How are you?

I started this letter to you in Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing at 6:05 Am., Monday, Sep 17, 2012,

As soon as I basically completed my work relates to the publication (now I am waiting for the music company completed their jobs) the day before yesterday, I flew to Beijing yesterday.

Our school’s open ceremony will be held at 10:00 am this morning. So, this is just a letter to you to say Hello before I leave for the main campus of the school.

The opportunity cost to complete this publication is that I missed the travel to go back Springfield, MO, USA in September as I had planed last September, even though I had carried two big suitcases from Beijing to Shenzhen in July and prepared to fly USA from Hong Kong in Sept., my heart is not bad. Because, I have basically completed the prepared work on the first volume of my second cross-culture series of books (first one was published in 2002) and this time, it does not only continue the cross-culture subject with text, sounds, English and Chinese, but also it is a comprehensive art series with text, sounds, bilingual in English and Chinese, painting, music, poetry and literature…

It will be the first product at the moment that I just completed my career in Securities Information Field and enter into Art Field, to work on a dream from my childhood times totally free.

So, even though I had missed an important international travel, I have gotten many good lessons and experiences in the passed short 48 days in Shenzhen July 28 to Sep 16. It is really the best summary of my past 10 years’ art learning, thinking and exploration.

I have made sure some very important things relate to the project:

-- The basic frame of this part of my project;
-- The basic cost of this part of the project;
-- The byproduct of this part of the project;
-- The basic teams that I will need for this part of the project;
-- The best, good, not ideal, possible or potential work partners;
-- My own advantage, weakness and effort directions in the future…
-- What I most need help and support from the others…

Except the work, the biggest pity is not travel that I have missed, it is that I did not plan my time well enough, and missed the time to see my doctors. So that I have been working with the edema on my hands, the numbness on one of my arms and the ache on one of my legs when I walked and come back Beijing with them and some still bad healthy index since 2010…

The good news is: instead of eating Mcdonald's for 14 days ( at the same time last year, I did not go downstairs for 14 days to work on my paper for taking part in the 2011 Kentucky World Language Conference in USA in the end of September), this time, I cooked for myself at home, so, I seldom stomachache when I was in Shenzhen. Also, I just took about 15 pieces of painkillers during I worked on the publication, and I needed at last 50 pieces at the similar time to complete one book of the other series, I mean to work on the series of books in Securities field years ago.

Art is really the best medicines of mine indeed.

Anyway since I have realized my own “Mistake” already, by the good direction from one of my best friends ? Dr. / Mrs Qiujuan Zhang ? the executive vice president of a big hospital in Shenzhen, I have brought a lot of medicine with me. Also, I have brought my sport dress with me as well. I will re-start to do exercises in Beijing, fight with the sickness continually, try to make a win-win on both of my health and art study.

Now I am living in a new hotel, the walk time between the hotel and my classroom is about 15 minutes. I am going to start the exercise from walking between the school and the hotel…

Future is bright certainly; I will work harder for it.

How about you? Do you have anything special to share?


Shirley Yiping Zhang
September 17, 2012(Beijing Time)