How are you? Did you have a good week and have entered a wonderful new week? I do hope you did and you have.

On my side, it is the 7th week of my current American travel and the week to fight with the ache on one of my ankles and legs. Except going to the hospital by the good help of Mr. John David Lawson (he is on the second photo) on Monday, to pay my bill and had a register in OTC for English study by Taxi on Tuesday, I did not go out of my house.

I had to cancel 3 appointments with my professors and tutor, which had been delayed until Wednesday in Missouri State University from last week. And I appreciated Mrs. Kat Allie who is the Chair of the Fine Arts and Humanities Department at OTC for she cancelled the meeting of us on Thursday and asked me to rest my ankle at home when I was just worrying about how I should go into her office after going down the Taxi since our appointment was made on Nov 28, 2016.

Do you know why? Just for walking totally about 200 meters from the Taxi to the office of Mediacom and then from the Taxi to an office of OTC Tuesday afternoon, I could not get sleepy for the ache on my leg and ankle in the night and I was awaken by the ache next morning once more...

Now I can feel the ache every day but I can bear it already. Since I have experienced the sharp ache, I do not want to take the risk of walking before I have healed.

The good news is that I have gradually gone out of the frustration that missed the Thesis Proposal Conference at the Graduate School of Chinese National Academy of Arts and will have to face the fate to graduate and get my MFA later for one year, and the series chain-reactions, such as opening my new course at OTC, the affect on my publications, the cooperation cost and financial cost…

Although I do not know what will happen to me, I am getting calm down day and day, right now, I have totally involved into my study and research jobs already.

Here are what I have done in the past 7 days:
-- Created a piece of music for a Chinese classical poem.
-- Translated the poem into English.
-- Painted 2 new paintings 48cm x 180cm (18.89inches x 70.86inches). The later is for matching the classical Chinese Poem and the music I have created for the poem.
-- Sang the Chinese poem in English and in Chinese and made two records for the singing...
-- Wrote an article to introduce this poem.
-- Read 6 chapters of an ancient book on Chinese Art Theory which is the NO 1 in my reading list which includes 60 sets of books and was given by my tutor / supervisor of my Master Study Phrase, Professor Mu Jiashan.
-- Listened to 36 English articles at least 3 times... every night do it when I was painting.

-- Also, both of you and I myself could not imagine, I am also reading a novel -- Der Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse which is the No. 19 in my reading list which was required by my professor...

So, now, instead of wasting my time on complaint, I am working hard on my study and improvement with so much gratitude to the God for he has helped me to slow down my steps, and he has given me an opportunity to pull out of the too busy and to near place with the realities, to go back a normal study road which has a little bit distance from the realities...

Can you imagine? At the moment I opened the novel, I cannot believe that was me. I could not believe Shirley, I has re-started to read a novel which I had not touched for more than 20 years...

Do you know? I started to read novel when I was 9 years old and I had read hundred novels before most of my contemporary started to read, because the Cultural Revolution of China deprived the right of mine and my elder brother to study in the school, that gave me a good opportunity on reading a lot of officially banned Chinese books at home... then, in my university times, I read maybe more than 200 sets of European books and a lot of Chinese ancient books, from Greece Mythology, to Homer's Epic, from Shakespeare to Balzac,Honore de... until my eyes got into shortsightedness, and then for teaching ancient Chinese literature and language as an instructor, I had opportunity to read more classical Chinese books, includes almost all of the famous Chinese poetry collections... so that before I entered into the Chinese Securities Market, people called me “ a Miss Upstairs who is otherworldly, just like someone who comes from the Moon.”:- )

Then the intense competition in the new-emerging Chinese securities industry, changed me to be a “superwoman” or a work machine whom I myself does not enjoy, but I had to be... novel has become a far away dream for me totally...

So, you cannot imagine what my first feeling is when I got the reading list which was given by Professor Mu Jiashan, I was so surprised for there is a novel by a Nobel Prize Winner there... :- )

Therefore, now, I am thinking, maybe the recent frustration is really a good thing that may become a turning point which is helping me go back a normal life from the terrible business field and the always working style...

I am not sure about it at this time yet, I do have felt the caring for of the God and his looking after indeed...

So, before I finish this letter, I would really like to thank these good people:

-- I would really like to thank my current tutor/ supervisor – Professor Mu Jiashan for his good education, directions, support and help at the time I was in the most difficult situation. If there were no him there to help me, it would be impossible for me to go out of the bad frustration quickly. If saying, Dec 6 to last week, he had done his best to help me on making my dream to be true; right now, he is doing his best to help me to improve my academic level while going back as a normal human being... :-)

I am going to cherish my upcoming 3 years ( July, 2016 to July, 2019 ) under his directions, try to improve myself not only on art theory and painting skills, but also on how become a better person with a good artistic sensitivity.

-- I would really like to thank Mrs. Kat Allie of OTC, Professor Olson Steve, Professor Chang, Chih-Cheng Ed, Mrs. Anna, Dr. Weirong Yan for they have cancelled the meetings with me and let me rest on both of my physical and psychology with their considerate styles.

-- I would really like to thank Mr. John David Lawson who is my bible teacher since 2008 for he had spent so much time on driving me to my doctors twice in the Urgent Care.

--I would also like to thank the staff in Chinese National Academy of Arts Ms. Xin Jiaoya of the Academic Degree Office, Ms. Jiang of the Graduate School for spending their time on answering my questions.

And also I would like to thank my classmate whom I had not met yet – Mr. Xie Di for he spent a lot of time on booking a hotel nearest the school for me.

Especially, I would like to thank my work partner Mr. Charlie Quan Zhang and my former colleague and current Professor of Renmin University of China, for both of them have helped me to get a new Chinese cell phone card and it is on the way to me right now...

With a grateful and peaceful heart, I will not only work on my current Chinese Xieyi Painting, but also work on my American State Bird Map Series with Chinese Gongbi Painting Style. I am also going to find an American Publishing House for it before I leave for China...

The future will be bright, the road will be winding, I am on the way...

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
Dec 19, 2016 (American Time)