A Bridge to Chinese

Just another weblog about China and Chinese

To be 30 is not such terrible!

Tks so much my dear students and friends. The first text sent in the early morning was from 小马, to say Happy birthday to me. Then in the afternoon, when i finished the lesson with Dom, she invited me for a celebration with tebie de Philippine way. A blueberry cheese cake! WOW! The taste is sooooo nice! I love it!

And she ordered another cake for both of us. A chocolate one! A pure chocolate taste! No body will refuse to eat it! Me too! 

The kindness and friendness from my friends and students are not end to this. Dom just started a beginning. My nice colleagues say or text me to say happy birthday and Flora gave me a very beautiful jade necklace as a gift. They are so sweet! But my planning for celebrating my birthday was delayed beacuse of the sickness of my dear dad. I suddenly realized that my responsiblity is not like what I thought and did before. I am happy with the talk to Dom that when we are at 30, we grow mature. I have to balance my dream and my family always. The more things I experienced, the more I learnt. To learn from life is pain, but  I gain a lot. And no regret to say to myself. No! Never and ever! I have no time, no chance to do so.

Luckiness only happens when you catch it at the right moment.

The difference between dream and dream realization is only down to earth to put the dream into practice.

When you are afraid of  something, you might not be know more about yourslef.  Because you are afraid of the miserable  and unknown things around you and your life. Discovering  the world with a curious and open heart will be a good treatment to this fear. Fear will not be fear when it dispears or does not exsit any more. My fear still there, but not as much as before.

Tusedays with Morrie, is a wise old man’s life’s greatest lesson to young men, like you and me. His every Tuseday talk at his moment of dying is a momerable and thought-provoking socialogical lesson. Keep reading and digesting.

I am so glad that I have these days oppotunities to talk with you, Erik! Like what you said, it is so lucky to meet you who have the same concept in mind as me!

Follow my Heart and Soul!

No complaining! Appreciate everything!

Think twice when make a decision!

To be wise, do not make the same mistake twice!

Life is very short, cherish every minute and take full use of it!

Take care myself first, and then 

love the family, friends and the people need me!

What’s The Reader about? Before I saw this moive, I have already known the content of the story. It is Dominique, a close foreign friend and student, told me. Another ironic life.

The background about this movie is based on the Second World War and mostly the post Second World War. Not like the other World War films, The Reader has its own form. At the beginning, a love story is taken as the opening. 15 years old boy, Michael falls in love with a woman named Hanna roughly 20 years older than him. Love takes the most part of his life in that summer. He couldn’t stop loving her, he couldn’t live without her for a single minute. They make a deal that reading to her before making love.  ”The Odessey”, “Huck Finn” and “The Lady with the Little Dog”.  Michael discovers that Hanna loves being read to and their physical relationship deepens. But one day she mysteriously disappears and Michael is left confused and heartbroken.

The moment when they meet each other again is at the Nazi war crimes to sentence Hanna, the guard of the camps during the war. She commits all the sins what she did in the camps which shocks Michael totally. There is a secret kept in both of Hanna and Michael’s hearts. Finnally, Michael does not discover the secret, the one Hanna keeps forever. For me, the reason why they do that is they choose to follow their hearts, to be honest to themselves. It’s cruel! No way to avoid the result of being honest to your life if you have already decided to follow your heart. Hanna spends the rest of her life in the prison until she suicides herself. During the prison time, Michael sends the reading tapes to her, all the tapes from what he read  and she listened when they had affairs in that summer. Hanna who can’t read starts to learn to write and read. Hanna  did her job and followed all the principals of her position in the camps except reading and writing the reports where she signed her name many times to kill the Jewish women and kids.

 ”Camps are not the therapy for you, go to literature.” Michael’s seeking catharsis might be ended when he tells all the story to his daughter.

But how is mine?

It is 3:06am Beijing Time. Having Finished watching 春去冬来, a South Korean film, which beyond description, I couldn’t help writing something.

Tks is not enough to say to you, my dear student and friend 马永汉！This movie is the most touched movie I have ever watched up till now.  “人生庵”（Temple of Life) taught a big lesson to me. And it is the lesson we learn from life. Life long lesson! For my almost  past 30 years, me, like the leading actor, make mistakes and also learn from the life. Only the life, bitter and sweet life can teach us and make us to learn from it.

The little monk grows up to a adult man, winter is gone and spring has come.

SPRING

Innocent boy watching by his master shifu grows up, fish, frog and snake are his toys, but shifu just quietly watched him while he was playing with his toys. A heavy stone was tied on his body as he wakes up, master shifu’s words are  as heavy as the stone. If one of the animals is dead, then you’ll feel a pressure of a huge stone in your heart. Fish and snake died, boy cries and cries as he is a guilty child.

SUMMER

The boy turns to be young guy. As common young people, he is curious about sex. To be a monk, he has no chance to live together with young girls. Things change when one day a mum accompanies her sick daughter to the temple to cure the illness. Mum left and the girl lives together with he and his master shifu. The chemicals between the boy and girl are like burning flame.  With the herbal medicine and love from the young monk, the girl has recovered quickly. And this non-stop fire inflams the love, desire and fury.

AUTUMN

The fury pushed the young man to kill his beloved wife. He is back to his master shifu when he has no way to go. Shifu knew what had happened before his back, but pretend as nothing was wrong. Shouting to his shifu who more likes his fathter or torturing himself, the man loses his peaceful heart. Policemen come. They are asked to wait to handcuff the murder until the young guy finishs carving of the Buddasim script ordered by his mater shifu. The scene is dramatic in this movie. The policemen help the murder to fulfill the the last lesson with the master shifu. Shifu burns himself to end his life after the leaving of his prentice and son.

WINTER

Having pushed the door, the whole lake was frozen solidly and the tranquility is broken by the arrival of a middle age man. He was the young boy, the murder, but now he is the  prentice of his master shifu. Mistakes and experiences make him become mature and wise. After years of wind and rain, a little boy grows up to be a real man. Painful, but worthy. Movie needs climax. Ironic scenes in the movie, but actually the real life is even much more ironic.  His wife wasn’t killed by him. The day when she brings their son to his temple, the same day she drops into the water and dies because of the hole his husband digged for daily washing. Life is ironic! His son becomes his prentice. He looks the same as his father and does the same things as his fathter did in the childhood. Fish, frog and sake, they are toys again, only the life itself is the teacher everybody can learn from. This is life!

What did I learn?!

Obliviously, it is a little bit tired to organize the programme in Hangzhou for me. so  I have only a few time to tell you in brief about the three days in Hangzhou.

Sunday, 12 July 2009

Since the Train K351 should be to Hangzhou in 20h12, but it is arrived at Hangzhou East Station at 20h55, so it spend me waited for more than one hour. Since Wei had caught a bad cold, so the group is led by Carole ZHU.

Then we took a minibus and a taxi to Jian She Hotel, No. 222 Bao Shu Road. Then we went out for a meal. and I went back home at 23h20, it took only 11 minutes by taxi.

Monday, 13 July 2009

I got up earlier and I took a taxi before 8h00, but when I arrived at Hotel, it 30 minutes later

So, after that, I have no right to criticise their time in cafe and so on. they want cafe so much, and when we arrived about the campus zijingang, it cant find cafe, so I had to let the bus to go more northern to find a c.strait cafe in Sandun.

So, when we got to Zhejiang University ( www.zju.edu.cn ), it’s about 10h20, after a girl student made a brief introduction about the history of Zhejiang University in  Historical archive museum, when we arrived at  library it’s already 11h20, only 9 munities left. for in summer vacation, the library closed at 11h30. Thanks for our Alumni Association, so we had the chance to have a visit.

As said in 10h30 or 11h00 begin the Meeting with students from Zhejiang University, Yuquan Campus. Actually, when we arrived there, it is already 12h20, for a student from shanghai is waiting in the school gate, he don’t know how to get it. so it take all of us more 20 minutes used.

Since that, I have already ask Wenjing who in charge the conference in Yuquan Campus to change the place from Zheda Wangshi to Dinner room.

Fortunately, all the Chinese students organized by SinoFrance and Hangzhou Alumni Association, and guest are so happy to meet each other, discus many things, share the opinions and have a great lunch.

In 15h00, we are visiting  Lingyin Temple ( www.lingyinsi.org ), thanks for Master Jieqing and Dangcang, we had the chance to go into the temple directly without paid ( I just asked my friends in tourist agency, even TA, there’s no discount for the tickets, let along free entrance and dinner in temple).

By my suggestion, Wei had asked students to prepare 35 questions about Buddhism, then have dinner with master in temple.

after that, I suggest them to have a look at West Lake, it is in the day but not so hot as in the afternoon, but they insist to go back to Hotel, so when the back again, it was 19h40. By experience, I had already prepared the tickets. Or, it‘s a great pity.

From 19:50 to 21:00, Evening Lake Show – West Lake Impression ( www.hzyxxh.com ), and I back home.

The second day.

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

9:00       departure the hotel, and the want to Starbuck, so when we arrived in Tea Museum (  www.teamuseum.cn ) , it’s already later than 10h30,  the chef of museum have a conference with his leader, so we haven’t the chance to see him, also the director of communication department. but they have appointed an English Commentator. after that, we have a tea show watched and so on.

11h00 the bus is en panne. so we change the plan and to have a lunch beside the museum.

They changed the bus, and I asked discount 200rmb to express their apologized.

13:00 Visit to House 365, an Internet-based Real Estate Company ( http://hz.house365.com/ ) Meeting with GM, apple, my alumni.

14h50, 10:30       Visit to Loftpower Innovative Industry Park ( www.loftpower.com   )

Meeting with senior management.

16:20   Visit to a Chinese Stock Exchange Company, Changjiang Securities Sales department.  discussion on the stock market in China with an alumni of ZJU, the GM.

17:30     McDonald

about 18:00  Return to Shanghai by Bus

After they went to Shanghai, I went to buy some silk gift for them. Because they gave the fee for 4 meals in Hangzhou. Exclude transportation fee e.g. taxi, and prepare some gifts for those friends who did a lot of things for us. I found it is a little bit plus.

the gift is.

for students, every boy will get a Traditional Chinese garments tang suit, they are made by Artificial genie silk, flax. And every girl will get a pajamas and a scarf made by artificial genie silk. if you, as a tourist to buy silk articles, it cost at least 200rmb per article.

I can’t buy nature genie silk, because it is very expensive, at least 2000rmb per article. if you want buy something made by nature silk, if you can afford it, you can contact me

for Wei, Pierre, Joy and Carole, I prepared limited edition imaginote that made by my friends Dandes and TV. Yang.  and I will EMS them to Wei, when Wei tell me his address.

Last Saturday afternoon I attended the 2009 Division C Club Officer Training. But to me, saying Area 34 Training Meeting is clearer. Toastmasters is a big orgnization. So if I say District, Division or Area, you may have no idea abaout them.  Let’s have a rough look on this NGO!

What is Toastmasters?

No, we don’t make toasters!

From a humble beginning in 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International has grown to become a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. The nonprofit organization now has nearly 250,000 members in more than 12,000 clubs in 106 countries, offering a proven – and enjoyable! – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.

Most Toastmasters meetings are comprised of approximately 20 people who meet weekly for an hour or two. Participants practice and learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator or grammarian.

There is no instructor; instead, each speech and meeting is critiqued by a member in a positive manner, focusing on what was done right and what could be improved.

The Structure of Toastmasters

            District 85 – People’s Republic of China

         Currently there are 78 clubs in China located in five Divisions.  The Divisions include:

•  
  • Division A – currently with clubs in the cities of Beijing, Dalian and Shenyang.
  • Division B – currently with clubs in the cities of Beijing, Huairou, Tianjin and Zhengzhou.
  • Division C - currently with clubs in the cities of Hangzhou, Shanghai.
  • Division D – currently with clubs in the cities of Changshu, Shanghai, Suzhou and Wuxi.
  • Division E - currently with clubs in the cities of Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Zhuhai.
• Area

         The following is the breakout of clubs by Division and Area:

HERE, I suggest you quite a good dictionary, THE CONTEMPORARY CHINESE DICTIONARY [Chinese-English Edition] （2002 Revised)《现代汉语词典》（汉英版）（2002年增补本）published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press,which I think is the best Chinese-English one.

You may ask why I like this most? 

It’s a simpe way, I just checked two items to see whether it’s a good dictionary or not.

One is comparing  “二” with “两”,  these two words are always confused by Chinese learners. “二”(er) and “两” (liang) both mean the number “two” in English, but  usages are different.  “两” is used for the number under ten, while “二”  is used for the number above ten, some exceptions like “两千两百二十二”（liang qian liang bai er shi er), two thousand and two hundred twenty two, here we say “两” instend of “二” in thousand’s place and hundred’s place.

Another is looking up the measure words like “块”(kuai) and “条”(tiao).　”块”, measure word,  for sh. shaped like lumps or chuncks. E.g. ＂一块糖＂（yi kuai tang），＂a lump of sugar＂．＂条＂, measure word, used for long and thin things. E.g. ＂两条腿＂（liang tiao tui）＂two legs＂．

So if got these two items in that dictionary, and the explanations are complete and clear, that’s definitely a good dictionary.

The body will listen to you when you do something you love to do.

Or you will do something you love to do when your body listens to you.

I went to TMC on time last night. Not just because I am an officer of this club, but I love the environment in Westlake Bilingual Toastmasters Club.  I haven’t opened my mouth for 3 or 4 days owing to my badly sore throat.  But here I opened my mouth and tried to welcome the new guests to our club. My body listened to me at that moment. Unfortunately, it didn’t last a long time. I tried again, the voice was pale and hoarse. I felt frustrated and was a little bit worried about my teaching. I will feel guilty if  I can not continue my lessons with my students. They love me and my lessons. I know what responsibility I have.  And what are the things going on when I have my masters.  My dream and reality!

Ok, back to toastmasters. Many new guests came for last night’s meeting. There was a group from State Street Bank. A  new club will be built  in the company, then the president and her team came for communicating and learning. And there were some invited by the WLBTMC members, read info from the website or just drop-by. Warm welcome!

Westlake Bilingual Toastmasters Club is a very young club as well as the attending people. Only has 33 members up till now. I have been in Shanghai Toastmasters Clubs, the members there are from 18 to 50, 60. TMC in Hangzhou has a long way to go. We need the knowledge from all fields, we need the advice from all ages, we need the speeches in different voices.

 http://hztmc.blog.sohu.com/

http://www.toastmasters.org/

Talking too much is not good for one’s throat. What happened to me again. I couldn’t talk any more. When people choose their job or career, do they think about the weak points of it?

 For me, NO!  I just do what I like!

 Teaching=sore throat!  It is not ture to every teacher, but ture to me.

I enjoy the process of teaching. What makes me a strong person, not weak at the time when I got high fever or laid down because of pain.

One of my students said to me, “Ying, you like a fighter!” Am I?

When I chose to leave for sickness, I am not a fighter. I am a weak person. I need rest. I have to stop.

I can work for whole year and no stop, even I am not in good health condition. That’s not the first time I did so. I just work and work. And put myself back into poor situation again and again. 

I play in bar and club, like a fighter. Till midnight or even the next early morning, then go for work. Sometimes I don’t know for what!???

“NATURE” (Da Ziran)! It’s time to go!

!