A Glimpse of Beautiful Things on Campus

   Do you see these two vases of flower? Aren't they beautiful? They are quietly in bloom at the corner of the building outside Harkness Hall.

   In the open place outside Harkness Hall, another curious thing we find is this statue. Do you know what does this statue symbolize? What does it look like?

   This is what Lusia learned from Kirk's seminar.The statue was built in 1969 to celebrate women's right to be admitted into Yale University.The egg shape of the statue represents a woman's ovary.The flowing water indicates feminine nature. On the surface of the statue, there are numbers of students and the corresponding years indicating respectively how many students were enrolled into Yale and when they were enrolled.

 

A Different Viewpoint about American Blacks

     On Saturday evening, Lusia, Susan Wang, Clara and I attended the splendid
music party in New Haven Green. It was such an exciting scene that we decided to
record this unforgettable moment and took photos for each other. A black gentleman beside us voluntarily offered to take photos for us four.We were deeply moved by his friendliness. And I had a different view about American Blacks. Most of them are warm-hearted and elegant.

How Happy we are!

    Their image of warm-heartedness could be enhanced from the happening of my friends. Two years ago, my friend and her husband went to America. They sent their daughter to study in an American boarding school. On the first night when their daughter left for school, they felt lonely and sad.Realizing that their
beloved daughter had to live on her own at only 13, they could not help crying  In order to soothe themselves, they decided to take a walk. Before they knew, they had walked far away from the hotel and they got lost. What was worse, both of them could speak a little English. They tried to stop the passing cars to help them. But no one gave them a hand. About half an hour later, a car with two Blacks in it stopped beside them. They offered to pick them up. My friends hesitated. They were afraid of American Blacks because of the terrifying reports about them.In order to prove they were good guys, these people even took out the Bible and said to my friends:'God,God."  My friends were happy that they were saved.
    After all, most people in the world are good guys no matter what races they are!

A Fabulous Music Party in New Haven Green

    On Saturday evening, a music party was held in New Haven Green. It was such a fabulous scene. Thousands of thousands of people, mainly blacks, gathered together. They shouted, sang and danced to the beats of the music. You couldn't help rocking and rolling with them in such an atmosphere.
    Actually this party opened a window for me to find that American Blacks are talented in singing and dancing and that they are united in some way.
 

"Rush Hours" in New York

    On Friday, we went to New York for a boat trip around Manhattan.When the boat trip was over, it was almost 4 pm. We had to arrive at
the corner of the Lexington Avenue and the 42nd Street to get onto the bus back to Yale by 6:30.

    With two and half hours left, we decided to
to go to the landmark and famous scenic spot in
New York, the Empire State Building.So Lusia, Joanna and I started to walk from the Hudson River end. When we walked through 42nd Street to the 11th Avenue, we were told that we had to walk to the fifth Avenue. When we finally arrived at the Empire State Building, there was one and half hours left and we had to leave at least half an hour to go back to the assembling site.

    Sometimes what you are afraid of will actually happen. On that day, the Empire State Building was extremely crowded. We waited and waited
in the endless line and became more and more worried
about the time left for us because it was 5:20 pm, we even didn't reach the elevator! What was worse, when the elevator arrived at 80th floor, we had to turn to another elevator to the 86th floor. So we decided to walk to the 86th floor, it was such a hurry and exhausting time. When we were standing on the 86th floor, we were out of breath.

    We only spent about 15 minutes on the 86th floor to overlook New York.It was an amazing view standing on the 86th floor to overlook New York. The running cloud,blue sky, the Hudson River and the skyscrapers make a beautiful and harmonious view of Manhattan.

    The two rush hours was really worthwhile.



   

   
 
   

Beautiful Yale University at Sunset

Jul 23, 2014

Beautiful Yale University at Sunset

    These two beautiful photos were taken last week.How beautiful Yale University was at sunset.
 
    The upper right photo was taken from my bedroom window.It is a kind of gorgeous view when the sun was falling below the horizon.At that moment,the sky was a canvas with blue,grey and orange colors splashing from forward to backward.

    The lower right photo is the picture I took in the grassland in front of the Harkness Hall.It is the view when the sun was still above the horizon.Against the setting sun, the sky presented three layers of colors of yellow, orange and grey from the back to the front of the photo.

    Just as the famous Chinese writer, Sheng Congwen said,"the beauty in the West Hunan is a kind of beauty which will make people feel heart-broken". Then I think the beauty of Yale University after the sunset is a kind of beauty which intoxicates me.

 



 

When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do

July 20, 2014

Although we are language learners, we still met with some cultural differences in America.This is the one incident I experienced.

Last week we went to the Yale University Observatory, we went by school shuttle bus.But when we finished the observation, it was 9:00 pm. The regular school bus was not in service, so we called for special service. The operator told us the bus would come in twenty minutes. When a bus came in twenty minutes, we went in.
After checking with the bus driver, we couldn't find any record to Morse College in the meter hanging in front of him.We thought that the bus was for us, even though there was no record of the destination, while the bus driver took for granted that we should know about the rule that since we didn't call for his bus, we should not take this bus, even the bus would pass through Morse College. And he didn't bother to tell us about it.So he stopped the bus, waiting for us to get off and we sat there, waiting for him to go.It was an embarrassing moment because we didn't know what's wrong. Then I went to him and asked," You mean we have to go off and wait for another bus to pick us up?" He said,"Yes". It was a relief to hear this yes.

In America, everything is under the rule and regulation. In some aspects, we feel democracy is not freedom; it's a burden. But to foreigners, the best policy is: When in Rome, do as Romans do.  

A Visit to Mark Twain's House

July 20, 2014


On July 18, we visited The Mark Twain's House & Museum. I learned a lot about Mark Twain, not just a writer but an ordinary man.

I first learned about Mark Twain(pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910) from the film One Million Pound.At college, I read his famous novel Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Through this visit,I learned his life and his family.The most funny thing was that I found a strange shaped fork and the tour guide told me it was used to eat oyster. How luxurious his life was.

 

The Art Corner in Carrie's House

The Art Corner in Carrie's House

July 17, 2014

Yesterday we had a wonderful trip to our instructor Carrie's house.

This is a beautiful and cozy house with a large backyard. In the yard there is  a relaxing swing.

When I went into her house,a corner in her living room caught my eye. On the window hangs a bunch of crystal beads with Japanese characters in them.The colors of the beads well matched with the background white color of the curtain, presenting a harmonious atmosphere in the house and showing us
the special artistic taste the owner of
the house has.

A Mentally Soothing Time in Battell Chapel

Jul 13,2014
    At 10:30 this morning, we visited Yale University Battell Chapel and had a mentally soothing moment  there.
    It is a new experience to us and we know what a Christian Mass is like.Christians confess to God about their sins and learn to be  better men.     I especially liked the hymns sung by the choir. It is really beautiful and comfortable to hear.
   

This Week's Class Observation

Jul 12,2014
This Week's Class Observation

    This week I observed three professors’ seminars. They are Win Win, Anne and Siggy. They have different characteristics. Win Win is traditional. Anne and Siggy are active and motivated in class.

     What interests me about their seminars is as follows:

     Win Win organized oral discussion in a variety of methods. In group discussion, she divided the class into two groups with number one to number one, two to two. In individual discussion, the student on her birthday started the discussion first. After she finished, she could have the choice to who would be the next one to discuss.

     Anne invited a writer  to her class. The students and the writer had a wonderful time and the students were actively involved.

     Siggy is an excellent teacher. She organized her class in a smooth way both in content and in process. The seminar started with students’ presentations about news, idioms and their experiences. When it came to the topic, the students had a heated discussion. What shocked me was that the students are so excellent. But I found two students in this class are not so good. The funny thing about a student was : when she should say: You are luckier, she couldn’t transfer it into an English way of thinking. Instead, she thought in a Chinese way and had a word for word transferance into “You are more cow”( in Chinese “你更牛”). It really didn’t make sense in English.

      I had a wonderful time in observing Siggy’s seminar.  Actually education can be fun.

An Unforgettable Visit to the Art Gallery

Jul 10, 2014

An Unforgettable Visit to the Art Gallery

   Yesterday afternoon,we had an unforgettable visit to Yale University Art Gallery.The collection houses African Art, Ancient Art, American Art, European Art,Modern and Contemporary Art and others. Among these pieces of art, the impressive ones are La Vida by Martin Wong(American,1946-1999) and the delicate bronze utilities in China's Bronze Age.
   An visit to the art gallery is a kind of chicken soup experience.

           A strange mixture of western style of food and Chinese style of food                   

     

Behind the Heavy Door is the "Heavy" History

    In Yale, I find a funny thing: the doors are thick and heavy, making us difficult to pull and push.In fact, everything inside the teaching buildings are old and thick.We can have a strong sense of history. 

    Americans try hard to protect something old, not to destroy, not to reconstruct as we do.They have a strong sense of responsibility to protect historical things because history can tell behind these heavy doors.

Behind the Heavy Door is the "Heavy" History

The delicately designed bronze door ring

The old and thick window in HGS

An Amazing Cultural Experience Today

                   
                       An Amazing Cultural Experience Today

     After we finished observing classroom teaching in the morning, we had an amazing cultural tour. Our instructor Carrie Allen accompanied us to  the New Haven public library.
    I find the layout of the library and the arrangement of books is somewhat different from that in China's library.Some of the books are arranged in subject; some are layed out in their function, like teens collection, DVD and CD collection. What surprised me most is that the library has a kids floor. So considerate!

My First Impression on Yale

    The first day when I came to Yale, I had  a kind of embarrassed happiness,sort of happiness and excitement after we experienced embarrassing and frustrating situations.I think these two extreme feelings made our first day in Yale especially unforgettable.
    When I and my colleagues got off Greyhound bus from Boston, we were told the International Center on 421 Temple Street is near with ten-minute's walking distance.So we decided to walk there with heavy luggage,but we got lost.When we finally took a Vango taxi to the Office of International Students and Scholars, the door was locked. Nobody was waiting for us and we didn't know where to go. Then one of Yale staff, a lady came. She kindly helped us to find the Registration Office after a lot of inquiries.
    This is my first impression on Yale staff. They are very kind, responsible and warm-hearted. They have a kind of pride of their working place. When we thanked the lady staff who helped us. She said,"That's OK. I am working for my university."
    After we finished check-in, we only felt excited and happy about everything here: the dormitory, the beautiful old buildings in Yale.We took a lot of photos of these buildings. Yale University after sunset is extremely beautiful, quiet and soothing.
 

My first Impression on Yale


I am in Yale

I am Tian tian