Wait and Hope

Day Arrival:
Having suffered from the long long flights, plain food on the plane and the jet lag, finally I arrived at VCU late at night from Beijing, on July 10. I thought in this month, most of the northern hemisphere is annoyed by the high fever of summer, of course other than the Arctic region. However, it turned out a total mistake not to bring one piece of warm clothes with me. The air conditioners of airports (both back in Beijing T3 Terminal and in Dullas) and of the VCU van cool the air with a remarkable success, thereby making me shivering all the way here. Come on, it is JULY. How come that wearing a tee could make me look like an idiot! ...OK, I must admit that most of the time in summer, I feel like: Thank God, I have air conditioners around.

The first week is ok. I mean, it should be great you know, so many lectures dealing with various topics, shopping at Target, and the weekend excursion to Busch Garden and VA Beach. Then why is just ok? I caught a cold and again the air conditioners are blamed. Nevertheless, there are still several impressive moments during the 1st week.

The Firealarm
I cannot remember the exact date of the firealarm day. I just got up at that time when the fire alarm began to scream. The sound was so piercing that I guess no one could keep sleeping. I knew it was the FIRE alarm, but I didn't see any fire or smoke, and I even didn't smell the fire. Standing on the corridor, I simply saw people looking at each other with confusing expressions. Anyway, we got out of the building in case there was any accident. It is really impressive that soon after the firealarm rang, about five fire engines arrived.

The Busch Garden
I've been to several amusement parks before, and the covering areas, the theme-park style, and the rides are not what make the garden impressive to me. I was turly impressived by the perfect combination of the natural scenary and rides in the garden, although I was not brave enough to take rides.

I have to make a new entry for VA Beach, cuz it has been the most beautiful part of the American studies programme by now. We arrived at VA Beach at about 9 o'clock pm, and I saw the moon rising from the sea level. The moon looks so big and so near to us, like a cookie. Oh, only God know how much I wanted to take a picture of the moon, but my poor compact camera...

The next morning, we got up and put on a lot of sunscreen cream. I love the sunshine, the beach, and the sea, but still, I don't want to get tanned, although it is fashionable nowadays. Swimming and tennis are my favorite sports. Wimbledon ended just several days before I went to the US, and the Rogers didn't begin when I was at the beach, so, let's swim! It was really nice of Margaret to teach me how to "survive" in the big wave and enjoy it.

The most extrordinary part is coming--the sun rise. We missed the sun rise of the 1st day of our stay. On the departure day, we got up at 4 am, and went to the beach with cameras. It was dark when we got to the beach, but it was really great to enjoy the breeze, the sound of waves, and the whole atmosphere. It made me quiet and happy. I don't know how to describe the breathtaking moment of the sunrise, and all the language was pale at that moment.

Weekend again...The activities for this weekend are not as colorful as last weekend, but hopefully there is a week-long trip to Washington D.C. and NYC waiting for us. I've caught the second cold since I stepped on Uncle Sam's land. I was lying in bed when others went out for the excursion today, and it was really awful.

I am going to visit Margaret's apartment tomorrow. I am really looking forward to that experience, however, she said that she raised three big dogs in that apartment, and I am afraid of BIG dogs.

It's a "home visit" day today! yeah!...We took the presents with us and went to Margaret's house this afternoon. It is a house near VCU, and there are three dogs in the house, like I said in my last entry. I am afraid of dogs, and I only saw two of them today. One is reeeeally big, and the other is relatively small. However, both are lazy and quiet. We watched the movie " A Beautiful Life" which was performed by SEIS in the last "Drama Night" and won the first place. Here is the backgroud info: "Drama Night" is a traditional activity hosted by SEIS (School of English and International Studies) of BFSU, and it is a English Drama Competition for College students in Beijing. The most exciting thing is that we played Wii in Margaret's house, and it is a lot of fun! Oh, BTW, we met a very very handsome guy who is a friend of her roommate.

Then, we went to her mother's house which is located in a suburb. The house is of great design and the neighborhood is of unbelievable beauty. Margaret also played a piece of music on her piano. The whole family of hers--her mother, two of her big brothers who are both very handsome I think, and her--had dinner with us. Her mother cooked rice, grilled salmon, made salad and cake with strawberry and blueberry. So delicious. They are all very nice to us, we talked a lot about everything, like politics, family bond, etc.

One last thing: on our way back GRC, we saw a rainbow in the sky! Such a wonderful day, isn't it?

Day 1:
The Monroe Park Campus of VCU is a great place. We were shown around the VCU campus after we got our VCU ID Cards which have similar functions with BFSU Card. The campus covers a really large area, and there are on campus churches for various denominations, coffee shops, bars, theatres, book stores, vantage clothing shops, etc. Another tour around the campus was organized this morning. All those interns are sooooo nice and passionate. Like us, they are eager to learn something about the other culture. The "culture" thing is truly a magic.

Day 2:
I am so impressed by the Cabell Library. It is very human oriented to arrange those function zones, esp. the group study area and volume levels for different floors. BTW, "Uncle Dream" is such a funny person. Besides, the e-library is similar with BFSU's, but the research tips are really useful.

I've been here for only three days, technically only less than 48 hours, but I've already begun to miss things. I miss the hot food, not necessarily Chinese cuisine, but at least warm. I miss my friends and parents back in China. Nevertheless, I am having FUN here.

If you ask me that what cost me most of my preparation time before this USA trip, I will tell you the answer is shopping! I did a detailed research online: What brand is made in USA so that I can purchase them at much lower prices than China or even Hongkong and what are the star products or bestseller of different cosmetic brands. I also made lists: a list of what my mom wants me to buy; a list of what my bestfriend ask me to buy and a list of presents. So when I arrived at the US, I was looking forward to shopping everyday! Fortunately, before we began our study programme, we got the chance to go shopping at SHORT PUMP! All girls went crazy that day I think, and some boys as well.

Actually, there are many similar shopping malls in China, and some of Chinese shopping malls cover even larger area and involve even more brandnames. Then, what drove us crazy? The price! The price of American made products are so low...namely EL, Clinique, CK, POLO, etc. Finally, I finished all my lists and felt satisfied...

The first weekend is extremely wonderful! Busch Garden, VA Beach and Williamsburg! And what's more wonderful? Outlet! I said in my last entry that the prices of some brands in shopping mall are really low. However, the prices in outlet are even lower! It is a dream place to shopping! Julie gave us two and a half hours. We thought it was enough at first...After we got off the bus, we found out that the place is too big. We couldn't pay much attention to our images, and what we did just run from one store to another.

I bought a Columbia bag, three CK jeans, some Columbia Tee, Adidas Classic Super Star Shoes, Vans...Here, I have got presents for my cousins, friends and boyfriend.