How are you?

Time is flying, it has been 11 days since I wrote to you last time, Oct 2.

In the past 11 days, except offering some Chinese poetry lesson for my new American students as a volunteer, writing to a General Consulate of China, I " have put down" the job " to market my own project" for a while, but I spent much more time to learn, study and to absorb the nutrition from the local American culture, below are something I have done:

-- Attended 2 Sunday Services in a Chinese church and a American Church;
-- Attended 3 Bible lessons in 3 churches;
-- Attended 1 English lesson in Missouri State University;
-- Visited Springfield Art Museum;
-- Read the 2013 Address of Missouri State University: Think Bigger & Bolder by the President Clif Smart and Provost Frank Einhellig twice;
-- Made 15 new appointments;
-- Visited and Interviewed 14 local Americans, 7 of them have Doctor degrees, 3 of them are Professors.
-- Painted 4 pen sketches outdoor, in the campus or just on the streets.

There are so many feelings or guides during the work process, the strongest feeling is: Along with the time, human being’s thoughts or ideas about how to make the world progress would intersect together at some points, no matter where we live and no matter what our believes are. In another words, all roads maybe lead to Rome some day.

I felt this mainly because of two reasons:

First of all, when I read the 2013 President and Provost Address of Missouri State University -- Think Bigger & Bolder, my eyes were attracted by many words once and once. And I did think many education principles in an American university are same as what Chinese government and universities do right now. For example, they said:

We Care About:
• Students and their learning
• Our disciplines
• Creation of knowledge
We focus on improvement of the human condition and have concern for the natural world.

I could not help smiling when I read these. As a Chinese student who is studying in Beijing, I have really heard our president of Chinese National Academy of Arts and the dean of our school to speak the same or similar words indeed. :- )

I am thinking, the same ideas and views maybe just the foundation that so many American and the other western universities and Chinese universities have become work partners, to exchange their students each other. And this is the foundation of Western and Eastern culture and education to be melted more and more?

Secondly, in my Bible lessons, when I started to realize that Bible has been reading and believing by so many people include those have high education background, maybe because it is something classical? Because it is in fact a history? Because it has experienced the tests in the development of the human history? Then I thought of many of my famous Chinese art professors in Beijing told us: Never learn from me, because I am still alive, try to learn from the nature; and those great classical artist and classical art works. They are great because they have been tested by time, to be proved the best by the history. It has been full of the respect for Bible in my heart since I knew it has had a history for more than 3000 years.

So, I am thinking, as a student who is major in Chinese Art and wish to do something helpful and meaningful between Eastern and Chinese cultures. It is really not enough for me to learn Chinese art indeed. I must fill myself with much more knowledge and skills from the Western culture. Bible maybe one of the most important books that I must read and study. Otherwise, I would not be able to know what American and Western culture is and I would not be able to create something to be understood and enjoyed by Westerners?

From this meaning, maybe, it is really the time for me to think of the suggestions of my American friends, to be major in Western arts for a while? To start the study from learning Bible? Now I have not thought it clear, but hope to hear your advice and suggestions.

Since I have offered and I am offering some free Chinese poetry and Chinese painting classes for a lady who I do not know her full name and her daughter weekly now, if you or your children would like to learn to Chinese classical poems by enjoying Chinese paintings, singing and paintings, to learn how to paint Chinese paintings with a Chinese brush, you are welcome to connect me at any time by an email. I will try to do my best for you a volunteer before I leave for China.

How about you? Do you have anything special to share in the past 11 days?
I am just a student on Arts of Painting, Music, English and Management, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do somethings with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Cross - Culture and Comprehensive Arts Exchange, Chinese Culture and Language Learning & Friendship Making. To help the others while to improve myself.

I would like to appreciate you for your understanding, directions, supports and help.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or leave your message on Message Board.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Oct 13, 2013