How are you? Have you Started a Wonderful New Week?

On my side, because of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the USA, people will re-go back to work on Tuesday. Therefore, I am still in my long weekend. :-)

There were many things happening in the past a week, the best thing was that my allergy has gone and I have recovered my normal life right now; the biggest gain in my mind was that I have realized Detail Decides the Success or Failure.

-- Because of the detailed work of doctor James Hutchison and Nurse Mary and another 3 people (5 people serviced for me in the hospital on Jan 9 and they asked every detail seriously and wrote a file with 16 papers for me; then 2 pharmaceutics worked for me and they explained each detail carefully with another 6 pieces of paper), my serious allergy was gone just on the day that whole of the medicine was used up.

I was so impression on the bottle of the medicine, there was my name and address which I bought some medicine because of extracting a tooth in Nov, 2008.

To be honest, if I myself did not go to the hospital in person, I would never believe that a little allergy would trouble 7 medical workers and I would never believe they would give me 22 pieces of paper with so many details... Anyway, 7 years ago, the dentist's office signed a contract with me with 8 pieces of paper just for extracting one of my teeth. :-)

I am thinking that one of the successful signatures of American Medicine may be just their detail service?

-- Because of my English Instructor at OTC -- Mrs. Fran Giglio’s detail teaching work, not only have I found at least 2 new subjects for my cross-cultural and comprehensive art dream, but also, I have learned something to improve myself as an individual.

Mrs. Fran Giglio (she is on the 1st, 2nd and 5th photo) does not only offer us the daily American /international cultural event, daily English vocabulary, grammar and daily reading and listening lessons... but also, she remembers each student’s birthday, dream, cares for each student’s attendance and writes to them, organizes us to write a card, donate something to the students who have birth or be pregnant... days ago, she carried some stones which have the marks of shells which can prove that Springfield were in the water in the history... while she looks after the coffee, water and even the garbage can of the classroom... everything in the classroom in the best order, so that a Chinese student who was a visiting scholar of Missouri State University said in her farewells in our Christmas Party: “When we went into the classroom, we felt at home and Mrs. Fran Gigolar was just like our American Mother...”

Yes, Mrs. Fran Giglio works really like a mother, but she is in fact a scholar who has profound knowledge and an educator who has a rich experience on both of English, cultural and history teaching. So, I am thinking that maybe I should find a method to introduce her and what she has taught us into China and more place...

To be honest, if I did not get the two letters from Mrs. Fran Giglio and was touched by her ( when I was suffering the problems in my new house and missed 1 week's lessons of her) I would not be able to keep attending her English course until now.

Do you know why we were wearing in the hats? Because that day was International Hat Day. :-)

-- Just because of the good influence of Mrs. Fran Giglio, Ms. Sherry Phelan and Ms. Jacque Harris who were my tutors from creative service department of OTC, for their detail teaching directions and requests of the assignments, now, I myself has also gotten paying more attention to the details, no matter in my own studying and preparing for my future teaching.

Therefore, now, artistically, just in my current travel in the USA, instead of coloring my Chinese Mogu Painting on a draft directly, first time, I started to draft, then to paint a Chinese Baimiao painting, then to transfer a Chinese Mogu Painting base on the two jobs. Also, I have started to teach my American students (On the 3rd and 4th photo) to paint from the nature... I am trying to do my best to find some best road for non-Chinese speakers to learn Chinese art and cultures.

In English studying, I had given myself some regular assignments and since Christmas, I have recited 3,520 English words and have done 14,080 exercises already. The good news was I have gotten 82 in the mid-semester of my Chinese English school online even though I did not attend any lesson of them for the videos have not worked for me since I came to the USA in August. Also I got 88 in my last examination in the US.

The more I study, the more I realized that culture is everywhere, it is just on the paper money in our hands, on the flowers in my house, in the songs of the birds by the road, and in the greetings in our mouths, the problem is: I have seldom cared for many of them so that every day I said that I should learn American culture, but every day, I miss them from my hands...

So, now, in my heart, it is full of the gratitude to my doctors, tutors and the local American people. I would really like to cherish my last few weeks in my current travel in Springfield, MO and try to learn as much as possible and carry them to go back to my motherland…

How about you? Do you have anything special to share?
I am just a student on Arts of Painting, Music, English and Management, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do somethings with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Cross - Culture and Comprehensive Arts, Language & Friendship. To help the others and this world while improving myself and realizing my own value of life.

I would really like to appreciate you for your understanding, directions, supports and help.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or leave your message on Message Board.

Sincerely,

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Jan 18, 2016 (American Local Time)