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

Today is the 201st day that I am in the US. As usual, I had a quite busy and fulfilling week ? I scored 18/20 in a quiz on Monday, completed my paper on Tuesday, made a presentation on Wednesday, attended the last examination of the International Marketing Management by Dr Hermans Friday morning, registered the new course -- Managerial Accounting by Dr. Olen Greer since next Monday, skimmed my new textbook, read the syllabus, downloaded handouts, found a tutor in the afternoon, cooked and invited some girl classmates to have a dinner to thank their help on my car care and statistic jobs, sang and recorded a Chinese song and re-translated it into English ( I will sing it in English and send it to you next weekend), created a new Chinese Xieyi Painting Friday night...

Realizing that I would have a tight week, as soon as I finished my work last weekend, I closed all my personal inboxes and concentrated myself on the studying. However, I still met something accidental and brought me some good experience and new ideas.

I was not surprised to find some chapters in my textbook were totally diffident from Dr. Hermans's lectures and his handouts for I thought that was a normal thing that a professor adjusted his teaching content according to his own thoughts and point views. So, I worked until 2:30 am to read, check, print and remember some important conceptions via the help of Internet Wednesday nigh and I continued to work since 6:30 am Thursday morning to prepare my lesson for the examination on Friday. Then, a casual glance at the numbers of the pages made me almost cry while laugh... Do you know why?

This used text book that I bought with 130 U.S. dollars misses 33 pages. I felt my head was bigger suddenly and quickly, I found the receipt out and called the book store of the university at once. I could simply return the book back or I could exchange another used book. I chose to buy a new one with 175 U.S. dollars, even though Thursday was the last day of this course, I still wanted to read and learn the missed content in the missed 33 pages; I more wanted to bring a complete textbook back to China.

Since I came to the US, I have been feeling the price is higher much more than in China. Usually, the price of goods is higher 1 or 2 times than my city, maybe 3 or 4 times higher than the Chinese inland? Books are extra expensive. In my impression, most of the textbook is expensive more than 10 times than China (The cheapest textbook of mine is 80 U.S. dollars -- about 540 Chinese Yuans, middle price is about 150 U.S. dollars. --about 1,000 Chinese Yuans and the highest price is 208 U.S. dollars -- about 1400 Chinese Yuans ? about one month's salary of a blue collar worker in China. And in the past 6 years, I bought about 400 art and music books with about 10,000 Chinese Yuans ? about 1400 U.S. dollars). So, many of my classmates take photos of the textbooks, to read them on the computers or several people share one textbook or sell their textbooks back to the book store after using them...

However, I have bought all the appointed textbooks even though they were really expensive, after all, they are something I favorite indeed.

When I write here, I can not help smiling for I have thought of the situation that I just reached the college in Wuxi City -- My Third Hometown after I graduated from the university ? instead of finding a job freely as now, in 1980's, all of the Chinese university students got our jobs by the appointing of the country. The official who picked up me in the train station was so surprised for my extra heavy luggage -- except 2 suitcases, whole of my most cherish property was the 11 or 12 boxes of books, the series of my first English books in it was bought with the money for my shoes.

For me, books are valuable, knowledge is invaluable. The latter is just something I most want to seek, pursue and get for my motherland, company and myself from the learning, studying and researching in the US. After all, the process to master the advanced knowledge and skills is just one of the steps to improve the level of our work, life and thinking, to accumulate and gain the wealth and fortune in our matter and soul world…

How do you think of the value of the books, knowledge and skills? Do you agree with 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,April 19, 2009 From USA