I started to learn European literature in my second year in the university, and the course of "History of European Literature" was one of my favorite courses then.

I read all of the books on the long long list of my Western Literature professor had done  for us , from Greek Mythology, Homer's Epic,  Renaissance, Classicism in the 17th century , Enlightenment in the 18th century until the Russian Literature in the 19th Century... and I saw almost all of the movies which the school had played (as a undergraduate of department of Chinese language and literature, to see movies were just one of our courses) ...so that quickly my vision from 1.5 dropped down 0.5 or lower and I have been wearing glasses since there...  :-) 

However, I have never been sorry for it because just for the lot of reading and movie watching, I have touched those greatest writers and artists in the human history and opened my eyes, even about 20 years later, although I had worked in Chinese financial and securities industry for many years, as soon as I saw a set of books  Complete Works of Shakespeare in a business travel, I bought it at once for I really too enjoyed his Tragedy and Comedy and the first movie I saw in the college was Hamlet... 

So, after 8 years of extremely hard working in Financial and Securities industry in Shenzhen, when I decided to give myself the first vacation in 2000, without any hesitation, I chose to go to Europe. 

During the travel in 8 courtiers and 16 cities, except learning the local cultures, I got 2 big gains: 

First, I touched Christianity first time and what I was curious below laid the foundation for me to become a Christian in 13 years in America:  

1. Why are the best and the most beautiful architectures churches?

2. Why are there bibles in all of the 16 hotels I have lived?

3. Why did the bells of the churches I first heard on the European land could bring me so much peaceful and comfortable feelings?

So that when I came back to China, in Hong Kong, I bought my first Bible, and in 2013, I was baptized in the US and became a Christian. 

Second, on one of airplanes from China to Paris, an experience that missed to take the photo of the sunrise just because of a short hesitation  inspired me to do something I truly wanted to do. Therefore, during the European travel, I made an agreement with a group of American graduates of Oregon State University in the USA: They wrote and record a set of series of books. I edited the frame and translate them into Chinese and organized people to check my translation and tried to publish it in China.

Then, after working in my free time for 2 years, in Oct, 2002, the first E-bridge Cross-cultural and Comprehensive Art Series   

-- Together with Me, Learn American English (by talking about American arts, mainly movies and music) with 0.93 million words and 4 books and 4 CDs by Jinan University Press.

With a grateful heart, I do appreciate the travel in the Europe and I do appreciate the great culture and civilization of European people have created and brought to us.

So, today, when my web site is upgrading, I would like to transfer what I had written in 2000 during / after my European travel here and would like to hear your good comments and directions.

Have you been to Europe? Do you enjoy their culture and arts?

Sincerely

Shirley Yiping Zhang

Dec 28, 2019 in the USA