How are you? Is everything good with you? I do hope that you are doing well and are enjoying your weekend.

Today is the 256th day that I have been in the US. This week, we have completed our 8th course ? International Financial Management by Dr Edward Chang. Even though I was seriously sick in the week of the second examination, I kept reading and reviewing the studying content in my bed and I calculated every question 6 to 10 times. Now I have passed the three closed-book examinations with a score of more than 800/1000. I am happy to see a B as my grade. :-)

Via this lesson, I have not only learned a lot of helpful knowledge and skills, but also I have touched many new and advanced thinking styles, learning how to see, to think, to analyze and to study items from history and global perspective. Meanwhile, the wonderful teaching style, good management styles and kind of humanity of Dr. Edward Chang, have offered us a nice model and example to learn from. It is helping my study in the US; it will help my work in China.

If saying the course of Financial Management from last Dec, then to Organization Behavior, then to International Marketing Management, I had been in an extremely tight situation and involved myself in the textbook and handouts day and night. The course of Managerial Accounting and the International Financial Management made me realize that I should admit and envisage my shortages and weaknesses. On the one hand, to do my best to fill my knowledge blank, and on the other hand, to put down something face or grade, with a more peaceful heart to think and to work. Then, I had three gains: I have learned more models of thinking of the Westerners in the classroom; I can learn religions and cultures out of the classroom; I have created and learned more works in painting, music and language fields.

Friday afternoon, I had my religion lesson. I learned something about the 3 main branches of Christianity; the same and different points of them; as well as the praying styles and general content... In addition I found another two positiving points of Christianity -- love peace and respect people who are hardworking, when I was reading how God created the world in Bible, I could not help smiling for it made me think of some Chinese ancient myth ? How Nüwa created the world. What similar stories they are! What interesting cultural phenomena that is worthwhile to learn!

Ha, now, I do feel that the studying in the US not only have helped me to improve my professional level,but also it is helping me to improve my personal culture. The more I learned about religion, the more I am interested in it. If saying the studying of International Marketing course made me first time noticed something about Islam since Islamic Law is one of the 4 main bases of the legal systems of the world; then, the learning about Christianity, makes me want to enlarge my learning and traveling ring from Europe, America and Australia to Dunhuang, Tibet, Indian to learn Buddhism, to Middle East and North Africa to learn Islam...

I have been preparing for my dreams. One of the prepared jobs is to keep running as my daily exercises... :-)

The thing worried me this week. I have to find and rent a new apartment before July 30 that can offer me a condition to paint and sing before. Also I have to sell my car before September 4.

Do you have any learning and travel plan? Do you want to learn anything in the other cultures?

I am just a learner on art of painting, music, English and Chinese language, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do a few things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Culture Exchange, Chinese Language Learning & Friendship making. To help the others while to improve myself.

I would like to appreciate your understanding, directions, supports and hope to get your friendly direction and help.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or Yiping007@MissouriState.edu, or to publish your opinions in the forum.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Sat, June 14, 2009 From USA