Happy Chinese Yuan Xiao Festival!

Today is the 130th day that I am in the US. After going through the most difficult and hard working time (every day studied for 16 to 18 hours for about 50 days and did not go out of the garden for about 15 days in the Christmas holiday), I have recovered a normal life now.

When I finally had time to see or listen to some art works of paintings or music and felt the trembling of my heart. I suddenly understood that why someone in the history rather than gave up their comfortable life and chose to live as poor artists. The strong creating desire made me paint in my dream, just like the magma under the rock, always wants to spurt out of the land. So, I painted 3 pictures as soon as I knew the comments of my Chinese art professor on my last painting. Then I completed the other 3 pictures as soon as my American tutor finished his tutoring on my new lesson. Then I translated, sang and recorded a new Chinese folk song.I attended an English Salon Saturday morning...

This is an English Solon that is organized by a gentleman and his daughter, Ms Shannon McMurtrey with some young American volunteers together. First time, I met Ms Shannon McMurtrey and knew that it was her to help our international students to find our host families online, included mine...

During a good communication for about 2 hours, I knew 9 American friends and 2 Chinese friends who are the students in our university and the Ozark Technical College Collage.

I am impressed of a young boy David and his girlfriend Kateiyn Carter ? a beautiful girl who is major in Medicine.

David is from Saint Louis and he is major in photography. At first, I was surprised for he was in the short pants in the cold winter, he has a same name as my son and he is younger than my David. Then I was touched by his talent, professional and artistic photography works. As a 19 years old schoolfellow, he has not only had his own business, but also, he has a very kind heart and wonderful personal qualities ? to come to help the others when most of people were sleeping in the early morning of Saturday... With David's photography jobs and his patient help, I knew so many things in his hometown and in the city; many of my wrong pronunciations were corrected by him, too.

From David and his friends Jeremy, Christ, Larry, Kane who are just 19, 20, 17, 21 years old, once more, I saw some wonderful result of the US enduration? One hand, to offer their students some good professional skills and help their young generation to make their dreams to be true -- David has started his own photography career, Keteiyn wants to be a doctor, Jeremy wants to be an architect... the other hand, it has made their young generation has very good moral characters and personalities...

With a touched heart, I am thinking that maybe I should go out of my own world as much as possible, try to do something more to help the others as Ms Shannon McMurtrey, as David and his friends...

So, I would like to thinking of facing an offer in my painting field. I would also continue the studying and exploring on Shirley's World, to build it to be a unique Assistant Chinese Learning System with my own art of painting, music and language, to help more friends to know Chinese culture and to learn Chinese language, while to improve my English level and to learn American culture.

So, I have re-opened my Chinese Learning Column and also edited something in the Chinese in Daily Life on Sunday. I do hope you enjoy it and hear your comments about it.

Do you enjoy my way to show you Chinese culture and Chinese language? Is it helpful for you to know Chinese culture and to learn Chinese?

I am just a learner on that art of painting, music English and Chinese language, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do a little bit things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Culture Exchange, Language Learning & Friendship. To help the others while to improve myself.

I appreciate your understanding, directions and supports. I do hope to get your friendly help...

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirleyz004@yahoo.com, or to publish your opinions in the forum.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Sun, Feb 8, 2009 From USA