out to Suzhou, I’ve nearly climbed all the famous mountains in Zhejiang and Jiangsu Province and several in Fujian Province. Among all the group mixed with adults and children, I was always the first one to reach the top. For me, it was not the feeling of being a mountain-climbing champion that satisfied me, but was the beautiful scenes from a bird’s eye view that impressed me most. It felt so good when the breeze blew past my face and all what I had conquered just now were underneath, like match boxes or gizmos.

Hiking in Sai Kung:
The latest hiking I have experienced was in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. It was lucky that we got a cloudy weather on that day. My Philippine professor and William, FB (Faculty of Business) program director led Snowing and me climbed several mountains. On the stiff and tough trail, we met different people and encountered what was considered amazing for me. Some guys from Model Plane Society of Hong Kong, a flower that has longevity of only one day, the trees which would be eroded by fungi and the modern town under construction. The blue sea seemed to me that it was just a few meters away, but to reach this vast blue required sweats and pains. In order to commemorate what we had achieved, I used a twig to write ”Jessie Loves Shanghai”.

Sherando Lake:
In contrast to the scorching weather we’d encountered in the past several days, the weather today was benevolent to us. Around the Sherando Lake, people there were so busy grilling and getting sun tanned. In the lake, there was a totally different world with the joy of water. Sabrina, Emily and I chose to go another way, staying some distance away from water. Instead we picked up a trail to start our short hiking journey. It was a good place for hiking for there were few people in the way. After we’ve climbed for some time, we met Julie on the trail. She was so athletic that she jogged all the way around the lake through the trail. Our target was to reach the rocky part half way of the mountain. Rugged as the trail became later, we kept pretty high spirits. Admittedly, the scenery around the Sherado Lake might not be as enchanting as the places where I have been in China, it does provide the people nearby a good place to relax and to have fun. Just within a little time taken on the road, they will be able to get to a quiet place to release their pressure.