How are you? Have you had a good weekend?

This is a quite tense week for me in the US. Except for attending English lessons for 4 mornings, submitting 6 or 7 assignments of my training at OTC, giving 5 lessons to about 100 students at St. Agnes School for free, Something biggest was: I have bought a house by paying full amount of money one-time.

Maybe for suffering too much since August to November in my travel. Monday afternoon, after a girl clerk completed the transfer ownership procedure for me under the witness of my classmate – Mr. Zhu Bin (he is on the second photo on the left), when Mr. John Walker (he was on the second and the third photo) who is my agent gave me the keys of the house, instead of feeling much excited, my feeling was just like I had exchange a bunch of keys of the house with a bunch of numbers of my account.

However, these days, when I thought of this is my second property that I have bought by my own hard work, instead of accepting any assistance from anyone else, and I have finally resolved the problem there was no a foothold to work on my art project in the USA, I could not help smiling and sometimes tearing for I often think of the only a time that I had beaten my baby son for a toy hen he wanted to have, which was sold 1.5 dollars 25 years ago.

I started to teach College Chinese as an assistant and then an instructor as soon as I graduated from the university, and I wished to get my master degree in Chinese classical language and literature in Beijing, but I was pregnant accidentally. Therefore, I gave up my opportunity but supported the father of my son to get his master degree. So, on the 46th day of my son was born, his father went to Beijing, and I started my duties as a new mother, an instructor while supporting his father’s studying in Beijing with my salary 205 RMB – about 33 US Dollars monthly for 3 years, then another 3 years after he graduated and to work in the other city.

I remember clear, when my son was less than 2 years old, he wanted a toy hen which could give birth eggs with 9 RMB about 1.5 us dollars, I did not really have the money to satisfy him so that he was crying while holding the counter and did not want to leave. No way, I held him away and I slapped him in his face and then I myself could not help crying with him together... I was so sad for I had beaten my baby and I could not understand why I had been working so hard since I was younger than 15 years old, but I could not buy a little toy hen with only 1.5 dollars?

I was lucky enough for an accidental opportunity, I entered the Chinese Securities industry in Shenzhen which is the first special economic zone of China and the testing ground of China’s reform and opening. There, I bought the first tricycle (which I had looked at many times but no money to buy it) with my salary first month for my son, and then I bought my first property after working extremely hard for 11 years by standing the workload for about 30 years for the others.

Now, when I recall these, I do appreciate my motherland, my son and my American Alma Mater. If there were no the opening and reform of China, there were no my son around of me, and if there were no my American Alma Mater’s looked after, no matter how I worked hard, I would not be able to buy my properties in China and in the USA.

So, after hearing my son’s opinions and got his support (He said that he has gotten his bachelor and master degrees in Australia, has his own property and an ideal job as an Australia permanent resident, he has no any plan to come to the USA and he does not need and does not want any money or anything else from me now and in the future. What he hopes is me happiness and to do anything I want to do... ), after getting my house for 4 days, Saturday night, Nov 15, I wrote a letter to the leaders of a local foundation of an American education organization. I would like to do a conditional donation by an alive will or some the other document, to donate my house + my works of arts + publications + my knowledge copy right + almost all of my books, recourse and data relates Chinese arts and culture to the foundation and the education organization for laying a foundation or a base for founding /building the first Centre of Chinese Arts, /or the first Gallery of Chinese Arts, /or the first Museum of Chinese Arts of Springfield, MO, USA,/ or Missouri State, USA /or the Edication Orgenization, USA... work together, to create something top not only on teaching, creating and researching, but also on business model in Missouri, USA, then to copy something successuful to the other places and the other countries, the first one I dreamed will certainly be Australia... :-)

I do not know what will happen in the future,at least, now, I have walked a big step forward and my little cross-cultural and comprehensive art project has had a true foothold or base in the US. I myself will continue to work as a “ migrant bird ” between the Oceans for another 10 years for creating a new subject in Chinese as a second language field while creating a unique art form in the field of pure arts while maximizing the value of my travel, work, and my life in the process to service and help more people and this world...

For appreciating the good help of Mr. John Walker on buying the house, on the same day my house was closed, I invited his wife (she is on the third photo) and he and the family of my classmate Mr.Zhu Bin had a dinner with some fresh flowers...

Coincidentally, I just bought a house on Monday, Mrs. Fran Giglio (she is on the 4th photo)-- one of the best English instructors I have met invited Officer Chris Laughlin (he is on the 4th photo)come to our classroom at OTC on Thursday to give us a very helpful and useful lesson relates to safety and answered all of our questions...

How about you, do you have anything special to share in the past a week?



























Sincerely,

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Nov 15, 2015 (American Local Time)