Blog 7 The smells in the Sistine Chapel

Last week, I watched a film called Good Will Hunting. The plot is simple while the lines have profound implications. One scene in the film is when the genius but self-abandoned boy is sent to the therapist. The boy does not want to work with the therapist, so he uses tricky words as contempt. Then the therapist pushes back at the boy to overcome his defense mechanisms. The following is my favourite lines.

So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written…But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that. If I ask you about women, you'd probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites… But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy….And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, "once more unto the breach dear friends." But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap; watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help.

The words impress me so much because I see my own problem on the boy. And it seems to be a common problem among many youngsters. We learn from books, the Internet and other media. We appear to be knowledgeable and can easily spout our “splendid” ideas towards a topic such as art or war. However, few of us have ever experienced them on our own. When I know about this, I feel ashamed of myself for my thoughtless remarks in the past.

The therapist in the film taught me a lesson and I learned two things through it. One is to be cautious about our words. It is because people can never understand a situation thoroughly unless they experience it. The other one is to be willing to experience. Be willing to participate, to travel and to broaden the horizon and to form a critical perspective. I hope I can tell the smells in the Sistine Chapel one day.

Blog 8 Lost in the university life

I read a blog of my friend’s the other day. Since there are only a several days before the end of being freshmen, she wrote about her reflection of her first year in the university. The passage was like a wake-up call because it classified my confusion which has troubled me for a long time.

My friend wrote that the important reason why she could not adjust to university life was “nostalgia” for the last year in senior high school. I have the same feeling with her. Because of the college entrance examination, everyone in the high school seems to have the same aim-the university. It may be the only time in my life when all the people around me were heading towards the same destination. However, when it comes to university, there are so many different roads ahead us--exchange programmes, CAP and going abroad. We just do not know which road leads to our dream; or rather, which road is the shortest. We faced many choices in China and we are not facing less in Singapore.

A sentence from my friend’s teacher was profound. ”Are you pursuing success or just feeling afraid of failure?” If people are pursuing success, they will seize as many opportunities as they can. If people are afraid of failure, they will push away every opportunities and wait for the so-called “best one”. For me, maybe I am more like the latter one. I am not willing to try whatever I cannot control. I am scared of failure because I am afraid of being frustrated, losing face and disappointing my father. My friend said she could not accustom to the new life due to the feeling of insecurity. And this is also what I was worrying about. Anyway, after reading her blog, I feel clearer in mind.

After all no one can tell what the future holds. And no one knows which way is the shortest to realizing our dream. Whatever challenges we meet, at least we can learn from it. I think this process is also the treasure we get from the university life. Hopefully I will not lose my way.

Blog 6 Personalities are like a box of chocolates

“Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. "

Chocolate seems to be a typical metaphor for life. In my opinion, different characteristics are like a box of chocolates as well. As a big fan of chocolate, I am fond of tasting various kinds of chocolates. And I think different kinds of chocolates can represent different characters. For example, milk chocolate is sweet and lovely. White chocolate is charming and tolerant. Nut chocolate is adventurous but maybe kind of childish. Black chocolate is distant and calm. Mint chocolate is energetic but odd.

In the daily life, I have encountered people of various personalities, as close friends or nodding ones. Of course I have my own preference of personalities but I am still sad to see people change themselves in order to cater to others’ opinions. Here I am referring to the basic characters rather than the living habits or speaking styles. For example, girls may pretend to be shy and naïve while they are actually lively. Although it is true that people should get along with others, this does not mean they are obligated to give up their own personalities. People may do this frequently in order to live easier. However, personally I don’t think it is right. It is just the same as chocolates. Among all the flavors, milk chocolate maybe the most popular one. So should the producer change the other favors to milk as well? There is no such thing of “best flavor” since every flavor is unique, therefore irreplaceable.

Various personalities are like a box of chocolates. Personality is no right or wrong. When people try to cater the others, they may be more popular, but may also lose themselves. The differences are the treasures that distinguish people from each other. When we are confused, just be ourselves, which may be the best way.

Blog.9 The Begining of The End of The Bridging Course

Upon the very beginning of this final blog, I have to let out my unsatisfation because of the missing of my last Blog. 9 topic of which is the same with this one, but it was wrote and edited by heart and soul! OMG. But-it-disappeared! Anyway, I gonna to recall as much as I can......

The Beginning of the End of the Bridging Course

-For The Memory Of The Past Days "Onlion"

-&For The Days To Come



Never waiting for you is time. Without even awareness, six months was dead and gone. Put it in another way which might sound more impressive, half-year passed. I have thought of reflecting the days "onlion". Yet not until now does the timing come. All says that briding course is a "honeymoon" for SM3 newbies. That is certainly right but suits for me. I was making it a monster that is much more fun. Enormous time-vampires have been lining up on my schedule and they sucks every bit of my time. Yes, surely for the average, it sucks. Nonetheless, life is going to be harder but, in turn, life becomes much intriguing when it gets harder. Further, I would say that when the marginal benefit is disminishing and return is low, it is better to diversity the portfolio you hold. Striking a balance between pouring time in briding course and pursuing a higher efficiency entails a mind-wreacking trade-off. But the dust is settling. And it comes the beginning of the end of the bridging course.

 Bros, embrace your time

and remeber, despite that you like it or lump it, the time never sleeps.





Mr Confusing, L.O.L.



Blog.7 CHINA, long time no see.

CHINA, long time no see.

Being a beneficiary of the cheap labour price for decades, China has been at the brink to lose this advantage. Inevitably, China’s booming and evolving economy has been driving up domestic manufacturing costs, a remarkable part of which are wages. Both the inflation and appreciation of YUAN render China a less desirable choice for producing, while China’s surrounding countries, like Vietnam, seems more preferable in terms of much lower wages. Therefore, according to the conventional notion, China must face with a dilemma where losing its manufacturing charm heralds a potential sharp decline in export and a likely crash of economy (because the unbalanced economic structure partly caused by not much changed over-reliance on export). Despite the unbalanced economy, luckily, manufacturing is by no means all about costs. Compared with other lower-cost south-eastern Asian countries, sophisticate labours, the giant scale and much complete infrastructures make it hard to find a substitute of China. Thus, it might be the end of cheap China, but not the end of China.

China’s trade surplus with America remains large and controversial, but its current-account surplus with the rest of the world is dying out. Meanwhile, China’s own investment expenditure rises. However, the surplus could widen again. Partly, on the ground that its investment could set the stage for a renewed export boom and partly, that the investment rate cannot be justified by slow-rising consumption. The future of China’s export monster depends on whether China’s high investment rate is sustainable. Many think it is not. And it is intriguing to notice that the world’s fear of China is being replaced by fears for China.

Blog 9: Never farewell

        Time and tide wait for no man. It has been five months since we first met in the same classroom. I still remember that day when we sat in rows and got to know each other. Although we are mostly strangers to each other before, after five months' companion, we are forever friends. It is a fate for we 17 to get together among nearly three hundreds students and to meet our four kind and knowledgeble mentors. Group 7 has been our exclusive and precious memory since we not only had joy but also fought for its glory!

         At this point, I want to express great gratitude towards our mentors. Although we never speak it out, we have tremendous appriciation and respect for them. Ms Angelina always cares for us like a mother, her tender heart always let me full of warmth. She is a experienced teacher whose professional skills are known and respected; Ms Anita is exceedingly facious and responsible. She always tells us interesting stories about her family. Her own rich experiences also further enrich our understanding of Canada and other cultures. Also, as our team supervisor, she guided our work earnestly and checked every word meticulously.
          Ms Misty will always be so patient and kind-hearted. Her encouraging word is a source of inspiration to us, stamulating us to be more modest and hardworking. She is a indeed good listenner and a brilliant teacher; As for Mr. Clarence, he is enthusiastic and humorous all the time. Knowledgeable about life and all aspects, thus he is voluble, and usually eager to discuss the latest headlines with us. His unique and profound insights always makes us amazing.
         Although we have only two weeks' left to listen to their class and to learn together, and maybe we will seldom meet through the whole life, our memories and friendships will never fade away. I believe, even though we have less contact from then on, everyone would reach out their hands with no doubt if anyone need help.
        End also means re-start. Our friendship will begin at the next journey.  We will never farewell then.

Blog.6 See! CEO and MONK!

See, the CEO monk.

Mr Shi Yongxin, the abbot of Shaolin temple and as well the CEO of the Shaolin firm, has rented out the Shaolin name for firms, reality-television show and computer games, and approved an online store selling Shaolin kung fu manuals for 9,999 yuan. Most shockingly, reported by Chinese media discussions were under way about building a magnetic-levitation train around the temple, while he announced that "I hope to return Shaolin temple to a peaceful religious environment." Many of Chinese believe he leads too lavish a life for a holy man. In addition, the website of the temple was hacked twice in 2009. Both two actions were targeting on him.  It is virtually hard to imagine that a holy place is being commercialised crazily. Were he still retaining his religious belief, does he not think one day he will take a punishing hit for his misdeed?

Yes, admittedly, he may merely try so hard to contribute to Shaolin out of goodwill. Nonetheless, I am sincerely apprehensive about the future of Shaolin temple that is now overwhelmed by pushy touts and dodgy fortune tellers.

Blog.8 Briefing: HSYLC - Harvard Summit for Young Leaders in China

Briefing: HSYLC - Harvard Summit for Young Leaders in China

With the time for application approaching, I, as a HSYLC alumni, feel it necessary to brief you guys of the programme. Hopefully, one day you would apply to be a volunteer or staff participating in it.

HSYLC was founded by a Chinese Harvard student, Tang Meijie (Ms MJ). Should you get chance, I firmly believe, you would learn much from her. By the way, compared with students from the world-beating university, we still have a long way to go. Therefore, please never restrict your horizon within NUS and "globalise" yourself, not only "pan-Asianise". HSYLC's parent organisation, HAUSCR, was founded in the fall of 2005 by seven Harvard College freshmen. HSYLC became the organisation's flagship program, and the first conference was held in the summer of 2006.

Here comes HSYLC overview:

Since its inception, HSYLC has inspired the qualities of Scholarship, Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Citizenship among its participants. To achieve the vision, 300 top Chinese high school students, 40 Harvard instructors and 40 volunteers from elite Chinese universities congregate annually at each conference. During the Student Seminars, created and taught by Harvard students, summit participants explore topics ranging from Grecian philosophy to modern art to globalisation, and are encouraged to independently analyse, discuss, and challenge ideas. Similarly, the Distinguished Speaker Series exposes students to knowledge and experiences outside of the classroom by providing them with access to the insights of leaders in business, politics, academia, and the arts. Finally, Action for Tomorrow Venture (ATVenture) offers students the opportunity to grow as innovators and leaders, and to better understand their community and realistic means of making a difference. By participating in these programs and more, students will find HSYLC a challenging, rewarding, and deeply meaningful experience. (Adapted from the HSYLC alumni forum.)

You guys as university students are eligible to apply as a volunteer. See the following statement from the HSYLC website.

"The application is intended for current Chinese undergraduate university students, although we also accept applications from Chinese students who received their primary and secondary education in China and are now studying at university abroad. A high level of proficiency in both Chinese and English is a requirement for the Teaching Assistant position."

 I sincerely welcome you all to join us. For more information click:   http://www.hsylc.org/

blog 9 What I have learned from the research project and final presentation

  How time flies, it almost comes to the end of the bringing course. In this semester, we have paid a lot of effort on our research project and final presentation, which is the key point of the second semester. We just gave the final presentation in this morning, and the final edition of research project will also be handed in soon. All of us have learned a lot through these two tasks, and here I want to talk about my reflections and what I have gained from.

  First of all, they teach us how to achieve an efficient group. As the research job was very heavy and complicated, and the time was also limited for us, we decided to distribute the assignments. We divided our job into several parts and each of us was in charge of his or her own part. Since everyone in our group was responsible and conscientious, we did very well in respective job, and it led to our group’s head start and proactive position. Therefore, our research progressed at a faster pace. We seized the initiative and had more time to make amendments and betterment. It is the distribution of job and responsible mind of group member that achieve our group’s success.

Secondly, they teach me how to be a qualified and popular member of a group. Hanwen was our group leader, and in the process of working on our research report, he did much additional jobs such as formulating the plan and schedule and distributing our assignments. He also helped to collect all of what we wrote respectively, getting them together and making some amendments for unity. I am very appreciated for his responsibility and I think our group could not win without his lead. He did not complain of his additional job and was ready to do more than others. To be a qualified and popular member of a group, one must be responsible and ready to do more jobs.

Thirdly, I find that everyone has great potential. I was surprised by the progress made by all of us when we giving the presentation this morning. Compared to the last presentation in the first semester, each one of us indeed made great and observable improvements. We become more experienced and do well in many presenting skills like eye-contact and posture and gesture. As for me, I got the highest mark in the class and I even did not feel anxious when giving the presentation. However, I could clearly remember that how nervous I was in the first time, and my legs could not stop trembling. I was much more confident and calm this time and I was proud of my great progress.

 The bridging course has taught me a lot. It is not just about the improvement on English skills, but also about growth and life. I want to express my deep thanks to all the tutors teaching me, and I am also looking forward to my growth and development in the university life.

Blog 8 Open your heart to the new friends here

Open your heart to the new friends here

  I was taught by my parents that the first thing to do when arriving in a new place is to make friends there. And I did find it useful as it made you feel at home. Having staying in Singapore for nearly 6 months, we have made a lot of new friends from almost every province in China. However, besides some of befrienders, we have rarely made other peer Singaporean friends. It is mainly because during the bridging course, we have little access to contact some of them. Another reason is that we tend to draw an invisible line between two groups of students.

An obvious example is the word “senior”. The first time I heard the word “senior” in Singapore, I associated it with all the senior students in NUS. However, I was told that the word only means those who are from China. I felt a little confused, as in my anticipation in China, those who are in higher grades are all called predecessors, or seniors. I was also disappointed that the word seems to make our predecessors into a much smaller group. I still wonder how we call other Singaporean “seniors”. Schoolmates? Granted, many projects that we are involved as PRC SM students may vary from that of local students. The advice received from PRC seniors can be more direct.

In fact, Singaporean students can also give us a hand. I still remember the first few days when I just settled down here. It was really tough as I cannot contact to the Internet. Meanwhile, my PRC seniors were still on their holiday in China. It was girl, who was in her 4^th year in NUS, helped me out. When she knew my situation, she just gave me her account and password of wireless@sg. Her kindness was out of my expectation.

Though two groups of students do have their own features, we tend to pay too much attention to the differences. What’s more, we unconsciously assume that the either part would care about staying with each other in campus activities. In fact, according to our survey in CCA, both two groups of students are open-minded and willing to cooperate with each other. It did not agree with our hypothesis, but ironed out our worry.

Less than three months later, we will be matriculated into NUS officially. It will be the first time we are completely exposed to the higher education as well as the locals. Challenges will come follow anyway, like the language fluency, cultural shock as well as different teaching style. But I do believe that it is necessary for us to build a broader mind to the larger group of students, open our heart to new friends and embrace the university life.

Blog 7 The second rich generation

The rich second generation—the confused generation

Most people, who are struggling for bread and butter, may have a dream that one day their live could end up with sufficient money. But could they imagine how life would be if the great fortune is at hand when they were born? Climbing the social ladder can be tough, but born on the top of the ladder can also not be facile, either. A large group of rich second generation in China are finding their roads confusing. They have no way of releasing inanity, no pressure of feeding the stomach, no goal, no dream, but great amount of money.

Most of the rich second generation are living luxury and messy life. “My father is so-and-so” arouse the first wave of concern on this group through the Internet. However, the problem existed long before. Guo, the only son of a construction magnate, have no pressure of little education (Brook Larmer, 2002). He didn’t show fazed that he had not finished ninth grade. Then he attended school in Australia, where most of his classmates were also the wealthy Chinese kids. He spent more time with his BMW, and indulging in Armani and Ferragamo than anything else. They show no stress on the irregular life, as they enjoyed the rules of “guanxi” and money succeeded from the previous generation.

With a large amount of money floating around, they find that schooling, or even endeavor in career is not necessary. Most Chinese students are studying feverishly for all sorts of exams, as their parents remind them that good education is the only way to success. However, these clichés seem pale for the rich second generation. Even though they do not care so much about school, they can still receive preferential treatment because of the connections and money. All the doors of privilege are open to them.

 When the peers are struggling in different provinces, different cities for basic expense, they have already enjoyed the wealth that others may not earn even the whole life. They are exceeding the peers by an express called family background. Nevertheless, they do not seem happier. Lots of the rich second generation salve their loneliness in a lode of luxury goods and endless parties. They feel lost and confused. They are facing a thorny problem: what is the meaning of life when the basic goal of wealth is realized.

They are different, not only because of the wealth they boast of, but also the lack of pressure of survive that the majority shoulder. Are they really more fortunate than common people? It depends on the attitude they hold. Actually, happiness is not the wonderful result alone, but also the process of working hard, which requires your knowledge, your strength, your energy, and your enthusiasm.

As far as I am concerned, they better forget the splendid background, if they really want to gain the meaning of life back. They not only succeed the wealth but also more responsibility. The fortune can be inherited, but the life route should be stepped on their own. To this extent, all civilians are equal. Otherwise, their identity recognized by the society is based on the wealth they spent, not based on themselves. Actually, if they realize this and a lot of problems can be avoided.

Reference

Brook Larmer,(2002). The kids are not all right. Newsweek.

blog 9The Wenyanwen

Since the campaign lead by Mr HuShi, there are no wenyanwen, which is the ancient Chinese style of writing, existing at all. At that time, people were very happy to break the bounder of the limitation of writing. However, these years, increasing number of people wonder that whether we should deny the wenyanwen. Moreover, people are huyu that we should start learning how to write and use wenyanwen, instead of the baihuawen, which we are learning. In my opinion, the wenyanwen should be developed again, but it will be a hard road for Chinese linguists to go, or, maybe it is impossible for us to restart this beautiful language with a history of thousands of years.

Frankly, I think there are rarely genuine brilliant writers in China, including those very popular writers, like Guojingming, or Zhengyuanjie. Although their novels are popular, interesting, but I think they are not the art of literature.Their work can never reflect the beauty of Chinese. The beauty of Chinese, is existing in the disappearing Wenyanwen.        Reading LiBai’s poems, we can feeling his bold and generous. When we read the poems of DuFu, we can understand his worry about the people and country. Besides the poems, the Chinese four greatest novels, Xiyouji, Sanguoyanyi, Shuihuzhuan, and Hongloumeng, represents the peak of Chinese literature. Especially Hongloumeng, it represents the peak of the literature.Uptill now, there was no novel could compared with this great novel. Even one poem in this novel can be a brilliant work. Therefore, wenyanwen is never the things that we should abandond, in the contrast, it is the languish that should be passed down to every generation . \

Nowadays, some people have realized the importance and the beauty of wenyanwen. There are many schools founded specially for wenyanwen. However, one problem is, no teachers. From quantity, there are less students choose to study Chinese in their universities. Moreover, nowadays, even the professors can not write a good passage in wenyanwen, like those famous ones, for example, TengWangGeXu. That is why hundreds years ago there can be a campaign of reviving ancient languish and now we can not.

Actually, what I can do to revive the wenyanwen is to wirte this blog.Maybe I should borrow some books from Chinese Library to study some wenyanwen.    

Blog 9: Lazy ants effects

The first time I heard about the ‘lazy ant effect’ was when I was a freshman in high school, and I had been intrigued by it and benefited from this effect significantly henceforth. The lazy ants effect was found when Japan Evolutionary Research group, the Hokkaido University, observed the lazy ants those did noting all day when there was enough food. But when the ant’s food sources were cut off, they could lead other ‘diligent ‘ants to find new resources of food. In fact, these lazy ants spent most of their time on ‘reconnaissance’ and ‘research’ and observed the weakness in the organization, making a good influence on their groups. Normally, most people hold the view that lazy people like lazy ants should be contempt and punished, because they do nothing good for others but demand a lot from their society. However, as far as I’m concerned, laziness is superficial; wisdom is essential.

    Actually, lazy ants are not lazy as we see. They may be very idle when nothing happens but fulfill very crucial roles once there is a crisis, such as a company’s administrator. They can be likened to an eraser in a stationery case. Most of time, it is not used, lying in the case idly; nevertheless, when there are errors, it will identify them and correct them immediately. Should there not be it, the errors would cause a great deal of trouble to us.
    Chery, a famous automobile corporation in China, had indeed employed some ‘lazy ants’ at the beginning to be technicians, who were attached little importance to and even thought to be obsolete by their former employers because their previous companies solely want to get short term profits by processing and assembling for some transnational corporations. However, chery took them in and owing to these lazy ants’ assistance, chery has become black horse and is currently among top ten in China mainland. From this it can be drawn that ‘lazy ants’ are most of time thought to lazy by improvident people. Contrary to this myth, they can play great role in a company’s development and prosperity.
        What is learnt from this effect has also benefited me tremendously and has broadened my thinking remarkably. I gradually discovered from my study life that it was true to work hard for courses but should not do so excessively. In other words, I should also relocate a portion of time for sports or recreation; otherwise, I would be overwhelmed by the oceans of homework and got mislead. There must be some time necessary for me to be a lazy ant, and to know out of the box where I am, what I am doing and what’s wrong with my current situation as well as whether I am in the correct direction towards my goal. Additionally, getting out of regular routines and being like a lazy ant also help me think problems in a creative way. I still remember many math problems, which has puzzled me for such a long time that however much effort I put I could not work it out, have been unexpectedly solved during my being ‘lazy’. In fact, being lazy seemingly does not mean being so inward. Lazy ants may be thinking new ways of finding resources of food.
    To sum up, lazy ant effect can be applied to almost all aspects of our life. It can slow down your over-quick heart pace, relieve our tension, liberate our thinking, and give us inspiration and so on. In this fast-paced modern society, being lazy is not shameful; conversely, it is of wisdom.

Blog 9 ‘No word to say'

‘Exclusive news! An airline departed from… when it approached the destination, it underwent a sudden strong blow of wind and lost balance...The pilot resolved to abandon the plane, and fortunately all the passengers followed the instructions and took correct actions in time…No one died.’

‘Su-cks! No exciting news at all!’ shouted Mr. Smith, and switched the channel at once.

‘What’s wrong, my dear?’ asked Mrs. Smith.

‘Nothing more than trivial! What a waste of time!’

‘Never mind darling, breakfast is ready. It’s five to eight, you’ve to get faster now.’

‘Thanks. I promise I would never watch this banal news!’ His ranting not only shook the wooden table, which was trying to stick to the ground but failed again, but also caused an invisible vibration in a heart which have longed for disentangling itself from the perennial clamour.

But once again the vibration pacifies. ‘I’ve got to prepare breakfast for Jane. Enjoy.’ She said to him.

‘This is the last breakfast for you.’ She said to herself.

The bustling city is full of vim and vigour—at least apparently, it is. Here and there, it is crowded with ambitious people who aspire for making a change today. Continuously, traffic lights change their colour, flaunting its beauty, though all of them share only three colours and only display one kind for a period. Alongside the street are transplanted trees—still three types, what makes difference is that now they cooperate each other and exhort their effort to make up for each other, in order to beautify themselves. Now Mr. Smith alights from the subway, away from a swarm, and prepares to enter another swarm.

‘Su-cks!’

He kicks away the fallen leaves. Several insects sucking the juice are also kicked away.

In front of him is a grand building. It can dazzle all those who glance at it with the sunshine it reflects. Today, the cloudy weather saves peoples’ eyes including Mr. Smith’s. The receptionist in the hall expected that she would not hear something as usual.

‘Damn it!’ Instead of sunshine, today cloud infuriates Mr. Smith.

‘Goodbye, mom!’

‘See you!’ She responds the angelic look with an angelic smile. Burdened with miscellaneous chores, she still can sometimes conciliate herself with this ordinary but priceless happiness. Every morning, she has to go through an undesirable greeting, followed by a short, potent tranquilizer. The wild fluctuation in life nearly tore her heart: however hard she tried, she could not lull herself into getting accustomed to being insulted. She would rather paralyze all her senses--but she’s a human, and no medicine can work without hurting her. She is determined. When she squirted the poison into the wine bottle, she thought she was determined.

‘Mr. Smith?’ Outside Mr. Smith’s office, a young lady knocked the door softly. It was so soft that even she does not believe she has heard the knock. She raises her hand and wants to knock again. Surprisingly, nothing is knocked by her because the amiable Mr. Smith expeditiously opens the door before she knocks on it.

‘This is the summary for yesterday’s meeting. Please check it, Mr. Smith.’

‘Thank you very much…By the way, how about having dinner together tonight?’

Three seconds last for an hour as if time stagnated.

‘I mean…’ This expression is fabulous to prolong the time for thinking.

‘I mean there’s a new restaurant opening near my daughter’s school. She said many of her classmates think the food is really delicious. My wife and my daughter will go there before us. Then we can have dinner together. I think my naughty daughter really needs to learn something from you. Would you please do me the favour to educate her during the dinner?’

‘I’d like to go, but I’m afraid…’

‘It may not be far from your place. And I can drive you back. So come and join us, will you?’

She replies with a grin.

‘Could you please give me a hand? I don’t feel like being bothered by her so much! It affects my work! Help me is also helping you!’

The slumbering lady suddenly realizes something and nods her head reluctantly.

‘So good! After work, say six o’clock this afternoon, you come to my office and we can go together.’

‘Thank you, I know.’ Lathery overcame her. She replied torpidly, hunching that something terrifying would happen.

The evening arrives rather quickly. In the daytime, the sky is covered by the cloud; night arrives, cloud does not scatter. Darkness dominates the night so cloud’s contribution in darkening the sky seems insignificant. Under the sky, numerous cars congest the street and grumble each other. A variety of lights emanate from thousands of skyscrapers. They light up the city, adding romance and illusion to the modern world. The icy wind blasts thought out the city. When people’s faces are warmed by alcohol, the wind, however strong and cold, embraces people and brings great comfort to their face. It is more like a morning of spring rather than a night of autumn. Autumn and spring share so many similarities with each other, especially the neither too hot nor too cold climate. It is time for revelry.

However, hot, vigorous summer comes after spring; bleak, brutal winter comes after autumn.

They stroll on the avenue where deciduous trees sprawl on the road and no one observes this scenery. Like tears will not stop dropping on the land from one’s eyes unless no tear remains in the eye, when the first leave is carelessly blown down by the wind, one after one, leaves sheath the landscape though they will soon be swept. Once in a while, some people pass by them. She dares not to keep close to him. He keeps making the acquaintance with her. Seen from far, they look like a couple; approaching and having a look, one can find she never smiles and their distance is just acceptable. Still, no one would take a glance at them, because it’s none of a stranger’s business.

‘Well, go across the street and we will arrive at the restaurant.’

They stand still, waiting for the traffic light turning green on a crossroad.

Finally, he catches an opportunity to reach into his wallet and take his hand phone.

He makes it. The light turns green.

She intends to go across, but he is contacting someone. She has to wait until he stops.

15of 30 seconds pass, she could clearly hear what he is talking.

‘Hello…Yes…You say you two cannot come? Why?...’

‘Sorry, Mr. Smith, we have to go.’

‘Okay, I see…’ He turns his head to her and blurts out. ‘I’ll go right now.’ It is not easy for him to spare a sentence when he is talking.

On hearing what he said, she starts crossing the road. On hearing what he said, she becomes increasingly frightened. It seems she has to dinner with him alone. She has thought of it but immediately repressed this horrible idea. What she hasn’t anticipated, what she is afraid for all her life—at length, comes. She wanders on the road with an absent mind. Actually, it would be better to say she lost her mind.

Several steps after her, he indulges in his perfect performance. He giggles voicelessly and prepares to walk, without noticing that only 5 seconds is not enough for him to leisurely walk across the street.

In their house, Mrs. Smith is awaiting her husband. The poison would not kill him—she is not such a witch. She just wants to play a trick on him. It would let him sleep for a short time, but cease her trouble for ever. ‘It would suit you well, my husband. You will wake up two days later, during which I would prepare well for my departure and breaking up with you. You will live a good life since then. So do I.’ She is taking the last responsibility for him. Today, she comes back from work much earlier than usual. She prepares a feast for him. She still loves her, at the cost of her own happiness. Cutlery, napkin, dishes, and wine. Everything in need has been placed on the table.

The telephone rings. It’s his husband’s number. ‘Kidding me?!’ For the first time in her life, she shouted like her husband. If it is, all her plans would be aborted, and she would be humiliated again, extremely.

‘Is that Mrs. Smith?’ A woman begins the conversation, rather breathlessly.

‘Yes, I am. What’s up?’ Luckily it’s not him. But why it is a woman?

‘I am sorry, but your husband was crashed by a car just now. He has been sent into X hospital, 10^th ward at level 3. You’d better go and see him! He is dying!’

Exactly it was, the last time she prepared breakfast for him. He even would have no chance to have her well-prepared last dinner. They would separate sooner than she had considered. But it is he who leaves her, rather than vice versa. Life ridicules her all the time, in the past, at present. She used to care everything. Now only his condition concerns her.

Different wards serve for different purposes. Some wards abound with the joy of new births, while others are filled with sadness and silence. The number ‘10’ symbolizes that a person has gone through all and is able to leave the world without pity. In order to contain a mountain of medical equipments, this ward is simply decorated. It looks austere. Nearly everywhere in the room is in white, the holy colour. The colourful thing is fixed on the wall. There is a picture of summer views. It’s an idyllic village. On the right, Iris is in blossom. The white flowers bow in an elegant arc, perhaps caused by a light blow of wind. A pond is on the left, where water can only be seen among pretty pink lotus. It is a sunny day. If the patient in this room survives, the expectation of the hospital as well as the patient would come true, and the patient would view the scenery with his own eyes.

Seldom does the patient have the opportunity. After all, this room is disparate from others: ICU. It often says to the patient, ‘see you.’ It has witnessed lots of people’s entering the pearly gates.

The feeble Mr. Smith can choose to gloss over the truth, but Mrs. Smith already knows what he has done. Mr. Smith doesn't know she knows, and he neither knows what she has done for him.

‘Darling, I’m going to die… But before I die, I have one thing to say…’

Overwhelmed by grievance, Mrs. Smith gives up her turn to talk. She has shouldered all her responsibility. She is a kind and upright female for all her life. She does nothing wrong except in today. She cannot tolerate her unfortunate, but still, she has to. She is determined not to tell him her scheme, even though he is going to die. She would rather bear the indelible guilty for the rest of her life than pass a little anger to her dying husband.

‘Say it, I’m glad to hear.’ Her voice trembles and tears wells up in her eyes.

‘Though I must say that what you do usually su-cks, I can still stand you. Today I want to date with my secretary. I apologize for you, because you are my wife, we have the relationship…I just mean…’

This time, he is so artless. But he closes his eyes before finishes his last words.

She doesn’t want to see his cremation. She hates him. She doesn’t feel she is guilty any more. She is right. She rushes back home, determined to sell the house, leave the city, and launch a pristine new life.

She opens the door, only to find her daughter and her boyfriend lying on the floor.

blog 8 What China should learn from Singapore in terms of education?

                      What China should learn from Singapore in terms of education?

The education in China has always stirred up a heated debate. Some people believe that China has a successful education, which bring students a solid foundation and especially a good grasp of science. However, others criticize that the education in China attaches too much importance to the students’ academic performance, and kill the creativity and leadership of the students.

Since I came to Singapore, I have paid extra attention to Singaporean education. Thanks to GIVE program, through which I was allowed to get into local secondary school, I gain a deeper insight of Singaporean education. Also, because all the boys accommodate in River Valley High School Hostel, we have the opportunity to observe what Singaporean students do in the school. From what I observed, I think there are three aspects which China should learn from Singapore.

 First of all, Singapore thinks highly of physical education. What I can always see from the window when I go back to the hostel after class is the scene that the students are running in groups on the playground. Moreover, I have noticed that the girls in Singapore are much more active and sporty than those in China. In China, fewer students have time or have intention to do sports because of heavy burden from the study and lack of consciousness of physical exercises. The popularity of the sports in Singapore must be resulted from the emphasis on the physical education. A strong body is the guarantee and premise of everything, so physical should be raised to a more important position in China as Singapore.

  Secondly, the divide of science and arts should be eliminated in China. As I know, there is no divide of the courses in Singapore. Since the education before the university are provided with the purpose of developing an all-round individual. That is to say, the education should be comprehensive, including different kinds of knowledge and covering wide ranges of fields. Therefore, it is not sensible to divide the student into science and arts students in the terms of their senior middle school education. It will not be late to allow them to have this choice in the tertiary education.

  Thirdly, Chinese school should offer wider ranges of extra curriculum activities. There are many kinds of CCA in Singapore. I was surprised to see some very interesting communities such as Police Association and Entrepreneur Clubs in a secondary school. It is not common to see these communities in Chinese high school and the students in China cannot take too much initiative and enthusiasm to attend CCA. These extra curriculum activities can develop students’ abilities such as leadership, team spirit and communicative skills, which they cannot get from their textbook but will benefit them for the whole life. It is very sorry that this point cannot be seen by Chinese education authorities.

  
   As an economic powerhouse, Singapore knows well that education will decide one country’s economy and strength. Singaporean education is well recognized in the world and it has produced many heavyweights in different fields. China should reflect on its weakness and defect in the education system and Singapore is a good example which can be followed.

Journey to the wetlands(Blog 9)

(Could you notice any "cute" animals hiding in the pictures above?)

 This Wednesday, I visited to Sungei Buloh wetland reserve located near the Northern boundary of Singapore, where you can see Malaysia in the other side of the narrow strait. This was my first time to personally explore wetlands, which is said to be home to a large variety of wildlife.

That was a quite tranquil place. There were hardly any vehicles on roads abutted. So I could enjoy the serenity there in a languid afternoon while the sun was blazing, highlighting the vibrant green in this wetland reserve and glinting creeks around us. I, along with several companions, rambled in this haven away from the bustle of the city.

It is more like a zoo waiting for to discover weird animals by visitors themselves. While we were stroll down the uneven trails winding through ponds, marshes and muddy ground, suddenly a small grey-skinned lizard crossed in front of us, leaving us gasping with surprise. Then, with a curious glimpse of the bushes alongside, a colossal one was found, with sagged, dark green skin and horrifyingly shape claws. It was sleeping. Afterwards, drop gazes into the mashes and, more excitingly, a still crocodile, perfectly camouflaged with yellow green skin in the shallow water, engrossed us all. Besides the shallow water, you could see lots of mysterious holes in muddy ground and something gleaming in the sunshine was moving. What’s that? Oh, they were small crabs. On the trunks of trees stretching from the muddy ground, slightly bigger crabs were scrambling up. Anyway, you could find amazing species just with opening eyes.

On the way back to the exit, we also walked pass crawling snakes as an additional surprise. When were leaving this wonderful place, a bird, like sorts of toucan, glided past, folded its wings and stopped on a tree, adopting a relaxed pose for us to take photos, and flew away immediately.

As we are all in this tropical area, it is conducive for us to diverse species and to discover nature. Enjoying incredible nature in awe is much better than confining yourselves in cell-like dormitories miserably. Come out to be a part of nature!

My reflection on learning service

Till now, I have been engaged in learning service for more than one month. During this time, I and other members in my group drew up a general schedule and implemented it. What we have been helping is a student center called Baptist student center. In the student center, we take charge of teaching and attending to primary school students some of whom are from poor family and lack concern from their busy parents. From the survey, I learned many useful skills and gain the happiness from contributing to a community.

From the two orientated lessons, I acquired many useful skills respecting community service. By listening to the host’s humorous speech and our trainer’s teaching, I learned how to plan a viable schedule, to cooperate with other group member, and to distribute appropriate job to each teammate.

I also benefited from implementing our service. Just as the host said in the second lesson, as scholar we not only need a high IQ to improve our academic grades, but more importantly, we need a high EQ to perform well in our society, and learn service can help you improve your EQ. That’s quite true, by negotiating with the teachers in student center and communicating with children there, I make progress in socializing which in a part of EQ. In addition, during the service, I gain the happiness of helping others every time I memorize the smile of the children in student center.

All in all, I think learning service is very worthy to experience, and I want continue my service after this activity.  

blog 8Mum, I love you

Today is Mother's day.
Happy Mother's day,Mum.
Yesterday, when I chated with my mother, I told her, "Happy Mother's day, Mum. "When I hung up the phone. It seemed that I forgot something. This morning, when I woke up, my roomate reminded me that today is Mother's Day. Then ,I thought of what I hd missed yesterday. I forgot to say ,"Mum, I love you. "

My mother is always very kind, maybe it is related to her job--a prymary school teacher. Therefore, whenever she teach me, she will use the softly tone which she uses to taech her students, to educate me.She rarely scolds me, even I have  made my junior high school teacher anngry, she did not beat me. At that time, the teachers in the junior high school always beat the students ver hard, and used some impertinent words to scold students. Therefore, at that time, my mother told the teacher not to beat me, as a experienced teacher, my mother knew that the corporal punishment will leave a shadow in the students heart and it will badly influence the future development of the students, especially in the character. She always has her own way to teach me, which is proved to be the most suitable and succcessful with me. She teaches me how to use anothetr way to solve problems, which makes me see something others cannot notice. Moreover, she bought equipment to teach me how to do experiments since I entered the primary school. Although at that time I did not know why, it increased my interest in science and developed my ability of doing experiments.
Today is the first Mother's Day that I do not spend with my mother. Perviously, I would buy a little present, which can represent my love to my mother, with a bouquet of flowers and a picture drawn by me. although every year she told me not to waste the money, I knew she was very happy and felicity with my presents and paintings. This year, I can not buy mother a present and give her my drawing on Mother's Day. However, I know that she will still very happy, felicity and proud of me, because I have been chosen as a scholar in NUS. Although I am in Singapore, my love for you is still the sam as before, or, more than before.


Mother, I love you, more than  everyone in the world.

the future of the DOLLAR(blog 8)(part 2)

Another notable point is the development of BRIC and EU. However, the economic situation of both BRIC and EU is not simply the proof of the end of dollar as international currency. In fact, this is definitely a perfect example of a double-edged sword.

Of all the four countries in BRIC, China is the most influential one. Holding so much American debts, China has determined to vary its investment directions. And as Mr. Zhou Xiaochun has put, Chinese central bank is studying hard on how to fight against foreign vicious investments. (The contrary phenomenon will follow)

After studying a little about the economy of India, I believe Indian economy is very dynamic and vibrant. Although we can see more problems is beneath the development of India than China and nearly all the economists admit one fact that the economy is ten years behind that of China, we can see exactly the tactical advantage of India.

(First, after its narrow bankruptcy in the early 1990s, Indian government has gained many precious experiences in controlling the national debts. Under comparison, China has only several economists, most of whom may just buy several papers or degrees.

Second, although we Chinese all know that having too many people stagnates the economy, we may not have the damage of aging population clear in mind. Actually, China now is aging but less developed, which is very dangerous to a continuous development. On the contrary, India has a high birth rate and will take the advantage of cheap labor over China very soon. As for the educational level, India is not as good as China. However, Indians speak English more fluently, which India has its advantages over China in language.

Third, USA fights against China but has to cooperate with India. In terms of military enemy, China has Korea, Japan, Philippines, Viet Nam and India. However, India has only China and Pakistan. Therefore, China has to put more money into military and thus cannot focus well on economy.)

And there is some evidence that India now is working on finance to improve its flexibility towards economic crisis. Similarly, Brazil just announced to cut down US debt ownership to avoid potential risk. Therefore, as we can see, BRIC is not going to just let US control all the world.

And, as a Chinese, I prefer some sayings which stress the significance of China personally. However, in fact, when it comes to finance, this is never as simple as GDP. China is very immature in finance but its capacity of market has tempted foreign financial giants. In 2009, some newspapers even published message that Soros came to HongKong to give a strike on Chinese economy. (Actually, after a month, he just left HongKong and did nothing)  According to some estimation of IMF and the World Bank, the GDP of China will transcend that of USA in between 2016-2025. But in fact that is definitely not the end of the dollar (I mean GDP will not just decide the ownership of international currency). RMB, at this stage, is anything but a potential international currency considering about the immature finance, not so bright international image, unsatisfied scientific and technological development and highly dependent economy.

Although previously I have mentioned that Chinese government has already realized the enormous probable hazards behind the US dollar, that does not mean Chinese government /Chinese central bank will just sell most of the US debts. In fact, it is not feasible to even stop purchasing US debt instantly. A significant and unstable balance is beneath the massive trade between US and China because China needs the trade surplus to support its economic development and US need Chinese money and goods /commodities to enjoy welfare and convenience. Therefore, China cannot bear if the economy of US just declines drastically so that the investment is the insurance for US to keep the financial stability. Frankly speaking, as I have mentioned, the Federal Reserve will definitely have no problem in paying back the public debts of US but the Americans cannot afford that. So if China just declares not to support US dollar any more, the whole world will suffer and China cannot protect itself any more.

In fact, some scholars pointed out some severe problems underneath the development of China and they referred to lots of unrest /protest factors /events recently. For example, an independent author Yuan Jian has said that the political price cannot be compensated for by economic development any longer, which is indicated by many signs of unrests /protests currently in China. So whether China can manage to continue its economic miracle is not sure yet.

Then we come to the EU part. Although the economic scale of EU is still bigger than US, it is obvious EU is just a loose economic organization without many agreements in politics and diplomatic affairs. Some economists once claimed that euro has the power to replace the dollar to act as the international currency, which is apparently ridiculous at the moment. If we look at Greece in an objective perspective, we can easily find the deficiency with EU system. Greek economy is never as strong as Germany and after it joint euro in 2001, it has held the Olympics and fought against a colossal forest fire. Although its economy increased by 4.2% per year during 2001 and 2007, its ratio of the public debt to gross domestic product increased from 103% to 113%. However, with the stability of the euro, no one will doubt the credit of Greek government. By the time to clear up all the mess after 2008, Greece is dying without any doubt. So if we just dwell on the high saving rate in Germany and overlook countries like Greece, Spain, and Italy, it is impossible to draw a correct conclusion. Furthermore, although the ratio of the public debt to gross domestic product of Greece is already higher than the recommended maximum level in EU, other countries can do nothing about it but keep trying to persuade.

So as we can see from the previous analysis, euro system is deficient innately and is striving in the mud of public debts.

Another currency is yen, which is the legal currency of Japan. But with the low performance of Japanese economy, this currency is fading from the international stage.

In conclusion, the future of the dollar is not sure of course because it is relatively strong in the short term but in the long run we can see the dark side.

[blog 9] A long road ahead for China's education

 During these months’ staying in Singapore, I reflected a lot on China's education. With the largest population in the world, Chinese government made it possible for every child to go to school. China's education has its own advantages. Students who have received Chinese education for some years have a solid foundation, especially in math and science. However, some disadvantages are visible.

 

  Firstly, unfair policy is a very important issue. Students in some provinces or cities are enjoying education privileges. An obvious example, compared to students in other provinces, students in Beijing are much easier to get into Peking University and Tsinghua University, known as the two best universities in China. According to MOE (2011), 0.026% (135 out of 510,000) students in Sichuan province are admitted by Tsinghua University while the number in Beijing is 5.2% (398 out of 7,6000). On this issue, the government cannot make up a reasonable explanation to us. In the same country, why should students get different policy?

  Secondly, Chinese education focuses too much on examination rather than practical ability. In most students’ and teachers’ eyes, the mark is higher than everything. It is easy to see students burying their heads in books and text papers but of seeing various activities organized for students, especially in Primary and Middle School. I think it’s due to the large number of students and limited schools or universities in China, pushing students to compete hard for the higher-level education. Students in China do suffer a lot.

  In conclusion, it is not totally the government we should blame. They have made effort to improve Chinese education, which is restricted to the national conditions to some extent. Too many people makes it hard to distribute education resource equally. All in all, chinese education still has a long way to go. For us young generation, we are the coming main force of society. If possible, we should shoulder the responsibility of the development of Chinese education.