Blog for chaij

Monticello possesses all the significant ingredients for establishing a home for everyone. Mile temperature, lush and green trees and the height to view the whole countryside etc… Thomas Jefferson was the own of Monticello, which was considered the center of Jefferson’s world.

My friend is right. Charlottesville was under benevolent weather. Furthermore, Jefferson’s plantation was covered by the tall trees and vast area of green, which made me a little jealous of him, but he deserved it, right?

After visiting the house, I would like to comment that Jefferson really led a luxurious life. Look what composes of his house, tea room, dinning room, slaves house, wine cellar etc… Admittedly, it was a beautiful house with high ceiling, first-rate room and large windows to let the outside scene in. However, inside the room I felt a little bit depressed. And the furniture looked so either short or small. How could I spend so many years living here? No worries. The flower borders outside can make up for that.

I would like to say that the trip today was perfect until early this afternoon. The downtown area in Charlottesville was pleasant in terms of the environment. But it failed to become a good place for shopping. Hungry and exhausted, my friends and I just spent 2 hours sitting at the benches at the downtown street with nothing to do but talk. We all felt it didn’t make any sense to idle away our time in this downtown area. After all, the price of the shops there were too expensive for us to complete a purchase.

Anyway, the trip to Monticello was worthwhile. It is when we pay tribute to the greatest man in history that we realize that there is a lot to do and to progress on.

Almost 3 weeks @ VCU will call it an end by the end of this week. Here I would like to say a few words to conclude this pleasant program.

Life @ GRC:
GRC for me is a very satisfying place to stay cuz it is equipped with hot water, a kitchen and a free and clean access to the Internet. Additionally, my roommates and I have learnt how to create a enjoyable life at the dorm. We four together went to Ukrop’s to do shopping according to our plan. Sabrina, is a great cook. She always has creative ideas about how to make use of all the American ingredients to make a Chinese cuisine. Emily is a gentle girl who is just 2 days younger than me. She will smooth the tension when something occurs to us. Ellen is the most funniest girl of us all. Fond of telling jokes and activating the atmosphere, she has added a lot of elements of joy and fun into our life @ GRC.
Every morning we got up at 8:00. Emily and I are responsible for the breakfast---- boiling eggs. Ellen and I shared the duty of an accountant, calculating the money we spent at the supermarket. Sabrina, undoubtedly, was the absolute No. 1 cook. It is not exaggeration that we felt really indebted to her for her delicious dinner.

Room 403 @ Hibbs:
Room 403 was the lecture hall where we took our lectures and where different and sophisticated sparks of thoughts came across to bump, to mix and to sublime. In some of the lectures such as the one about colonial America, America during the 20th century and Contemporary American society & Culture, we did absorb a lot from the professors and have some communication with them. During the lecture, a lot of similar scenario have come into my mind and reminded me of what I have seen and learnt about America through all kinds of channels. Well I admit there were some conflicts to what I’ve learnt here in the U.S., but there were many consistencies as well. Here I would like to express my gratitude toward those professors, some of whom had a very good knowledge of China so that they were able to communicate with us, bringing us the idea of what China is like in foreigners’ eyes.

Interns:
Perhaps the greatest ever special thanks should be delivered to our interns. You guys have really done a lot for us. I remember every detail of what you’ve done to us.
You are the most effective bridge linking the director and us. You’ve been so patient to listen to our needs in our broken English.
Julie: Though you’ve got so many things to plan, you still pay attention to the minute things such as the sunscreen protection.
Katie: It was a very pleasant trip to your home and to visit your family members. And you’ve always been so kind and patient to us.
Phuc: Thanks for inviting us to dinner in your apartment and commenting on my blogs. Quiet as you are, I can deeply feel your sincerity and hospitality to all of us.
Brian: Maybe you one of the interns who showed up almost every day. The trips to Maymont and Belle Isle were really awesome. We felt so excited when hearing your whistling and taking us to some trails that not everyone would like to take.
Matt: Ellen and I do appreciate your help and companion when Ellen was desperate to seek her lost cell phone.
Gnami: We really love to listen to your words cuz they were so funny and interesting. And we appreciate the ride to short pump that night.

And to other interns like Eric, Lisa etc.. I wish you good luck in everything and welcome to Shanghai in the near future.
And there will be 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 Shanghai World Exposition.