Coming Winter Break

Thanksgiving is around the corner. So, that means winter break is coming soon. I hope to see snow before winter break because I only have seen snow three times in my life. It rarely snows in my hometown because it is located in Southwestern China. And it definitely will never ever snow in Florida.
I will go back home during the winter break. I am so excited about it, even I know I need to obey the rules in my home. I don't know why my parents and grandparents always think I am still like a little child, maybe because I am the only child. They protect me very well, but also limit me. I only feel I am treated as an adult in America, the country of freedom. Anyway, I still like stay at home. I love to eat rice noodles. It is the most famous food in my hometown, Yunnan. It looks like noodles, but it's not made by wheat, but by rice. I think it is the most delicious food in the world.

I also love to see the seagulls in my hometown. They come from Siberia, Russia, and fly to my hometwon every winter. People feed them with bread and take pictures with them during that time.

By the way, my hometown is called "Spring City" by Chinese people, because it is always warm like spring there. It is a really beautiful place. I think it is a place where you can forget the time and yourself. I am learning photography recently. I hope I can travel around my hometwon and take good pictures during the winter break.

No Title

I really don't have a specific topic to write. I dicide to write some random things in my mind. You will find these things have nothing relate to each other. So, it is really hard for me to write a title for this blog. Well, never mind.

I found a really interesting thing. I have a nickname!! Why I say it is interesting? Because many Americans cannot pronounce my name correctly, so when they call my name they will be really careful. Some of my American friends and schoolmates even try to avoid to call my name, because it is embarrassed when people call their friend's name wrong. My American friends usually call me "ee-lin" or "ren." The person who gave me a nickname is Proffesor Sanders. I don't know if I heard wrong, but I heard he calls me "Yil". It sounds like "ill", but anyway, I am happy to have a nickname. But I still want to change it. You can call me "lin", if you want. :)

The second thing is I broke my "how fast I can be" record this morning. I went to bed really late yesterday, so I slept over this morning. I had a class at 11 am. When I got up, it was already 10:32. I rushed to brushed my teeth and got ready for class. When I left my dorm (Cochrane) in a hurry and ran to D2, I realized I left my cell phone on my bed. So I rushed back to get my cell phone and rushed to library to print out my homework. Computers in library are really super super slow, by the way. And when I ran into my classroom in Torgerson, it was only 10:55. Ha ha. I feel I can go to Olympic Games in 2016!

The last thing is I found an answer for the question my Geography Proffesor asked in our class. That is, what is your place in this world? The Earth will not stop rotating without anyone, but I want this world can be a little bit different because of me. I am no one now, but I will be someone.

Chinese Ghost Holidays

Today is Halloween!! Yeah!!
But I am not going to talk about Halloween. Instead, I am going to talk about the "Chinese Halloween," the Ghost Holidays (or Ghost Festivals, I am not really sure about the translation).
There are four Ghost Holidays in China. One is in April. Others are in March, July, and October in lunar year.
The first one is on March 3rd in lunar year. It is not a nationwide Ghost Holiday. Only people from Southeastern China celebrate it. People believe ghosts will come to human world at that night, so, they set off firecrackers in front of their houses to scare the ghosts away.
The second one is on April 4th. We call it Qingming Festival. It is a national Festival. We go to cemeteries to visit our departed family members or friends. An interesting thing is we use paper to make spirit money and golds, and burn them. So, our departed family members and friends can receive them.

Here are two versions of spirit money. First is used by Chinese in America, and the second is the regular one used by Chinese people. The "person" on the spirit money is Yama, the king of Hell in China, just like Hades in the western world.
The third Ghost Holiday is July 15th in lunar year. We call it Zhongyuan Festival. People believe the gate of Hell will open on that day. So we think July in lunar year is an unlucky month. People usually make lotus-lanterns on this day, and put them on rivers. If the lanterns do not sink into the river, then the person who put this lantern will be lucky.

The last one is October 1st in lunar year. Chinese worship their ancestors on this day. People write their words down on a piece of special paper, and burn it. So, the ancestors can receive their words.
Most of Chinese are familiar with the first three festivals, but do not know the last one. Because of the globalization, many Chinese abandoned some ancient traditions and holidays. But, I think we should know our traditional holidays even though we do not celebrate them anymore.

It's So Hard to Get Into A New Culture

I don't know if I write my title correctly. I try to say "adjust to a new culture", but "adjust" is not enough to express my idea. What I mean by "get into" is adjusting super super well.
I am the best example to show how hard to get into a new culture. This is my third year in America. However, I am still a "Chinese" Chinese, not a "American" Chinese. My mom always asks me why I don't hang out with American friends. Well, I hang out with American friends sometimes, but I always find I have nothing to say. It's awkward. I try to be humor, but my American friends cannot understand my humorous. Sometimes, they suddenly begin to laugh, but I totally have no idea about what is so funny. We don't have many common topics to talk because of the culture differences.
Moreover, sometimes I just say something I should not say, or ask a question I should not ask to my American friends. Something is fine to say in China, but it is rude to say in America. For example, it is fine to say "if my teacher gives me two more papers to write, I will kill him or her" in China. Every Chinese can understand it's a joke. But if I say this in America, my teacher will call 911. Once, I said this to my American friend in my calculus class in high school. She was scared and told me never say this again seriously. I was so embarrassed.
OK, let's talk about one of the biggest topic for American people, football. Chinese don't play American football. I watched the football games in my high school, and I watched Superbowl, but, to be honest, I still have no idea about what is going on. I just cannot understand it. So, when my American friends talk about football, the only thing I can do is listening. Additionally, American people are party animals to me. I am not mean to be rude, but it is exactly how I feel. Most Chinese people don't go to parties much. We think the weekends are for families. We usually visit our grandparents during the weekends. When I lived with my host family during the last two years, I just could not stand they had parties almost every weekend till midnight.
It is so hard for me to become an "American" Chinese, as my mom wishes, but I promise I am trying.

Stop And Take A Break

This was a really beautiful dusk.
After a busy day, my roommate and I just finished our dinner in D2, and because of the amazing sunset and the view, we decided to go for a walk. We picked a random direction and just walked along the side way. We did not know where we were going at all.
The sunshine made everything turned to gold. And here was the breeze. It felt gentle and soft. I could touch it, smell it, and even taste it. The yellow and red leaves overspread the side way, and they told us this was already the autumn. We passed several buildings, and we saw a small bridge stood over a limpid stream. Then, we followed the stream, and walked across a lawn. Surprisingly, we found that small cabin, which was hiding behind a small hill. It looked like the cabin in fairy tales. Many bushes and flowers grew around it. It was so mysterious. I was so excited. I just forgot all the annoying stuffs I had to do. It reminded me what my professor said in the morning class. He said: "I love lost on purpose, because I can find many inspirations. And it is the best way for me to take a break."

We all are living busy lives in colleges. We rush to across the campus for classes. We are too busy to have lunch and dinner. We are too busy to know what happens around us. We are too busy to take a break. Because of the busy lives, we ignore the "gifts" that lives give to us. Many of us didn't know there were white blossoms around the Burruss Hall few weeks ago. Many of us don't know which direction is east, and which is west. I think we should hold our paces a little bit to take a break. Then we will find many interesting and awesome things exist really close to us. Maybe, then, we will find the answers of the questions stuck in our minds, or find some inspirations.

Cartoons Are Not Only for Children

I got a phone call yesterday. It was from my mom. When she asked me what I was doing, I told her I was watching a cartoon. Then, she said: "Oh my God! How old are you?" I felt kind of angry, but I already decided I would not argue with her, and I would control my emotion. So, I just told her, cartoons are not only for children.
When other people laugh at me when I am watching cartoons, I always have this question in my mind: why cannot adults love cartoons? All the brilliant artists who produce those brilliant, interesting, and funny cartoons are adults. They can produce such good cartoons because they love their jobs. They love cartoons. They enjoy what they are doing. Those artists first produce cartoons for themselves, then for children.
Cartoons are actually a subject combined with high technology, good performance, and, the most important, good stories. Many people can spend several years to produce a good cartoon.
Watching cartoons is the best way to release stress and tension for me. When I am watching a cartoon, I just forget all the difficulties that I face. I don't need to think about anything. I can just lay back and enjoy. Additionally, as a prospective designer, cartoons can inspire me a lot. I always find many new and interesting ideas in cartoons.
I love cartoons! I just cannot live without cartoons!

Take Care of The Love We Received

Today is the Moon Festival in China. Moon Festival is at August 15th in lunar year. We believe this is the day that we can see the most round moon in a year. It is a festival for families to spend together, view the moon, and eat moon cakes.
I received a video call this morning when I just got up. It was form my parents. They said happy Moon Festival to me, and asked me if I had good time in college so far. Then, I talked to my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. They all sent their best wishes to me. I felt something warm flowed in my deep heart. I almost cried. I felt I was not alone, even though my family and I are thousands miles apart.
After the video call, I realized I just argued with my mom several days ago because she was keep talking to me when I was busy doing my homework. I felt regret. When we receive such unconditional love from our family members and friends, we think they suppose to love us, and we do not really take care of their love. We always shout at our parents and say they are annoying, but talk to other person, even a stranger, nicely. We always hurt the person who loves us.
So, we should cherish and take care of the love we received. It is such a priceless precious in our entire life.