Happy New Year!

Today is the 93rd day that I am in the US. After finishing my daily lesson in the holiday, I just realized that it has been the first day in 2009 when I saw people on the TV to account …5, 4, 3, 2, 1...So, I put down my textbook and to write this letter to you.

After a hard traveling between San Francisco and Missouri, the heavy snow made that my airplane to Denver was later on Dec 20. I missed the second airplane from Denver to SF, the third one was canceled, the 4th one has been recheck in, so that I reached at SF Airport after traveling for 15 hours and settled down there at 1:30 am. Then I traveled back from San Francisco to Missouri for 12 hours for the airplane from Denver to Missouri was changed 3 times and I reached home over 2:20 am. imply dealt with my life in the campus, I have deeply involved myself into my learning of Financial Management.

Now, my tutor offers me a lesson for at least 3 hours each day and I have also spent as much as my time on the studying. I would like to attend 2 examinations on Jan 12 and Jan 16, I hope I will pass them.

For me, if my friend did not book the tickets and paid for them from San Francisco -- of course, I paid it back later, I would not really leave for the travel because the pressure from my new lesson -- Financial Management.

The good news is that the traveling in San Francisco and Truckee have helped me to re-find back my optimistic nature, made me want to sing and paint again. The hard time related my lessons and the bad Internet connecting had made me so frustrated and being in quite low emotion. So, instead of taking any painting tools during my traveling as I did in the past 6 years, I brought my textbook and homework to read and to calculate in the airports and on the airplanes. But the traveling has made many new ideas jumped into my mind, I would really like to paint something new as soon as I finish my 2 examinations again. Because, I can not forget the thousands and thousands beautiful fishes in the museum and I would really like to express the beautiful landscapes by the Ocean and in the Snow with my imaginations, brushes and colors.

With confidence that I have found back in the traveling, by the good help of my tutor, I am working on my holiday studying. Even though things are not easy to me at all, I have started to enjoy the lessons, the rough math signs have not been so strange to me again, but they have become something with life. And they are representing some important roles in the realistic world.

The formal “little apples or pears” in my mind ? σ or ρ, have become something helpful and meaningful. The formal cold terms -- beta coefficient, standard deviation of single assets and portfolio have become kind and interesting. The formal confused features -- efficient set, risk/return indifferent curves or capital market line have become some beautiful and useful pictures... Just like an art of sciences ? being serious with money, being pretty with some artistic styles...

I know I could not completely read all of the 1070 pages of the textbooks within the short 2 weeks holiday in English, I would really like to do my best. I do not known whether I could make a good mark in the examinations, I would like to learn as much as possible, too.

Some good news is that tonight, my tutor asked me to answer 30 questions with calculation, I have made right more than 80%.

I am happy for the little program on the first day in 2009. I would really like to work harder to complete my studies duty in the New Year.

How about you? Have you had any great plan for your new year?
I am just a learner on that 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 little bit things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Culture Exchange, Language Learning & Friendship. To help the others while to improve myself.

I appreciate your understanding, directions and supports. I do hope to get your friendly help...

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirleyz004@yahoo.com, or to publish your opinions in the forum.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Thur, January 1, 2009 From USA