How are you? Have you had a good week? I do hope you are well and have a relaxed and easy weekend.

I left home for Zhang Jiajie National Park Sunday at 6:30am and came back Wednesday at 1:30am. It is so nice to recover a routine life ? running, showering, reading, writing, cooking, napping, creating picture and music, meeting friends, making telephones, playing piano, working on the web site... just like a fairy to enjoy my holiday.

Then, what is my biggest gain from my short time trip?

Except enjoying the beauty of the landscape, I found a new art ? Chinese Sand and Stone Painting, that originated there. There is no any hesitate, I bought 9 pieces. My art teacher thought that I have carried back something impayable, for its art worth will be raised along with time.

The second gain is that I realized that I should have more travels to absorb the nutrition from the nature. When I saw the landscape with my own eyes, I did feel that it is beautiful much more than anything else that I had seen via a picture or a photo.

The third gain is that I have seen many excellent characters of the local people -- unadorned, hard working and keeping doors open -- A local official offered his car and driver to my former colleague and me for 2 days, so that he had to work by walking. My camera did not flash, 3 young boys came to help me! If in my city, I would be scared, someone would rob me. Restaurants offer their dishes with so much food, so that I did not think that I could eat it all completely.

Meanwhile, I also saw the huge distance between the beauty spots (also the city) and my city. I guess that my city has gone ahead for 40 or 50 years. I had the similar feeling when I was in Lijiang, Dali in Yunnan, Guilin, Li River, Yangsuo, Longji in Guangxi in 2004. So, since I came back from my trip, I have never missed any art or music lesson. I had seen how poor it is in the mountain areas, the fee for one hour of my lesson, equals twenty five percent of a yearly school fee of a local child. So, I gave the whole of my money to my former colleague and her daughter before I left for the airport. I do think that I should more cherish my luck to live and work in the most modern city with a high salary, a comfortable life and work condition.

The biggest gain from the trip is that I am thinking of creating something about my city with some way as the artists in Zhangjiajie have done. They use the local sand and stone to re-create the local landscape, maybe I can use something modern in my city, to re-create both of the city and its nature view. Thursday morning, when I was running in a park, an idea jumped into my mind, maybe I can create something with three leaves, flowers, the modern life garbage -- beautiful food bag, drinking tin, shampoo bottle, with their ready beautiful or glittery colors that we can not paint out with brushers. To create the modern architectures, plants, plus my own painting and colors, maybe I can create something new? I am a little bit excited for my good idea and I will discuss it with my art teacher.

Do you enjoy traveling? What do you get from your trip usually?

I am just a learner on art, music, English and the work on the web site in my free time. Anyway, I would really like to do a little bit things with what I have learned to make this little web site to beAn Electronic Bridge Of Culture Exchange, Friendship, and Language Learning. During the process to help the others and to improve myself.

I do appreciate your understanding, directions and supports. I do hope to get your great help continuously now and in the coming time...

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

--Shirley
Written and Edited On Sun,Oct 8, 2006