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

Today is the 213rd day that I am in the US and now is the midnight of Saturday night. After working on my new course for about 13 hours, I would like to write a letter to you as a relaxation and one of my favorite jobs.

The happiest thing this week is that I have passed the first examination of my most scared lesson ? Managerial Accounting with a good scores.

Even though I had to take 4 pills of medicine (it should be used 1 pill each day ) to control my headache on the examination day and before I entered the examination room Wednesday morning, then I kept completing two Abstracts that I did not realize that I should turn in the professor with the other homework together. Anyway, since Friday, I have not eaten any medicine again.

After going out of the examination room, I landed into my company inboxes that had not been opened for two days -- I wanted to focus myself on my lesson and I knew they would call me if they needed.

Tears were flowing on my face when I read the letter from the secretary of the directorate, which passed on the greeting of my boss and how he and the colleagues in China worried about me and wished me to take care of myself since the swine flu in the US... Once more, I felt the meaning of “motherland” to me and the same warm feeling when I heard the Chinese national song in Munich, Germany years ago. With much appreciation, I wrote to my bosses, to report my situation and to make them relieved.

If saying that “Accounting is a Language of Business” by Dr. Greer touched me in his prologue so much, made the a little bit “mystic” and sounds like "Bore" Managerial Accounting near me much more, made me want to explore what it is. Right now, with his more wonderful lectures, patient directions and detail handouts, I have totally involved myself into the new course.

When I preview and review my lesson, one thing that touched me biggest is Dr. Greer’s handouts. I could not believe my eyes when I printed his first 8 handouts on my little printer. Wow! The shortest one is 55 pages, the longest one is 89 pages and most of them are 70 ? 80 pages. Every page was designed carefully and beautiful with pictures, charts, tables and lines. The original “certainly bore” accounting language in my mind, has been expressed with so artistic, detail and clear style. With its help, plus the text book, his teaching recorder and my tutor’s direction, I found that I could understand the new lesson that I touched first time step by step, better and better. I have been able to calculate and solve questions and problems independently more and more, even though I am slow and my work style was not normally at all.

Another good feeling is that during the learning and studying by the direction of Dr. Greer and his handout, I found that my English reading style has been changed naturally, too. I mean, before, I read my textbook and teaching handouts by lines or pages. Now, I read my test book and handouts by questions or problems. Before, I accounted how many pages that I have not read. Now, I account how many questions or problems I need to resolve, as soon as I have answered or resolved a problem, a lot of pages have passed. Reading in English no longer is a big burden, the thousands and thousands English words have become my kind friends to help me at any time I need.

You can not imagine how happy I was when I found that I had understood a batch of strange conceptions and resolved some strange questions with the new knowledge that I just learned from the handout and textbook alone, I could not help smiling to myself while rewarding myself with a big piece of chocolate or a big apple.

The most important thing to me this week is that I have had a confidence about myself on learning the new lesson, and the most meaningful thing is that I am interested in something in the new filed. Just this week, a new idea has jumped into my mind. I want to write a paper on the topic “Accounting Is a Language of Business”.

Since I heard the word by Dr. Greer in his first lecture, I was touched by it and I have checked and read some relevant articles. I have a feeling that I should be able to do something on this topic. I am thinking that since art speaks with painting, music speaks with sounds, literature speaks with words, what does accounting speak with? Maybe both words and tables? Maybe table is just the most unique accounting language that distinguishes accounting from the other language forms?

I am not sure whether I am too childlike that have a dream to write a paper on this topic at the time I just touch the accounting lesson. But, I am sure, to learn and to study on this topic will be quite meaningful for the work in my company in China. After all, the main duty of our company is to publish the listed companies information via TV, web sites, magazine, newspaper, stock exchange systems and variety channels at the first time, how to express the most important accounting information with the best “Language” , is really something worth us to learn and research every day.

How do you think of my idea? Am I making a day-dream? Have you has any day dream as me?


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
Saturday, May 2, 2009 From USA