E-mail – My Free Day: Sitting in a Real Ship with Blooming Flowers Around Me

I went to Beihai park and the Military museum several days ago when the flowers were starting to come out. They were really beautiful! I saw Jasminum nudiflorums, oriental cherries and many wild flowers.

Here is a picture of Jasminum nudiflorum. The trees in this picture were still yellow but if you looked at it carefully you can find the young leaves coming out. When you see them, you can feel that life is so great!

After the park trip I went to the Military Museum. I took many pictures in it. But the most favourate picture is the one of me sitting in a big ship.  Everything in the Military museum is free including the admission ticket. Except that if you want to get on the big ship you have to buy a ticket. I think the big ship was the greatest. It is a real ship, a real ship running in the ocean several years ago and here I am right now sitting in it. It all feels very exciting.  I asked my friend to help me take a photo, here it is!

By the way, can you see the flowers on the trees behind me? They smelled really good. You can smell it through the wind even though they are far away from you!

Linda – My Dear Class and an Interesting Story

My dear class is just like a big family. Our head teacher who acts as our father is not only kind, but also strictness. In our class, boys and girls are like brothers and sisters. I will tell you a funny story that happened one day.

One day one our Chinese teacher told us she would take an exam, because we had done a lot of work we were not pleased. Some students even got ready for sleeping. Tom couldn’t help saying “Teacher, do we must have it? Crazy!!!” With a proud expression, the teacher said nothing. Another student said “If you order us to do that, I will…..” intimidating. “So?” the teacher answered. At that time we all expected he could succeed so that we could not have the exam. Silence……..

“So? What will you do I wonder….” “En… I will do what you want us to do exactly ….” Haha The teacher smiled and we all made joke on him. Finally we did the test at the end of the day….as she wanted..

Well, you know our Chinese teacher is very young. We treat her as our elder sister and she treats us as younger friends. We often play some jokes on her. And she always know how to deal with us

Kelen – My Thoughts About Friendship: New and Old

All of us have a lot of stories about our friends.   The stories could be funny also could be laden with grief.  We had to leave from our childhood for a long time but when we turn our head back we may realize that friends from that time were still young so that is why their names are gone.

I have many friends but they just like the ocean sprays that disappear with time into the sea.

When I swim in the time sea, I get that feeling of eating plums, sweet and sour

This picture to the left records a happy time with my new friends from the Bejing Youth Voices Project.  There are five girls and one of the hands is mine,  one of the hands is from Linda.  We saw many pictures like that so we also wanted to have a try at it.

The next pictures on the left is of Kelen’s and Siqi’s shadow.  Can you guess which one is Kelen? And who is the other girl?  (Kelen is the girl on the left, the other girl is Si QI).

Here is a picture of Xiao Xiao and I. We have all been friends for six years. I like this picture very much.  It’s very lovely.
The girl who is white just likes the snow is my best friend BoBo.  Even though we haven’t seen each other in a long time, she is a tree in my heart, never moving.
At the time of the picture, we were 15 years old.  BoBo,  do you still remember that day? I fell asleep in our sports meeting and rested on you.

Friends, friends, no matter where you go, you still are my friends  .Our friendship will be like the ships sailing in the timeless sea.

Steven – My Favorite Restaurant is an Italian one in Beijing!

As a gourmand, I have been to most of restaurants around our community, and Pasta House(意粉屋) is on the top of my list.

I find lots of restaurants are the same, but when I walk into the Pasta House, I have a totally different experiences.

In Pasta House, there are beautiful pictures and cartoons of specialty food on all of the walls. In addition, there are some comfortable chairs. I like the seats farthest from window. If I sit there, it is quiet and I feel relaxed.   Now, many people enjoy reading books or having a little meeting in the cafe. Maybe it’s a interesting hobby.

And I didn’t know anything about Italian food before. But when I went to Pasta House, I realized that I loved Italian food.  I always eat too much to walk.  I don’t know what Chinese people think about Italian foods. I just usually eat with my mother.  I feel really good when I eat in the restaurant. I sometimes come here with my friends, or sometimes myself.
In conclusion, I love this restaurant. （Here is a picture of my favorite food, I found from internet. I forgot to take my camera that time. ((

Now there are a lot of western restaurants in Beijing.  Such as Mexican food, German food, French restautants, Korean restaurants.   Pizza and fast foods is the most popular in Beijing. You can see so many buffet dinner restaurants and cafes in Beijing.  But I like Italian ones because I like how cheese tastes.

Steven – An Interview with My Best Friend on how to Chose a Friend

I interviewed classmate Zhang Weiyao about making girlfriends.  Please listen to the audio recording of the interview here.

Zhang——–Hello, My name is Zhang Weiyao. I don’t have any English name）

Steven——-OH,NO. I know you told me your English name was Superman. HAHA………

Steven ——–Do you have some hobbies?

Zhang——–Hobbies? I have been summed up. First, we are in the high school. So studying is the most important thing.  That is my most favorite hobby. Second hobby, basketball.  Basketball is my favorite sport game! And I also like music and making friends.

Steven ——–Can you tell me about making friends? I mean do you want to make a girlfriend or boyfriend?

Zhang ——–I would like to say no matter boy friends or girl friends, they all play an important part in your life.

Steven ——-The kind of friends who can cooperate with you should be the a good friend for you to be with. But if you want to share your feelings, your happiness or your sadness, a girlfriend should be a good choice. Right now I do not have girlfriend. I have no idea about that matter now.

Zhang ——-I see. It seems that you got really good opinions about friendship. Thanks.

(Chinese Version)

Steven ——-他虽然不承认，但我知道，他有一个英文名字叫superman.

Steven ——–那你有什么爱好吗？

z——–爱好，我曾经总结过，高中现在应该的事情，一是学习，这是第一大爱好，也是最重要的。第二是打篮球，第三是交友，第四是音乐。

Steven ———你能仔细说一下，交友是grilfriend or boyfriend? 还是普通的，特别要好的，一生中的永恒的那种朋友？

z———-包括boy and girl friends.我觉得朋友，不管是男的还是女的，都是你人生中的极其重要的成分。

Steven ———–我的意思是，你是准备交女朋友呢？还是交一些志同道合的，十分能谈得来的那种朋友？

z———–志同道合的朋友，对于我的事业发展应该的比较有好处的，但是如果让我的情感变得更加丰富，应该交女朋友，但到目前为止还没有谈过恋爱，所以，应该是志同道合的朋友吧！

Steven ———–哦，看来我们的张伟尧同学还是说得很深刻。

Kelan – My Tips for How To Relax Yourself

I don’t know how to make you understand that the Chinese kids in the 21century are quite busy. Many of times they really are just overwhelmed. The latest news that we heard were of students who committed suicide just they were unable to keep with their demands of daily life. I can understand, because for us, every activity is scheduled down to the very minute.

In my opinion we must pay more more attention and attach more importance to student’s well being. We must teach them how to relax when they feel tired. And we must do this when students want to give up their life over this matter.

There was one time that I was really stressed out and felt like things were too overwhelming. We have examinations at the end of every month, and in particular I remember the one from last month. I did not do a good job on the test. I did not pass some of the subjects. I became very upset when I found out that I did not pass all them!

That same day, the teacher talked to me and gave me a soft punishment by lecturing me. She asked me, “What is the trouble with you these days? You even could not pass this time. What did you do? …” I had nothing to say at that moment except to listen. I kept listening to her until she finished her speech.

When I went back home, I ate a lot snacks and did not want to do anything. I listened to music that I liked and I did not want to think about the exam any more. That is my way to relax myself and reduce the pressure.

If you have the same problem, I have some ideas to tell you. I hope these can help you step out the dark when you feel like you can’t deal with all the work.

• When you feel sad you can recall a sweet memory.
• You can eat your favorite snack and drink a cup of soft drink. Soft drink always make people feel cool.
• You also can have a good night of sleep, maybe you will have a special dream!
• Reading the stories with jokes is a very useful way to laugh and relax.
• Listen to your favorite music and sing it loudly
• Throw away all your clocks or watches and then your time will stop…I’m kidding…☺
• Draw a picture about yourself and make it funny. I often do that. You can have a try~

That’s all. Thank you~.
Please share your suggestions!

Email – From Yimei to Email: Why My Name is “Email”

My name is WangYimei and my English name is Email.  You may think my name is strange so now i’ll tell you the story of my English name.

When I was young, my mother gave this beautiful name to me, Yimei. I really don’t know how she thought of this name.  But several year later the Internet being all the rage of China and the word “E-mail” became more and more popular.  So then at that time, my friends all thought my name should change from my original name, Yimei, to “E-mail,” because Email sounds so much like my name “Yimei.”   So I realized what foresight my mother had in giving me my name at a time when internet e-mails were just getting started in China.  I think I’m so lucky to get two beautiful names from my mother.  oh I love my mother!

In fact I also have had other names before internet e-mail was used by Chinese people.  I used to  study in a foreign language school in Beijing.  Every student always has an English name because our  foreigner teachers could never  remember our Chinese names correctly.  So the first time I saw my teacher she give me a cute name, Fairy.  But i thought this name was so ordinary that I wanted another name.  So the next teacher from Canada gave me the name, Diana.  I used this name for half a year and then eventually thought this name sounded too old. So I kept looking for a new name.

My third teacher at the foreign school was from USA and he gave me a good name, Joe.  But a few days later I began to feel this name sounded like a boy’s name!  So i changed my English name for many years until I realized that Email would be a perfect name.   Although I think this is a strange name in the foreigners’ eyes.  But I like it because I think I was already positioned to take that name when my mother assigned me the name, Yimei, that phonetically sounds like Email.

So I have used it for many years and still like it!  Beyond the fact that Email sounds like my Chinese name, the name has its own merits also.   For example, in your life you probably have come across many names and you have also forgotten many of those names.   But I’m sure if you met a girl named Email  you would never forget that name and it would be one that you remember for many years!  But of course if you met you wouldn’t just remember my special name but also my special individuality, right?:)

Steven – A common daily life of a Chinese senior school student

“Ring, ring.” The alarm clock is ringing. I open my eyes and look at my watch.

Oh! 5:30 AM already! I must get up right now. The first thing I should do is go to kitchen and cook myself breakfast. It will be easy and simple. I usually fry an egg and crab some pieces of bread and have a glass of hot milk or soybean milk. Soybean milk is one of the most my favorite milk I like in China. Many Chinese like to drink it with some other Chinese snacks. Such as the steam bread and dried dough or small pieces of cakes.

At 6 o’clock AM, I will read English or Chinese loudly. Sometimes I need to recite some famous Chinese poems or English articles. Because I think no matter what kind of languages you will learn, it is a kind of input or output process. That means we should spend some time on it.

At 6:45 AM, I should go to school, sometimes I will go to school by bus. However most of time, I will go to school by bicycle. In China, drivers should be older than 18 years old. Now I am in high school, I can not go to school by cars.

We should arrive school at 7:20 AM. It is our school rule. If you are late, you will be punished badly by teacher. If you were late often, your parents will be invited to see the teacher. And the teacher will talk to your parents seriously.

Classes begin at 7:40AM. We have 5 classes in the morning until 12:10PM before lunch. 30 minutes lunch time and 20 minutes rest time later, we will begin our afternoon classes. We will be done at 5:20PM. But we can not go back home at 5:20PM.

We will HAVE AN EXAM AFTER CLASS!!! It is so crazy.

I will be back home at 6:30pm. That means I can have supper soon. After 30 minutes of supper, we will have to do my homework. We have tons of homework everyday.

I will go to bed at midnight, usually at 12 pm. This is one day of mine, a common senior school student in China. Most of my classmate have the same lifestyle as me everyday. What is your dailylife in USA there my friend?

Iris – Chinese Youth: Staring a Story From My Friend

Yesterday, my friend Ding Yuhan who studied at the high school of United States shared her experience of study abroad to me.

Firstly, I asked her what the difference is between education of China and USA. As a bi-cultural student, Ding Yuhan indicated that different teaching methods influenced different logical thinking. She then mentioned an illustrative example. In China, most students study for exams. Their motivations are propelled by teachers but not interests. However, American education tends to foster students’ potentials and then motivate them to study for interests. Students can ask questions without raising hands or asking after class. This flexible atmosphere always evokes creative ideas in the class. Furthermore, Ding Yuhan also explained common phenomenon of Chinese student study abroad. Although, they are always good at mathematics, physics and grammars, they can not solve difficulties when they face practical problems. This point actually exist at Chinese education. Therefore, what can we do and how can we change are topics we should think about.

Ding Yuhan also showed her interests in the music of Justin Timberlake. She prefer the singer’s classical songs rather that hits feat with rappers. We also talked about the significant experience we had. We both applied volunteers for Beijing 2008 Olympics. Unfortunately, I had to give up this chance due to the age limit and my study schedule. Ding Yuhan kept her dream and then became an qualified volunteer.

Ding Yuhan will have volunteer training courses after June. Apart from diplomatic skills , she also need to master related English vocabularies. When I asked what images Beijing citizens should have, Ding Yuhan answered ,“Smile is the best card of volunteers.”