Time to Say Goodb

    To reschedule or not to reschedule, this question kept troubling me for a long time. Eventually I rescheduled my flight and I am going home two days later.

Yesterday, I called my 10-year-old son; I was melt by his sweet voice over the phone. He said, “Mom, I miss you a lot.”

“I miss you, too.”

“Mum, I want to be with you. Yesterday, we went to see a movie, and the tickets sold out. We couldn’t see the movie. But if you were there, you would figure out a way to buy tickets.”

In my boy’s mind, I am still his omnipotent hero.

Before coming to Yale, I struggled a lot. I was really anxious. I even thought of cancelling the trip. Finally, I successfully conquered my anxiety. My husband said I should enjoy to fullest extent of my Yale life, but I am not complete when my family is away from me. However, this study experience proved to be very fruitful.  I observed a lot of excellent teachers’ classes and I reflected these teaching method and developed my strategies of future teaching. Also, I harvest invaluable friendship here.

     With time passing by, I feel my attachment to this new group is getting stronger. This morning, Polly was tearful when she said that it is hard for us to say good bye. It is really hard for everyone because we have spent so much wonderful time together in the past forty days. I will miss the study life here, and this memory will be as beautiful as the rainbow we saw in Niagara.

Reading is an art

We heard a lot about love is an art or teaching is an art, actually, reading is an art.

    To master this art, we first have to know why reading is an art and what to do and how to do to master this art. Reading actively makes a big difference from passive reading. Reading is an art means you have to practice a lot to master this art and this skill doesn’t come naturally. While reading, we should ask ourselves questions about the argument, is it persuasive or loose? What do you think of the author from the book he or she wrote? With regard to the third question, we should communicate with the author actively; initiate a debate with the author and to use the margin effectively, making the note while reading and get to know the context the author wrote.

 Only by reading actively can we enjoy the beauty of reading.

Drama Queen --- Siggy

When Siggy danced ballet to the class, I fell in love with her at the first sight. She is a naughty boy, an energetic magician, a ballet dancer and a drama queen. Her class is full of surprises, and you have no idea what she is going to say or to do the next moment.

She is very initiative in her teaching. She asked us to complete a story by using “fortunately” and “unfortunately” at the beginning of each sentence by turn. She asked us to provide special vocabularies of facilities in the hospital or airport etc., which starts with the first letter of our names to enlarge our vocabulary.

I can remember many activities Siggy carried out in the class. In one class, she first asked us to draw a T-shirt and then asked us to finish some tasks according to her description. For instance, to write our hometown on the right sleeve of the shirt, write the name that gave deep influence on us on the left sleeve, write our hobbies on the right bottom of the shirt and something we would like to conquer on the left bottom, which I wrote procrastination; and something we are unwilling to share with other people in the middle of the shirt. After finishing the entire task, she asked us to count numbers from 1 to 5, those were in the same number were put into a group and they were supposed to clarify what they had written to each other. Then, we counted again, and were assigned to groups with different people. While we were talking, Siggy walked around to listen to our conversation and talk to us randomly.

We had a lot of fun from doing those tasks and we are free to say what we want to say under the guidance of the drama queen. It is a good opportunity to re-experience our life as a student and I enjoyed the atmosphere a lot.  If we would offer such colorful activities to our students in the future, our students will benefit a great deal from those tasked-based activities. 

Man Proposes and God Disposes ---Our lecture in Newhaven public library

We experienced a lot in New Haven, but we didn’t expect that one day we would give lectures of Chinese culture in Newhaven public library. Thanks to Xia Feng, Carrie and Siggy, we made it.

 Jason, Arnold, Joyce, Jennifer and I are grouped to make the first presentation，which is going to cover Sino-American relations after World War Two and some Chinese social issues, with regard to Family Planning Policy and aging society, etc.. Jennifer is my roomie，a very smart girl with beautiful pronunciation, and we are supposed to talk about Family Planning Policy. With packed study schedule, we have to make do with what time we have got. We chose a comparatively informal way by put the information we want to deliver into a dialogue. We designed and practiced our dialogue on our way to the class, to the library and even to the stop and shop when buying groceries. We talked the evolution of the policy, its exemptions and latest revision, the positive and negative aspects as well. We actually enjoyed the experience a lot, talking and being inspired by each other.

      We are finally on the stage and the presentation turned out to be great. At the end of lecture, I demonstrated a Taiji Fan show. Two big men even volunteered to learn some moves of the dance and they are quick learners. I was impressed most by Arnold’s performance. Arnold is an experienced teacher, but he suffered from stage fright and he was rather anxious in the dress rehearsal. Finally, he successfully squashed his butterflies and his amazing performance is beyond everyone’s expectation. He spoke knowledgeably and confidently, demonstrating his good mastery of English and insightful analysis in politics. I have a refreshed understanding of him and draw an invaluable lesson from his performance, if you are determined to do something, you should just try your best and face the music with the best preparation. 

Shopping to a happy life

We go shopping a lot, but the shopping experience at outlet in Clinton is definitely the most impressive one.

Wearing the dress I bought at outlet

I will not go into details with the first part of this shopping. All went smoothly, the train was on time and everyone was satisfied with what they purchased even though we know that most of them are made in China. When going back to Yale, something unexpected happened. 
We were supposed to transfer at Westbrook station, but the train to Westbrook was running behind the schedule; therefore, we failed to catch the train to New Haven at 8:47. We had to wait for two more hours for the next train. Two hours were too long for the hungry and tired people and we were thinking about finding something to eat. There is an inn that is just next to the station, four of us went into the inn and the rest waited in the platform. The boss of the inn treated us hospitably and we ordered food. Then, we heard our colleagues shouting, “Guys, hurry up, the train is approaching.” We grabbed our bags and rushed out of the inn, making a noise like ten horses at gallop.　I thought the boss would shoot at us if he had a gun in hand; however, he was very nice in responding to our apologies, “It is totally understandable and just go catch the train.” We got to the platform as fast as we can. One of our colleges told me, “Thank God, we are so lucky, maybe the prayer at the church today worked.” But we waited and waited and no train came, it turned out to be a false alarm.

About an hour later, Polly wanted to go to the lady’s room and I volunteered to accompany her for the sake of safety. When we almost at the lady’s room, Polly started to shout, “The train is approaching, go back!” We two run desperately to the platform and it turned out to be a second alarm. After that, Polly was not in the mood to leave the platform, not even going to the lady’s room.

Finally, the train came and we sleepwalked home at about 12 o’clock, with our eyes barely opening. This experience will be an unforgettable memory in our Yale life. 

Detail Matters

 In Yale, wherever you go and with whoever you talk, you will be touched by the power of details.

 In libraries, special shelves are placed for low vision people. Quiet zone gives friendly reminder to people who read there. Boards apologizing convenience caused by the renovation are set up. 

 On the roads, signs are installed to remind the drivers to drive slowly and give ways to pedestrians.

 On campus, when you are photographing with your friends, the passers-by will come to you and offer help without even being asked. Friendly nods and cordial greetings are what you can get when you are walking on the street.

     Those details, which make a big difference to our life, could waken our love for this place and people who live here.

To be driven or not to be, that's the question!

Driven people are highly respected and appreciated in America culture. Its implication is somewhat different in our culture. Just like ambition, some people argue that ambitious people are too aggressive to be liked; likewise, driven people are too preoccupied to enjoy life.

To my understanding, there are two types of driven people. Some are driven because they are forced to be driven. They are forced by other people or working systems and they are driven by outside forces. Those people are always under huge pressure. Even when they are at rest, their minds are not at peace. They are always struggling to stay being driven. They are worried about everything and forced to be driven without a purpose. Some others are extremely driven because they are driven by their own interest or feeling of content, and they are driven inside, which make them stress-free. Those lucky people don’t care about the extra hours and packed schedule because they are enjoying what they are doing and doing what they are pursuing.