An Interesting Dancing Class

On Tuesday afternoon of 29th of July, we did a most interesting thing--cultural exchange in way of body language. What? What's that? Yes, Siggy and Carrie, two outstanding representatives of Americans learned how to dance the most popular Chinese square dance from a Chinese teacher--Jane and we, 15 Chinese teachers learned how to dance a popular American dance-Jazz from Siggy. Interesting, right? In a very large classroom, HGS 301, we made spacious room by putting aside those four big tables. Then Jane who is quite good at dancing Chinese square dance stood in front of us. She showed us how to dance a popular square dance to the song--The Growth of All Creatures sung by a very famous Chinese singer--Dingding Sa. It is a typical Chinese folk song, the rhythm of which is very pleasing to the ear. And the square dance Jane taught us is quite elegant and beautiful and it is the kind of dance somewhat like Chinese Yunnan Minority dance, which is noted for Peacock Dance. Look! How beautifully all the teachers including the two American teachers Siggy and Carrie are dancing the Chinese square dance in the two following pictures!

After learning the beautiful peacock-like Chinese square dance, we start learning the popular American sexy dance--Jazz. First, Siggy showed us the basic steps of the sexy dance. She danced so well and so hot that we couldn't help laughing and clapping our hands. Then, she turned on her computer. In the video, a very beautiful sexy young girl and a group of energetic young men and young women are dancing the sexy dance together while the young girl sings the song. All of us tried our best to imitate the dance steps of the stars. Since we have never danced so hot a dance, Siggy showed us the dance step by step patiently. She is such a good teacher that in no more than 10 minutes, we all learned to dance the first few steps. You see, how well and sexy all of us can dance. But it's a pity that Carrie only sat there watching us dance without joining us. We do hope that next time Carrie can also teach us some other America dance that she is good at. What a happy and unforgettable afternoon we have spent! This is also an interesting way of cultural exchange, right?

In the following picture, we were learning the hot Jazz from those young dancers in the video. You see, how seriously we were learning the dance.

Our Visit to Center Church on-the-green

On the morning of 27th of July, my other four roommates and I decided to go to watch church praying ceremony which we have long been expecting to see. We went to the center church on-the-green which is the first church of Christ in New Haven. We arrived there at 9:55 am, just five minutes ahead of the Sunday church ceremony time. Actually, the chapel on the green is a typical Gothic architecture, with a high three-layer tower-like pointed white roof, four big white columns supporting the front of it,which makes the building outstand among the rest of those nearby buildings. By the time we arrived, there had already been more than ten people sitting on the benches. Upon entering the chapel, we were welcomed by two people. One smiling old lady gave us a handout and the other old gentleman gestured us to sit on those benches. After we sat down quietly, I found the inside of the church is really splendid. A very large and magnificent glass pendant suspended from the middle of the round high blue ceiling. In less than five minutes after we sat down, one senior gentleman in a black Christian long gown and another senior lady in a white Christian long gown with a beautiful long green scarf around her neck declared the beginning of the praying ceremony. The whole ceremony lasted exactly one hour. During most of the time, the senior gentleman in black long gown read some chapters from the Bible. From time to time, the listeners read the prayer of confession together with him, or sing some songs with the a lady who sang beautifully. But we didn't see any lady singing on the spot, so we guessed the beautiful voice perhaps came from a recording played through an amplifier set on the second floor. Besides reading prayers of confession and singing those songs printed on a specialize song book, the people in the church also shook hands with each other while saying "Peace be with you". By the ending of the ceremony, we were encouraged to donate some money to the church with which, we were told, Christians in this church would maintain the chapel and give help to those needy Christians. 

The following picture shows part of the second floor of the chapel. And that is where the recording of those beautiful songs came from.

The hardback blue book in the following picture is the song book in which there are more than 500 songs. One of the hard back brown books is Holy Bible, and the other one is The New Century Hymn.

Our Trip to Southport

At 1:00 pm, we gathered in front of Yale Gym. Today, we would go to Southport to buy some low-price books with our respected instructor Carrie. On the school bus, Carrie told me that this kind of booksale is only once in a year in Connecticut. And she also told me that the prices of the books sold there vary just from one dollar to three dollars, and some of them are just 50 cents. She further explained that the prices of the books are so low is just because some American people donate many books to Southport Library, and the library sells some of the donated books in order to keep running the library with the money they get from selling these books. Some of the books are entirely new, but maybe some of them are second-handed and may have notes made by their original owners. Anyway, there are many good books sold there. We are so lucky since this kind of thing only happens once in a thousand years. After taking the school bus for about 40 minutes , we arrived at the destination. what we first saw were several big tents put up on a big lawn. And in those big tents, there were a lot of books displayed on many tables and a lot of people were looking for their favorite books. But before we went to buy books, Carrie suggested that if we were willing to, we might go hiking round the nearby community for 20 minutes since there are many beautiful and even luxurious houses worth appreciating. It was quite true. In the nearby community, we saw a lot beautiful houses and private gardens which belong to those extremely rich Americans who account for 10% of the richest Americans. We also saw a large golf course just across the river and a lot of yachts berthing in the dock which leads directly to sea. How lavishly these rich Americans live. In the rich and beautiful community, we also saw a beautiful church called Trinity. After about 20 minutes' hiking in the richest community, we went into those tents and found all kinds of books such as cooking books, music books, CDs, DVDs,bestsellers, children's books, teenagers' books, education books,etc. There must be thousands of them. We also found that the books there are really good, useful and cheap. But it is really hard for us to carry many books home since they are too heavy and the price for posting them back to china may be several times higher than their original price. So from many books I like I chose only five not too heavy but useful books. Altogether they cost only $6.50. In the following picture, the two books are about how to write a research paper. I chose them because they are very useful for the elective course "Academic Writing" which I will teach my students in their fourth semester. Either  of them is just $1. One has only 160 pages, and the other has only 64 pages.

The two books in the following picture are about how to make public speech. The book on the left is entitled Guide to Public Speaking, while the one on the right is entitled Preparing Effective Oral Presentations. I think both of them are quite useful for the optional course “Public Speech" which I will teach my students in their fourth semester. The first book cost me $3 and it has 552 pages. The second one cost just $1 and it has only 86 pages.

The last book I bought is entitled Ingenious Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Actually I found the book from the game books for children. But in the game book, I found there are many interesting games that we can play in Listening and Speaking classes, especially when students are tired or feel bored in classes. We can play some of the interesting games to cheer them up. So I bought it which cost only 50 cents and which has only 95 pages. Now you see, what a meaningful and interesting day I have spent!

Our Trip to N.Y. City

At 9:45 am yesterday morning all of us gathered round Yale Gym. Do you know where we were going? Yes, today we'll go to one of the biggest and most prosperous cities in America--N.Y.City. After taking our beef or chicken sandwiches we ordered from Yale, we got on the bus with our beloved instructor Siggy. After almost 2 hours' bus drive, we finally arrived at one of the ferries of Hudson River in N.Y.City. At almost 12:30 pm, all the teachers and students boarded on the big boat which has two floors and which can hold about 300 people, among whom I found three most peculiar people. One is an senior woman who must be in her 90's, because I found that there were deep wrinkles all over her faces, her neck and her limbs and that she hobbled along to one of the windows of the cabin, leaning on the backs of those chairs and almost fell down. The other two were a disabled couple. The two arms of the wife are only of 1/5 of the normal arms. The arms of the husband are the same case as the wife's. What's even worse, his legs are of only 1/3 of the normal legs. Enjoying the outside beautiful view, the couple talked and smiled and took photos with their leftover arms. How I admired these three strong-minded people and their optimistic attitude towards life. Though I was impressed by the outside beautiful scenery including the world famous scenic spot--the Statue of Liberty, what struck and moved me most that day was those three strong-minded and optimistic people.  

The boat trip on the Hudson River lasted for about 2 and a half hour which was much longer than we expected and necessary for we originally planned to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But after we got off the boat, we found it was almost half past 3. So Clara,Jane and I decided to go to the Empire State building which is quite near the assembly point Yale told us. After walking very fast for almost 40 minutes, we finally arrived at our destination. To our amazement, there were so many people there. And we queued up in a winding long line and waited for our turn to take the elevator for almost 45 minutes. We were very much worried because we might miss the school bus which was supposed to leave at 6:30 pm. So we even climbed the steep stairs for six floors when the elevator came to stop at the 80th floor on which there was a souvenir store. When we arrived at the 86th floor, it was almost 5:15 pm. Though the view high up on the building is very terrific and break-taking,we had no time to enjoy it for a long time. We just walked quickly around the Observatory Deck, glancing hurriedly at the downward view without distinguishing where the famous Brooklyn Bridge is, where the Statue of Liberty is, and just took several pictures among crowds of people. We just stayed on the Observatory Deck for 15 minutes and hurried down, first by climbing down stairs to the 80th floor and then by taking the elevator to the first floor. After we went out of the Empire State Building, it was almost 5:50. We asked the woman receptionist standing outside the building how far away our assembly point was. To our great relief, She told us it was only 15 minutes walk. We have enough time to go there. If we had known that earlier, we should have stayed on the Observatory  Deck for longer,instead of just 15 minutes after such long and boring waiting. Anyway, we have been to the most famous place and went up to the 86th floor. If you take a look at the following beautiful picture, you'll know all our efforts are worthwhile.     

On our way to the assembly point, we went past the famous Grand Central Terminal. It's said that many shots in many famous films were taken just in here. But it's a big shame, we had no time to go in and enjoy the magnificent building. We decided to go there again next weekend by train. 

My First Experience of Contacting with American Police

On the morning of 22nd of July, when Richy mentioned we might hire a car and drive ourselves when we travel in the west of America, I suddenly realized I hadn't seen my driver's license for some days. I went to check my backpack immediately. But unfortunately, I didn't found it in it. I racked my brains and remembered I might lost it in Victoria Secret Store in Westfield Mall because I took it out and showed my ID card which was inserted into the little plastic handbook holding my driver's license to the salesgirl that day. So I decided to go to the store at once. I asked Richy to ask absence leave from Siggy for me that morning. Then I went out to catch O bus. After waiting at the bus stop near our rented apartment for nearly 50 minutes, I finally caught one 05 bus. And after taking the bus for nearly an hour, I finally got to Westfield Mall. I ran to the famous women's underwear store and asked the manager if she had seen my lost credentials. The manager unlocked the drawer which they use to keep lost things. But to my great disappointment, she said she didn't find my lost credentials. So I had to go back since I had to attend the afternoon seminar. After another another hour's bus drive, I came back to my apartment at almost 12:45 pm. I had my lunch in a hurry and went to attend the afternoon seminar. After the seminar, on my way to our apartment, I decided to report my situation to Yale police because the Yale police Department is quite near our apartment. I went into the police department, and a police woman came out and she invited me into an information room in which I reported my situation to her. After learning my situation, she immediately called the Westfield police station to see if any one had reported any lost to it. But no one reported any lost. She then took out her small memo and wrote down my personal information and my present trouble. And she told me if my credentials turn up in any of the police station, she might inform me. At last, she wrote down the phone numbers of Victoria Secret Store and Westfield police station on a small piece of paper, and also gave me her personal name card. She told me that I could call either of the numbers and I could also call her or email her about my lost credentials. I later found that he kind and patient police woman is called Grace Schenkle. Thank you Grace! No matter I could find my lost credentials or nor, I should thank you for your patience and conscientiousness.  

                            

The following picture is the information room in Yale Police Department in which I reported my situation to Grace. 

In the following picture, one piece of paper is the telephone numbers Grace wrote me and the other is the name card Grace gave me in case I might need to contact her. 

Our Visit to The Mark Twain House & Museum

On the afternoon of 19th of July,  Yale University organized us to pay a visit to The Mark Twain House & Museum. At 12:45 pm, the school bus started off from the university gym. After almost an hour's bus drive, we arrived at the destination.  After we got off the bus, we found there was a large lawn and an elegantly-build red villa was up on a small hill.  And not far from the villa, there was another building, which must be the museum.  Led by our teacher Carrie, we first went into the museum. The museum guide told us that, opened in 2003, The Mark Twain Museum Center offers guests an opportunity to learn more about Mark Twain, his family, the historic house, and the author's legacy, and that the museum is composed of the Aetna Gallery with a permanent exhibition on Twain's life and work, a rotating exhibition hall, the Hartford Financial Services Theatre, showing a Ken Burns mini-documentary on Twain, classroom space,  the lecture hall-style Lincoln Financial Auditorium, and The Mark Twain Store, etc. Moreover, we learned from the guide  that The Mark Twain House & Museum is a National Historic Landmark in Hartford, Connecticut, and it was once the home of America's greatest author, Samuel Clemens ( Mark Twain) and his family from 1874 to 1891. It is also where Twain lived when he wrote his most important works, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Prince and The Pauper and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. A stunning example of Picturesque Gothic architecture, etc. After the general introduction of the Mark Twain House & Museum, the guide then showed us around the above mentioned red villa. To our great surprise, Mark Twain, his wife Olivia Clemens and their three daughters  lived a very lavish life in the 25-room home which features a dramatic grand hall, a lush glass conservatory, a grand library and the handsome billiard room where Twain wrote his famous books. They lived here lavishly and happily for 17 years. It was what Mark Twain would later call the happiest and most productive years of his life in their Hartford home. 

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The following picture shows just one corner of the elegantly-built house, which later due to financial problems, the Clemenses were forced to sell to others in 1903.

Since we were not allowed to take pictures either in the house or the museum, I had to take a picture with the vivid statute of Mark Twain which was made up of thousands of small colorful plastic blocks. Awesome, right?

A Meaningful Afternoon

At 12:45 pm on 18th of July, all of the 15 Chinese teachers and some students from Siggy's Listening and Speaking class along with our two enthusiastic and respected teachers Siggy and Carrie gathered in front of Yale gym to catch the school bus to go outing.  We were very excited because we were going to spend a very meaning and interesting afternoon. Firstly, after about 50 minutes drive, we came to a very beautiful beach whose name I don't know. Though it was a little bit hot that afternoon, seeing the clean blue sky and endless and peaceful sea, we didn't feel the scorching heat at all. We ran frantically to the beach, and some of us even rolled up their trousers to their thighs (Look at Sunny in the picture) and took off their shoes (Look at me) and rushed into the shallow sea water. A lot of people were sitting or lying on the beach taking sunbath leisurely. Some kids and theirs parents were swimming in the sea or splashing sea water happily. What a pity I didn't bring my bathing suit. Otherwise I would have a swim in the endless and beautiful sea. So we just walked on the sand or in the shallow sea water and made all kinds of gestures taking a lot pictures. Anyway, we enjoy ourselves quite a lot. 

               

Standing in the shallow sea water, I was so excited and happy. Look at the beautiful blue sky in the distance and the endless peaceful sea! Fabulous, right?

After staying on the beach for half an hour, we got on the bus for our next destination--the Peters Memorial Woods. On the bus, we were told that we may be luck enough to see some animals such as deer, bears or even boars in the woods only if we keep quiet when walking in the woods. Led by the two teachers, we went into the woods with a lot of curiosities and excitement, hoping we might really be luck enough to come across a deer or even a bear, never a boar. Walking in the woods, we found there were so many not too big trees, a clean brook and even a small wooden bridge. The air in the woods is really fresh with a lot oxygen. It is really a big natural oxygen-bar.

Walking quietly in the woods for about 15 to 20 minutes, we looked here and there with a lot interest to see if we could be the luck guys to see one or two animals. But to our disappointment, we were not the luck people. We didn't see any animals at all. What a shame! Anyway, hiking in such a beautiful and quiet place is a really pleasant thing.

Though we didn't see any animals in the woods, the next thing we did that afternoon really made all of us cheer up. Carrie invited us to visit her house which is quite near the woods. After about 10 minutes drive, we came to Carrie's house. Seen from the outside, the house is a little bit old. It is a two-story house. After walking inside, we found it is a really tidy, cozy and even romantic-looking living place. We just visited the first floor. On the first floor, there is a tidy medium-sized kitchen which is on the left side right after you go into the house,a sitting room with sofas, coaches,a tea-table,a fireplace,an rocking chair and even a small goldfish bowl. On the first floor, there is also a bathroom. Looking at the following picture. Carrie smiled a broad smile. You can well imagine how happy Carrie was when so many of us visited her house.

 What really struck us was the big courtyard in the back of the house. I think it must has the size of more than half of a football court. Really big, ha?  The courtyard is all surrounded by fences. In the courtyard, there are several big old trees. Between two of the big trees, there hung a hammock. And under the shade of the two trees, there are several arm chairs and a table. You can well imagine how comfortable, romantic, leisure and carefree Carrie must be when on one of the fine mornings or afternoons, she lies in the hammock reading novels or sits in one of the arm chairs with her family members listening to music and taking snacks. In the big courtyard, we even found a little place on which some vegetables such as pumpkins, tomatoes and some unknown vegetables are growing. What's more, there is a small rectangular house in which there is a big long table and some chairs are surrounded the table. On the table, there are some candles. Carrie told us when some friends or relatives come to visit them, she would entertain them in this small house. What a place!