In Memory of My Trip to America

  Maybe it is the last blog before I leave America. 

  It is a little sad to write down these words. Not only it is because that I have to leave here, Miami University, but only is because that I am not willing to say goodbye to many people, from our nice teachers, to our diligent TA, stuff in this university, my peers and even friendly foreigners. 

  I know it is no use saying I don't want to leave, for a real truth that we are somewhat like be pushed by the time, no one can resist the power of time. It is like a river, we can't stop moving. The only thing we can do is to step forward with its wave. 

  But it can also be viewed from a more optimistic angle. It is the change that makes our life more interesting. No matter what changes are they, the place, the people around you.Many things do change ,  and it is what life should  be . If there aren't change, how can we come to America to have this pleasant studying tirp? 

  I really have a lot of feelings. However, because of the limited time and my other unfinished work, I have to write it as brief as possible, and I think when I end up my tour, I would probably write more blogs . 

  Here I want to post some beautiful scenery about the Miami campus. I really love this university and I even have a daring idea that I want to come here to have under graduate course some day in the future. Maybe it will come true ! 

  In the end of the blog, please let me write down a sentence that I love very much.It is very encouraging. I think this ending can lead me to the future with a braver heart, a more optimistic attitude to life and work harder to live the life I dream of. 

  Thank you for reading and I really appreciate your care for my blog.I would like to believe that we will surely meet each other in a way in the future. 

Dance, as though on one is watching you;

Love, as though you have never been hurt before;

Sing, as though no one can hear you;

Live, as though heaven is on earth.

Thank You!

How To Deal With High Anxiety

                                                                                    

  

  Concerning the intercultural stumbling blocks, there is one aspect that impresses me most. That is about the  high anxiety. In the passage Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks that written by LaRay M. Barna, she wrote that it is  very common in cross-cultural experiences .  When she mentioned the example on an international student , I found that my feeling is almost the same with her—we both try hard to understand every word other people say and are always worried that there may be some misunderstanding during our life with natives . 

  

   As for myself, although I don't have to take a rest because of the exhausted school daytime communication, I really make every effort to listen but sometimes it fails. When I can't understand what other people say , I will feel uneasy . Sometimes when people whom I  talk to are laughing, what I can do is just smiling. In fact, I really feel embarrassed . 

  

   However, with myself gradually getting more used to  the environment and feeling better, I begin to think more about this common emotion. I think compared to paying mych attention to the feeling itself, it is more important that how can I cope with this issue ,  or rather, how to make myself more comfortable. It makes more sense. From a perspective that most international students  share, I believe the following ideas are able to provide some help to us. 

  

   The first thing we can do is to tell ourselves that we are not alone.we are in the same boat. It is obvious that when we face a new situation, we are likely to easily get anxiety, let alone we are in a quite unfamiliar environment .  Therefore, what we can do is to constantly tell ourselves that it doesn't matter and everything will be better soon. 

  

   After we concentrate on being optimistic about the fact, the next step we can do is trying to find effective solutions.Firstly , we know that the time we feel anxiety, take a deep breath and try to cool down ourselves is a good way. Making the emotion peaceful is vital ,  for it  affects the following steps that we try to ease, or at least reduce the uncomfortable feelings. So what can we do next? As far as I am concerned, we can turn to someone for help. Our kind and nice teachers, some institutions like psychological consulting center and our friendly foreign friends . they all ready to provide us with help. We can express our feelings and share our opinions with them.Representing the experience again and asking them what do they think if it happens to them. Through this way, we are able to learn more about cultural differences and some more suitable ways to deal with tdifficulties next time we face the similar situations. 

  

   At last, with our ability of speaking the foreign language becoming better, we can make ourselves understood more easily. Thus, when we  worry that there are some misunderstandings in some situations , we can explain them immediately , instead of just letting them go. We are able to tell others we are friendly too, and we don't want to offend them or make them uncomfortable, we just don't know much about something and we are keeping up learning as much as we can. If we making efforts constantly, it is sure we can do better with time passing. 

    Therefore, I think, while we meet stumbling blocks next  time ,  we don't need to feel too much anxiety because we have solutions. I believe that there must be more methods ,  but before exploring more, go forward and don't be afraid. The  braver we are, the quicker we can grow up and adjust to the environment .   

  

  

  

  

A Small View on American Cultule

     Here I want to share an experience a week ago. 

     I entered a farm house along with my friends, and there weren't many smelly feces, instead, the path was very clean, so were the animals.  In this large house, there were three paths, which divided the house into four parts. I heard deep voice from the end of the path. The ‘‘mou mou’’ sound came from cows. The farm animals here had their own space and they were limited either by the cages，like rabbits and chicken, or tied by the strings. Each animal had a card hanging above them, which wrote the place of the prize , the name and the project. What was that? I was really curious about it. 

   Just as my friends and I turned back into a new way, a boy came into my sight. The yellow T-shirt he wore was very eye appealing. He was in a pair of blue jeans and the boots on his feet caught my attention most. I really like the way his jeans and shoes match. In fact, most of the children here worn similar pattern. Yes, there were many children. What did they do here? Were there anything related to the animals and the children ?   I asked the boy this question .At that time, he was catching one cook from the cage and then put the cook on his shoulder immediately. He was very skillful. Then he turned to me ,with  his right arm raising in order not to have the cook falling down, and then explained to me:   "We are taking our animals here to take part in the contest, and the card you saw wrote the prize each of our animal won, and you can also know the animals’ and its owners' name on it. Look, these four animals are all mine. They got good prizes in the context held two days ago." His face was shining with proud smile, and he acted himself as a strong man, which he called the Chicken Master! 

  He warmly invited us to touch his friend, the cook. How soft its feather is! I have never touched something as soft as this! Then the boy invited us to take photos for him and his friend.   Actually , from what he said, I came to realize that the children here regard the animals they raise as friends. They put their friends' need before themselves. The children who came here with their animal friends are from the farm, and they keep the animals by themselves. What their parents do is just to help them if necessary. What's more, every county has their own animal farm fair, and they are held at a regular time. When the fair is held, the children who live in the farm of the county will bring their animals to take corresponding contest, and they can decide whether to sell their animals or take them home.    The children here were almost at the age of 7 to 10. Mentioning the friends they kept, they all very glad and proud to introduce them, from its age, name, to its characteristic and whether it was happy or not at this time. Through the conversations , I found a truth that they knew much on the knowledge of the animals than I have learnt from the books. It is really a good way to learn and more important, they know more about how a farm animal is raised and through the contact with animals, they also learn it is not easy for farmers to keep animals and then they are more likely to give more love and care to the animals many people may not even pay much attention to, like myself.   I think it reflects one of the aspects that American parents educate their children .Parents don't teach children through the books or hand-by-hand teaching, they just let their children try, get knowledge through their own way and do some key guidance if necessary. It is much more a self-learning and self-exploring way than to be taught directly and passively. It is a reflection of the education in America, which is quite different from China. In China, unless a child has to keep the animals for his family and the aim of doing so is for making money to make the family survive, the parents wouldn't let their child keep farm animals, many of whom think it is a waste of time to do so, and the child are supposed to study hard at school. From this farm visiting experience, I really felt the effective and interesting way American parents nature their children, and the similar case goes with teachers.    In my opinion, it is an aspect of American culture. It is a culture that related to free development and self-development.  

If You Want to Be Loved, to Be lovable

  The ways to teach and the way to study are very various . One way which is very common is listening, just listening and keeping what you heard in mind. It is not a self study process, but it has a strong effect on people themsleves. Of course, the first step is that the person is really absorbed in it. After he or she receives the information and then have some common emotions with speakers' words, the effect begins to work.

  That is what I learnt from my experience of going to the church. During the three weekends, I have been to two different churches and the similarity of them is that they all have a singing ceremony. Everybody stood up to sing songs with the music. I also sang with them according to the lyrics .We sang a few songs.To be honest, I feel really touched by the music.It gives me a sense of holiness . It makes me realize that the music doesn't have a country boundary. Whenever we are, it is music that links us together and has the similarity feeling with each other.

  The experience on that day left strong impression on me.It made me believe that on some aspects , we are together, no matter what race we are  , which country are we from etc. I guess if I stay here for a longer time, it is very possible  for me to have a religious belief. I have to admit that this way of moving and making people touched is very effective.

  Also, there is an activity that is very unforgettable to me.Everyone gave handshakes to the people next to him or her with saying thank you and very nice to meet you. It is a way of expressing love and appreciation to people around you and also make you feel gratitude and grateful. I love this way of expression and I think we really need it. We need it to give us a chance to have a good look at the people around us, to express our love to them, which we probably not do so in the daily time. In a word, it provides us a good opportunity  to do something we don't often do . 

  I am  really appreciate the experience I had in church.Though I do not have religious belief , I tried my best to respect it and do what I can to obey its regulations. I love the songs so much and as long as I can find the names of them, I remembered them and when I came back, I searched the internet for the link and posted some of them which I could find. I wish I can share my feeling with you all.
Just as what they said to me. God bless you!


 Lamb of God
There is amazing grace
1000 reasons
Behold the God

If You Want to Be Loved, to Be lovable

  The ways to teach and the way to study are very various . One way which is very common is listening, just listening and keeping what you heard in mind. It is not a self study process, but it has a strong effect on people themsleves. Of course, the first step is that the person is really absorbed in it. After he or she receives the information and then have some common emotions with speakers' words, the effect begins to work.

  That is what I learnt from my experience of going to the church. During the three weekends, I have been to two different churches and the similarity of them is that they all have a singing ceremony. Everybody stood up to sing songs with the music. I also sang with them according to the lyrics .We sang a few songs.To be honest, I feel really touched by the music.It gives me a sense of holiness . It makes me realize that the music doesn't have a country boundary. Whenever we are, it is music that links us together and has the similarity feeling with each other.

  The experience on that day left strong impression on me.It made me believe that on some aspects , we are together, no matter what race we are  , which country are we from etc. I guess if I stay here for a longer time, it is very possible  for me to have a religious belief. I have to admit that this way of moving and making people touched is very effective.

  Also, there is an activity that is very unforgettable to me.Everyone gave handshakes to the people next to him or her with saying thank you and very nice to meet you. It is a way of expressing love and appreciation to people around you and also make you feel gratitude and grateful. I love this way of expression and I think we really need it. We need it to give us a chance to have a good look at the people around us, to express our love to them, which we probably not do so in the daily time. In a word, it provides us a good opportunity  to do something we don't often do . 

  I am  really appreciate the experience I had in church.Though I do not have religious belief , I tried my best to respect it and do what I can to obey its regulations. I love the songs so much and as long as I can find the names of them, I remembered them and when I came back, I searched the internet for the link and posted some of them which I could find. I wish I can share my feeling with you all.
Just as what they said to me. God bless you!


 Lamb of God
There is amazing grace
1000 reasons
Behold the God

How Do You Remeber Things?

  Here I want to talk something about the memory.    This trip lasts about 4 weeks. In fact, I can't remember everyday activities. However, I find my memory  is so poor that sometimes I even can't remember what I did yesterday . In order to remember this unforgettable experience better, I keep on writing diaries. Maybe many tiny things don't make too much sense, but I think that it is these small and inconspicuous things that delight my life, making it interesting and unforgettable. That is a reason why I like keeping diaries.  

  However, the writing is not the best way to keep one's memory. Instead of the words, I realize that the image and sound can be remembered easier. It is said that it is one of the outcomes of our brain function. To myself, I just feel that I can catch and remind some pictures immediately. The song I sang in the church, the beautiful scenery I saw in Miami University campus. The wonderful image of the King's Island, the fireworks, the entertainment activities and my dear friends. I generally realize that when I begin to try to recall something,  it is the images and the sound that come up first.  Instead of words and characters, I have stronger impressions on these things.  

 (It is what I saw in the art museum in Chicago. It is a work. The light and colorful candy really gave an eye-appealing experience so I can recall it easily.)

  I believe everybody has their own way to memory and the best way for them to memory is not the same. For myself, music do help me remember a lot of things. What about you? 

(This picture is also exhibited in the museum. The interesting elements and its unique painting style attracted me the time I noticed it. I think I have some talent to remember something abstract.)

One Aspect of American Culture—Part Two --American's Humor

  One Aspect of American Culture—Part Two --American's Humor

  How time flies! I have been in America for about 3 weeks, but I really feel like staying here for about just a week. Thinking that I am going to leave here in a week, I find that I am really not willing to leave here, for there are teachers who are very nice and kind, stuff and strangers who are very friendly, beautiful scenery,  fresh air, bule sky and bright sunshine……There are too much to say ,and I believe that this travel will become a good memroy in my life, surely an unforgottable memroy. 

  In my previous blog before, I have mentioned that I feel Americans are very friendly. Here I want to write something about their humor. 

  Before I came to America,  I have watched some TV shows.,TV series and TED Talks. I soon find a phenomenon that when the audience laugh, I always watch the video and really can't make out what they laugh about and the reason why they laugh. Sometimes I may laugh too, because their laughter is funny and interesting. I think it is the culture gap or the understanding of English that make me not be able to find the reason. 

  Although I have came here for a couple of days, I still cann't laugh with them when they are very happy. However, I always keep smiling to show my participation and politeness.  

  Gradually, I find that the reason that makes people laugh sometimes may be really not so interesting, but people try to laugh as possible as they can. If you can become happier, why not just do it? Day by day, they have the ability to make other people as well as themselves laugh, and they all know the priciples of it. No matter what happens, there is one thing that never changing—it is trying to laugh. 

  Surely, smiling and laughing have a lot of advantages. For example, decreasing embarssment, making people feel happy and relaxed, and many invisible effects that many of them we may still haven't realized yet. It reminded me of a TV series that I have just watched a month ago. The hero of the drama belongs to a sprcial troop, he always do very deangerous work ,some of which may lose his life. I guess, it is because his working environment that makes him have a strong ability to tell jokes and discover funny things. If you meet dangerous accidents very often, it is really a good idea to make some fun for both yourself and people around you. It is a effective way to get relaxed.This is an example of the effect of humorous. 

  Now , I find myself laughing with people together, which I think I may not do that before. I just find it is very interesting and Americans usually have various kinds of ways to make you laugh. Like friendliness, I think it is also an aspect of Ameican culture, and only when you really go deeper into thier daily life and make more connection with them ,can you find more charm and interesting things in them. To tell you the truth, something wonderful is really hard to say in words, it really needs your own experience! 

  Even though there is only one week left, I will still try to do more new and fresh things and experience more of America!