Two months in Ghana

I was in Ghana, a West African country, for volunteer work. Everything there was so amazing, which is so different from China and also the USA. 

Everyone born in Ghana is an extraordinary dancer. The original source of contemporary hip hop is from the traditional dance of Ghana, the Azonton.

They danced on the Final meeting at the end of the semester

In the festival

  

In the party

Even in the funeral!!! They did enjoy every moment in their lives!

Then when it comes to the food, though it couldn't be comparative to Chinese food, it is better than the junk food. =P

Fish, onion, tomatoes were taking a bath together! lol

[FUFU!] It was the name of it. 

And also, Africa is famous for wild animals! But sadly, I haven't found any elephants there!

Just..

An elephant footprint

But there were still several interesting animals!

The real crocodile! They fed it a chicken before we could pull its tail!
Do you think I'm brave enough? NO!
I was terribly afraid, on the contrary, my friend just regarded the crocodile as a seat.

OMG!

Ostrich

These were really fantastic memories, which would never be diminished in my life time.

I love the students there, I miss them.
They are so curious about the world but they don't have the resources such as computers in their home.

And also, I worked in WAAF (West Afirca AIDS Foundation). If you are interested about what I they do, there's a short movie I made.

How time flies! One year has already passed but I still can recall the enthusiasm in Ghana, that's the very country which can be regraded as "no judge and no discrimination."

Bye! See you! Goodbye!

The final day is coming and eventually it will be the time to say goodbye. In one month, we have experienced so much including the cities, foods and the friends from all around the world.

In these 7 weeks, we went through expectation, curiosity, and also sorrow and anxiety. The first opinion I would like to share with you is about COMPETITION between China and the USA.
There were so many different examples which surprised me a lot. For instance, the scavenger hunt which didn't have any prize for the winner group, though we tried every means to be the winner. In addition, the game in Siggy's class was that when Siggy read a story about "Mr right and Mrs right" and we passed candies to the person on the right or left when we heard these two words. However it turned out the owner of the candies depended on when the story ended. For a Chinese student, it's too strange to understand these rules, because we are used to believe that the winner should be the one who beats others and also gains marvelous awards.
And also, there's no score or any tags like BEST WORK here. The teachers all regard every piece of work as an unique style and they tell the reason behind their comments.

Another idea that impresses me most is "Do not regard a strange thing as 'Strange', whereas you should ask 'why it's strange to you'." This summer I have the chance to confront so many different cultures. Although I was still uncomfortable when a guy I just met a few seconds before hugged me when he was saying goodbye. I understand that act is to show kindness and let others know that they enjoy the conversation. Another interesting thing was that I made my Indian friend pinky-swear that we would go to Boston together. She laughed out loud and told me that in India this gesture meant " We are not friend any more."
This idea also reminds me of a wonderful sentence from a movie.

I think we can't go around
measuring our goodness
by what we don't do.
By what we deny ourselves,
what we resist and who we exclude.

I think we've got
to measure goodness
by what we embrace
what we create
and who we include.

For me, the sea I think is the best symbolization for these words. At the edge of the sea, it combines with the sky. Beneath the peaceful sea surface are the unseen waves producing.

Thank you, this summer, you also have told me that through desperation you can still find the lighthouse inside your heart and the immortal green light sparking at the border of the sea and sky.    

[FICTION] Porcelain Doll

It was already 10 PM. She stood at the Bund, near the bus terminal station. She should have caught the last bus one hour ago, fortunately the bus driver told her there would be an extra bus arranged for her.

Then the bus came. She got on the bus, and there was no one else besides the driver. The bus moved, but went in the opposite direction. The response she got from the driver was “You will see.” She was enshrouded in pitchy darkness gradually. Everything seemed to be wrong.

Eventually, the bus arrived at a courtyard surrounded by the bars. She left the bus, entered the courtyard but no one was there except an old woman wearing a pointy hat. The woman was only 4 feet high, dressed like a witch and started walking towards her with the stick. “It has been a long time since we met last time.” The woman spoke slowly in a deep trembling tone, “Now, let’s go.”

She had no clue about what was going on but followed the woman. What emerged before her eyes was a tiny wooden thatched cabin. The door was so low that she had to bow to get into the room. Inside, the tiny room was decorated elaborately; there was a cute droplight with a warm orange light and shelves around the walls. The strangest thing was there were so many pictures ornamented by delicate golden frames which were all of her family, including her parents, aunts , uncles, and even her brothers and their wives, but there was a special face missing and that was her husband.

The old woman stood over her and patted her shoulder softly. She gave her a large white paper with a picture that only occupied a quarter of it. It was a lovely porcelain doll with sparkling black eyes and a little blush on its cheek. “It looks pretty, doesn’t it?” The woman stepped away. “And now, imagine how ugly it could be.”

She tried to do that and concentrated on the photo. Nothing changed, only the red color on its cheek disappeared, and then another photo showed up beside the first one. On that one, the face of the china doll was terribly pale, and there was no smile anymore.

“Do not stop imagining, young lady!” 

Then, the third picture emerged. Some cracks and a weird smile appeared on the face, and the eyes became no longer bright. What you could observe was only endless darkness.

A few seconds later, another picture flashed out. This time, it was worms inching from the cracks, and covering the doll’s face. Some of them crept up to the eyes and then fell down on the shabby skirt of the doll. It was so nasty.

Disgusting.

She was frightened and scared of the picture she imagined. The old lady suddenly held her tightly, waved away all the pictures and whispered,” Imagine the beauty of it, right now!”

A glary light came through, then when she just saw a vague figure of the doll, her sight was blocked by a wrinkled hand. Now she could see nothing, though still could she feel the breath on her right side, and heard every single word from the woman.

“Whatever you have imagined, now will come true.”

She woke up, finding herself leaning against the ward bed. Her left hand was held by the man lying on the bed, and his eyes staring at her were fully filled with tenderness. Here was the man she loved, who had been dying for 3 months.

“Finally, finally, I can see your smile in my life again.”

Boston and New York

New York, regarded as the world center, and known as the place where you can realize your dream and ambition. People come here, holding the expectation to be extraordinary. Here is the desire to pursue the sparkling opportunities just like the Spanish longing for the golden trail.

Each glass window reflects the opposing office buildings, decorating the city into a giant Jungle made of the concrete. Every inch of the land here was rationalized perfectly; the streets are named by numbers, the park used to relax is settled in the central. The efficiency is the first concern here.   

This photo was taken near Times Square. Everywhere was filled with the Advertisement. The people were in the costume of famous cartoon characters. They came, tightly held you, seemed willing to pose for photograph with you.

What you could not imagine was that under these smiling cute cartoon masks, were such greedy bloodless faces. They grasped you and asked you for money, 10 dollars for one shot. 

But, in that city you can still find so many spiritual events such as the operas on Broadway, the museums and libraries.

NYC is such a place that contains what you appreciate but also makes you feel sick of.

However, Boston is totally different from NYC. It's my favorite city, quite calm and peaceful. This is the city surrounded by the vast sea, with the mew gulls flying. The edge of the sea seemed to be connected with the sky. I could hardly use the words to describe how beautiful it was.

The wider road and the classic architecture which all make the difference. For me, It was a combination of the modern and an 18th century European city.   How wonderful life was when I was in Boston! 

And here, in Boston, you can find so many talented people though they are buskers. It's interesting that such a phenomenon would never happen in NYC, because I think everyone in NYC including a vistor seems so busy, and we wouldn't even spend a second on such a "common" performance. On the contrary, Boston has a slower pace than NYC's which allows us to enjoy every moment with these interesting people. 

"Drumming"

I love every inch of land in Boston, since it's the very place for people to settle down and enjoy themselves instead of rushing every moment to gain a so-called "meaningful life." 

A sight in MIT

Back to the hotel within the sunset

My dear libraries in the USA

From my perspective, a library is such a holy place, and it does share some similarities with the church. They both embrace people who come from  different races and tremendously different backgrounds. But, here is the distinction; church implies a faith in god while a library reveals the precious intelligence and knowledge conveyed by the great ideologists and scientists.

That is the reason why I love libraries so much. For now, in the USA, I have already visited 9 libraries among 3 cities. However, some of them I haven't explored comprehensively since they were not open to the public.

But still, the library impressed me most was Yale Sterling Memorial Library. The most significant reason was that the collection of books here really shocked me. The original books, besides English, were in the languages of Arabic, Russian, Japanese and even Chinese. These kinds of resources could never be imagined in my university.

over 10 floors of the collection

My familiar Chinese character

The study room

In addition, I would like to talk about the "museum library", Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. A yale student I met in the Yale farm told me that she entered into the library to search for rare books last semester because of a literature course. The books have been standing there for hundreds of years. They grow older with their faded yellow paper, but never die. The way they watch me is just like a grandma caressing an infant baby. In addition, this is another reason why I think the library is as holy as the church.

Another library I've explored in Yale is the Bass Library. It's a convenient place for students to study but not as gorgeous as the former libraries.

Just standing there can make you feel the great spirits.

When it comes to the most magnificent library I have ever been in, it is the Boston Public Library. Though there were two Boston Public Libraries on my Google map, the one I've visited is opposite the Trinity Church. 

Boston Public Library

There were two sculptures which reminded me of the motto of Yale "Same Veritas. More Lux." Inside, It looked like an exhibition in the metropolitan museum.

The study room on the first floor which is more gorgeous than the Sterling, I think.

The library also provided a courtyard in the center for readers and travelers to relax. (Though the sculpture there also appeared in the Metropolitan Museum a week ago. )

In Boston, there are two world famous university -- Harvard and MIT. For me, to see if the university really attracts and amazes me is to check out the library.

So I figure out that in MIT, the labs are countless, meanwhile the libraries are not so attractive as others.

The student can choose a comfortable sofa beside the window, and then you can observe the sea opposing the library.

The design of the Art & Music department Library in MIT

What made me sad was I couldn't enter the Harvard Library. =( 

Maybe I should be a stalker to follow Harvard students.

Harvard Library

Then, It comes to NYC. My feeling about NYC is complicated. Though the city is run by the bloodless capital, there are still many spiritual events.

The first picture as following is the hall in Morgan library museum. The sunlight came through the window, the glasses lifted up to refract it, and those wonderful colors were left on the ground just beside the musicians.  

Afterwards, what emerged before my eyes was the extraordinary Morgan's personal library. How I wish I could have a quarter of it in my future! 

A shot of the corner

In addition to all that, I went to the New York Public Library on Maddison Ave. Though it was not the library Carrie recommended, I was surprised that I found the book I was eager to read for a long time, which just seemed like a destiny. 

My dearest book, how I wish I can borrow u back to my hometown

At last, the most pitiful thing was when I eventually found the main New York Public Library, it was already 5:01 PM, and the library on Sunday closed at 5:00 PM." I just stood in front of you, but I would not have the chance to know you, my dear friend." 

So, this weekend, I will go there and observe my last friend I haven't met in NYC.

 -- New York Public Library! I'm coming! =)

The attachment

One month before I came to the USA, I was struggling with my final exam. One afternoon, right after my last class of the semester, I received a phone call from my mum. She spoke in a higher tone, though it sounds unperturbed.

“Hey, what are you doing now?”

“Preparing for the exam, what’s up?”

“You father was in an operation, and you’d better come to see him, I mean, if you are free this afternoon.” She slowed down herevery word in a controlled pace.

“Why?!  He’s a surgeon; it’s so common for him to perform an operation.”

“What I mean is, your father was operated on by others! The bones on his back are dislocated! And the operation was just finished. Now, do you understand me?”  Her  tone turned to be disturbing.

“What? Oh my god! How could that happen? Tell me where the ward is, I’m coming right now!”

It was my first time to see my dad lying on the ward bed, and gradually a big smile came to his pale face.

”Hey, you’re so fast. No class?”

“No class today, though tomorrow there will be an exam.”

“OK, then you had better go back to school soon.”

He didn't change the way he conveyed himself even in such a situation. 

The ward

There was sweat on his forehead, and sometimes he knitted his brow, because of the stabbing pain from the wound. I believed that happiness could diminish the pain and sorrow, so I tried to find every means to make him laugh. I showed him my newly-bought fake glasses which only had a frame, without eyeglasses; I told him that our teacher used an example of her son to criticize the social phenomenon; I read him some jokes on the Internet just like what he did  when I got fever.

“You know, when I was a little girl, every time the jokes you read made you laugh, but made me fall asleep. Because the jokes you chose were too hard for a little girl to understand. Fortunately, I am now a good joke reader.”

Silently he smiled.

“Thank you.”

The book my dad used to read for me

The feeling when my dad said "Thank you"

A sight of my bedroom

The wooden furniture in my small bedroom stays in harmony with the walls, painted in light green, which makes me feel like I am living in the middle of a forest. My wooden wardrobes stand in the corner, with its own natural patterns—the annual rings on it. Every night in my childhood, I would just lie on my bed, staring at the various shapes of the annual rings, because they usually aroused my imagination. In my fantasy, the closet doors could open by themselves, and then invite me in. In order to finish my adventure in this wonderland which would emerge behind my wardrobes after midnight, I was asked to choose one pattern on the door which would become a true weapon, such as an axe, sword, shield, and even nunchakus.  Strangest thing was a few years later "The Chronicles Of Narnia" appeared on the screen.

Then wooden wardrobes with some sticker on it that I put on at age 9 

Opposite the wardrobes is my lovely balcony. When I was in junior high, I usually hid there by standing behind the curtain till my mum found me. Only from here can I feel the heat conveyed by the sunlight in the winter, the sweet smell from osmanthus in the autumn, and the whole process of sunset in the summer.  

The sunset in Shanghai

 

A shot from my balcony