April 2011 Issue

3 THE VISIONARY MONTHLY | APRIL.2011

CATSUP? CATCHCUP? KETCHUP!

vol.003

Introduction of each section (VISIONARY Vol.3 April, 2011): Column When you see someone again and again, you will remember the person; when you hear some voice again and again, you will hardly forget that voice ever since; when you read someone’s words again and again, you will be curious about this author and expect more from she or he. Column is where you have the opportunity to be seen again and again, and your voice to be heard again and again, and your words to be read again and again.

Now, I think you get the point…

Essay The most resilient thing in the world is not a parasite, not a virus or an insect, but a thought. Thoughts can provoke a stifled mind by posing sharp questions that may drill every cell of your brain to find their counterparts, and in the meantime, doing so in vain is not impossible. All of us have experiences the power of inception in the movies; now, here is your chance that enables you to implant your thought into other’s mind if you take them for granted. Now, get together your words, and be prepared for a war armed by thoughts and wills!

Review What can be reviewed here? The answer is: everything. If you end up your weekends by exclaiming the edifices and complexity of a film called “inception”, you are sure to be eager to share with someone holding the same impetus just as you do. If you cannot repress the motivation of pouring out your emotions and sentiments after your reading of a New York Times Bestseller, why don’t your set your mind free and transform them into words with concrete meaning and effectual token. When you finish all these work, we will do the rest for you. Your review will be reviewed by others and you can by then enjoy the collision of points and the sparks of wisdom!

Novel Novel? Are you kidding me? How can we high school students write decent novels, not to mention the college students who seem to be more capable of such doings? But Harry Potter walks out from a little café; Frankenstein was born when its author aged just 22; May the next worldshaken youth writer be you, and we believe in these possibility relentlessly. Then what about you?

My story What happens to you can be written down with a bunch of notebooks everyday, but few are noteworthy since you didn’t appreciate the embodiment of every tiny happening and coincidence.

Try to catch such moments in your life when story happens, and write them down because you now have so good a place to share your stories with others. With VISONARY, you now have nothing to worry but discover the loveliness of your life and enjoy your being leading so wonderful a life!

Abroad We address what drags your nerves, SAT? TOEFL? Not only these examinations stuff. Universities? Colleges? They are one of our targets. Study? Extracurricular activities? We provide you more useful information. Advices? Admonitions? We invite those who fail or succeed to teach you how to avoid unnecessary mistakes and thus embrace approachable success!

Photo gallery Where word loses its magic, image makes its way.

Editor-in-chief Yu Cao

Monthly

April.2011

CONTENTS COLUMN

Catsup? Catchup? Ketchup! 6 Economics of Individuals 8 RMB vs Dollar 10 Senior Advisor Gregory Robbins

POLISHED HOUSE

11 Let the memory fly

ABROAD

How to Lust After HER? 14 Senior Advisor Farzaan Kassam Advisors Shawnron Ju Lil Max Alive Xiao Editorial Da Ying Ina Yang Maggie Bi Cindy Xu Leo Chou Brian Zheng Design Director Andy Lee Design Editors Kimi Lo Art Editors Triffy Wu Administration Nicole Dingz.x.

Waiting Zhong

MY STORY 16 20 22 23 24

The Global Young Leaders Conference The world can hear our voices “Delighting you always” From Where to Where Love Experience

NOVEL

The Legend of Irving Echo's Bookstore 26

REVIEW

32 BOOK 1984 Book Review 34 MOVIE Hotel Rwanda 36 MUSIC I'm Here for Your Entertainment

PHOTO GALLERY Panda~ 42

COMIC 46 Visualization

Column

4 VISIONARY

November 2010 5

Column

by Dengyang “LilMax” Liu

Dengyang “LilMax” Liu Writing 5 - Section 21 Dartmouth College Dr. Mark Koch 03 October 2010

Europe by British sailors, came from “kôechiap”.

Catsup?Catchcup?

Ketchup!

"As both funny and unbelievable as it seems, the name “ketchup”(also spelled as catsup or catchup) actually came from a Chinese dialect!"

W

hat do French fries, hamburgers, hot dogs and chips have in common? You might say, “Well, they are all junk foods.” Then let me ask you, what is the brand name Heinz famous for? Now the answer is obvious. It is a must-have for restaurants all across North America, Ketchup! Whenever I have French fries, I just can’t help dip the fries gently into the ketchup, and let it sink in there, because I know the second I place them into my mouth after a round of ketchup bath my taste buds will be galvanized by the sweet and sour taste of that red stick sauce on that crisp fries. What an amazing flavor is it!

Oh, yum!

This lovely condiment, by some estimates, owned by 97% of US households and has become America's favorite accompaniment to the classic hamburger and fries. As often as we consume quite a good amount of ketchup in our daily life, do we really know what exactly is there in the ketchup sauce?

If we take a close look at the familiar Heinz ketchup bottle, these items will probably appear on the ingredient list on the label: tomato concentrate, vinegar, sweetener (corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup or sucrose), salt, spice and herb extracts (including celery), spice and garlic powder etc.

Sometimes clove, cinnamon and onion can also be included.

Essentially, ketchup sauce is a type of tomato sauce that has been widely used in

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North America and some other parts in the world. But why ketchup? As a non-native English speaker, when I first saw this name in a McDonald’s restaurant in China when I was 10 years old, I didn’t know it was an English word. It simply sounded different.

In mandarin Chinese, we always call it 番茄 酱 (fanqie jiang, literally “tomato sauce”).

Why is it named this way? Is it a word of German origin? This question reappears in my mind every time when I ate at fast-food restaurants such as KFC and McDonald’s and tantalized my curiosity.

catsup, was also prevalent at that time.

Author Eliza Acton used the term “walnut catsup” in her book Modern Cookery for Private Families published in 1845 in London. For reasons unknown, throughout the 19th century, the spelling “ketchup” was most common in Great Britain and the spelling “catsup” was most common in the United States. It is also not clear why ketchup in the past century has gradually become the dominant term in both countries with some still using catsup in the Southern parts of the US.

My query is eventually solved by Wikipedia, as I clicked on the entry of “ketchup” on my computer. I learned so many facts about my favorite condiments that I have never known. As both funny and unbelievable as it seems, the name “ketchup”(also spelled as catsup or catchup) actually came from a Chinese dialect! For all these years I have had ketchup, how could I never noticed this shocking fact?

As I mentioned, the word ketchup (no matter which spelling) entered the English language approximately in the late 17th century. Obviously, it is not an English word. So where was this word from before it made its way into English with British sailors back then as its medium? In fact, there have been several competing theories on the origin of this word brought forward by various etymologists in the recent years, and each of them made some sense.

The earliest mentioning of this word in the English language can be found in the book A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew published in 1690, which referred to “catchup” as a high East-India Sauce. In 1840s, people can find the use of ketchup in “Some lamb chops (breaded, with plenty of ketchup)” in the book Barnaby Rudge written by the world-renown writer Charles Dickens. It is interesting to note that, the other spelling,

In one commonly accepted theory, the word ketchup is said to have derived from a word in Amoy dialect from the Fujian region of coastal southern China: "kôe-chiap". In the Amoy dialect, it meant the brine of pickled fish, or shellfish, because the exact Chinese characters representing the word kôechiap are disputed. However, it is almost certain that the Malay word “kichap”, the Anglicized version of which was brought to

Alternatively, another popular theory called the Eggplant Theory provides us with interesting explanations on this topic as well. This theory states that the word "ketchup" derives from a Chinese word composed of two characters ( 茄汁 ), which means "eggplant sauce". The first character ( 茄 ), meaning "eggplant", is also the root for the word "tomato" ( 番 茄 in Mandarin and Cantonese). The second character ( 汁 ) means "juice" or "sauce". Pronunciations of this word might vary to certain degrees by region, but the similarity of the Cantonese pronunciation “Kezap” to the English "catsup" should be noticed. While the analysis from the linguistic side sounds indeed convincing, nevertheless, this theory is generally discredited, since citations of "ketchup" came out 200 years before tomatoes were used in ketchup.

intriguing topic to write an essay on…

Now that we have finally found out so much about ketchup that we did not know, it seems to me that the word “ketchup” suddenly gained a whole new significance.

I am not astounded to realize the existence of Banana ketchup, a popular Filipino condiment made from mashed banana, sugar, vinegar, and spices. They must be as savory as ketchup, I guess.

Since the ingredients used for ketchup have evolved through time, and it has gained international popularity in the past few decades, I would like to make a bold statement on behalf of all the ketchup-lovers in the world: soon enough, believe it or not, the word ketchup will become the name of whatever most popular condiment on earth!

A third theory called the European-Arabic theory also exists, yet less known by people. The American anthropologist E.N. Anderson claimed that ketchup is a cognate of the French escaveche, meaning "food in sauce" According to Mr. Anderson, the word also exists in Spanish and Portuguese as escabeche, "a sauce for pickling", which culinary historian Karen Hess traced back to Arabic iskebey, or "pickling with vinegar".

It is not sure which theory is more correct than any other. New evidences will continue to emerge from the dust of history and provide important information to etymologists and linguistic experts researching on this topic. On our part, if we paid close attention to these theories, we should have noticed another fact about ketchup, that is, the word ketchup were created long before tomatoes were involved in this entire “historical story”.

As suggested by the aforementioned theories, the original “ketchups” were either pickled fish, pickling with vinegar or something that has completely nothing to do with tomatoes. As a matter of fact, The Webster's Dictionary of 1913 defined "catchup" (or “ketchup”) as a "table sauce made from mushrooms, tomatoes, walnuts, etc. It will be hard to imagine, at least for me, to travel back in time and dip French fries in the ketchup sauce that was made from mushrooms, walnuts! Then the question is, did French fries even exist back in 1913? It seems like I have another

April 2011 7

Column

by ZZ What‘s up! My name is Ben and I am a senior 2 at Shenzhen Senior High School. I like economics a lot so I wrote this article on this economy of individuals. It demonstrates how the principles of economy can be applied to everyday life. In my spare time, I usually play play ping-pong or basketball. My ambition is to to study in one of the finest universities in the US and I'd love to share my thoughts

on studying abroad with you guys.

Feel free to contact me.

The Economics of Individuals "If given 100 ￥，should we spend that money on books or should we go watch a movie with our friends? "

A

lthough when we think of the word “economy”, words like money, finance, banks or Wall Street come popping up our heads, the discipline of economics is not directly concerned with money or politics or stock markets. Is it wise for us middle school students to invest 2 hours a day doing sports or should that student allocate that time into studying? If given 100￥，should we spend that money on books or should we go watch a movie with our friends? If it was 2 weeks prior to the final exam, what should we study and how should we study it. These are all questions concerning economics. As you can see, economy is quite general and ubiquitous in everyday life. Being individuals governed by the laws of economy, it is rather crucial for us to have an understanding of the economics around us, also known as the economics of individuals. Economics of individuals is simply the study of how an individual can allot his/her time and energy in an efficacious way so that maximum gain of personal aspirations can be achieved with the employment of minimum resources.

Before we go further on this concept, there are a few essential terms that must be

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acknowledged.

1. Utility The utility of an item is defined as the benefits of that item to a group or individual.

Utility is determined by the satisfaction rate the beneficiary receives. Note that utility is not absolute, but in fact susceptible to what is demanded and what is received. In short, it is relative to what the beneficiary requires.

For instance, Joey, a freshman at college is looking for an apartment near campus.

If the real estate offers him an apartment downtown, which is 10 miles off campus, it is highly plausible that Joey will reject this offer because the utility of the apartment is low relative to him. On the other hand, if Thomas, a busboy working at a restaurant in downtown is searching for an apartment as well, this one would be a decent candidate in that the apartment is close to where he works and therefore, is of high utility to him.

2. Opportunity Cost: Opportunity cost is what must be sacrificed in order to achieve something. Suppose a firm manufactures both computers and

clothes. The company, like all companies, has limited resources, whether it’s resources in labor, land or capital. In order to manufacture computers, resources ought to be allocated to production in that field.

It thereby needs to reduce resources in other fields. So to speak, when the firm is manufacturing computers, it is actually sacrificing its production of clothes. Thus, the opportunity cost of manufacturing computers is the loss in production of clothes.

The two terms are crucial in understanding economics of individuals, so be sure to keep them in mind. As mentioned previously, the study of economics of individuals is to help us achieve more or our personal goals while sacrificing less. In order to do so, an agenda is absolutely necessary. Forming an agenda or plan is considered as one of the most significant aspects in making achievements due to the fact that it acts like a road map and greatly benefits in organizing one’s thoughts.

The correct way of forming an agenda or plan is to use the two terms mentioned

above (utility & opportunity cost) as references. Only by doing so, are we to form a plan that is effective. We ought to start by asking ourselves what our goals for a period of time are. In other words, we need to consider what is worth high utility and what is worth low utility. After we have listed the objectives, it’s time to measure the opportunity cost it takes to achieve these goals. Often, if we wish to excel in our grades, the price that needs to be paid is the reduction of sleep and relaxation and if we want more sleep and relaxation, grades are usually sacrificed. So here we have the opportunity cost for having good grades the lack of sleep and relaxation and vice versa.

Having both analyzed the utility and cost of our goals, we now want to set a compromise between these two elements. Let me demonstrate how I personally do it. I’m a high school student who wants to be part of the society. I want to be involved and make a change for the better, so this is why I’m attending all sorts of extra curricular activities such as writing articles for campus magazines (including this one) and doing volunteer work. Though I wish to attend as

many extra curricular activities as possible, I am confined by the limited time and energy I have. You see, as a high school student, I am obliged to take a myriad of tests, including but not limited to the AP exams and SATII this May. The status quo is that I attain aspirations of being both an active student and a student with good grades, but with the limited resources I obtain and with the high opportunity costs of these goals, a compromise has to be made. In my opinion, activities are long term objectives that I can participate in all year round, but I have but one shot at the AP and SATII, so at present, the tests would be given precedence over the activities. However, if I dedicate too much of my time and energy to the tests, I would feel fatigued and stressed out, resulting in the decrease of efficiency. Thus, it is fair to say that I would sacrifice a great deal of resources on doing activities only to find out that I couldn’t use these resources efficiently. This means that the opportunity cost of taking tests would actually go up!

So we may infer that the more resources that I allot to taking tests, the higher the opportunity cost becomes. Since I wish to gain the maximum by sacrificing the

minimum, it wouldn’t be a good idea to consume too much of my resources on taking tests. Instead, the best way is to put taking tests as first priority while setting a balance between taking tests and doing activities.

In conclusion, the economics of individuals is concerned about how an individual gains maximum net profit. A proven effective way to do so is by making a plan or agenda concerning one’s personal targets and the price to pay using the concepts of “utility” and “opportunity costs” as references. Oh, one more thing. Be sure to actually follow your plan precisely.

Endnotes 1. Barron’s AP Microeconomics/Macroeconomics 3rd Edition

April 2011 9

Column

by Sizi Chen My name is Sizi Chen and I am from Guangdong Experimental High School. International Relations is always where my interest lies. I believe that many international conflicts are engendered by misunderstandings among cultures and can be avoided by promoting cultural understandings; e v e n s o m e t i m e s c o n f l i c t s a re inevitable because of conflicting interests of different countries, they

can be solved through peaceful means rather than violence. Having in mind such faith, I have been committed to promoting mutual understandings among cultures and people-to-people exchanges. In 2009, I studied in the USA as an exchange student for a year; I have been involved in Model UN for almost 2 years, meeting new friends from all over the world and learning new ways of thinking there;

and have interned in the Office of Foreign Affairs in Guangdong every summer since 2006, etc. In Visionary, I hope I can share my understandings of International Relations with people that have common interests with me, enhance people’s the awareness of cultural differences and of mutual understandings, and most importantly, spread my faith of solving conflicts in peaceful ways.

RMB vs Dollar

" Both countries should be cognizant that excessive expectation of appreciation of nominal exchange rate of RMB would not only hurt China, but also threaten the effectiveness of QE2."

R

ecently, one of the most important global issues has been the exchange rate of RMB (Chinese currency) against dollar. China and the U.S. are mutually dependent on each other and are the most influential countries to the global economy. Therefore, economic instability of either side or trade war between the two, would largely impair the economy of China and the U.S., as well as negatively affect the economy of the world and even engenders another economic crisis.

Currently, the U.S. attributes its economic problems, especially its unfavorable balance of trade with China and high unemployment rate, to the undervaluation of the RMB. However, in fact, unfavorable balance of American trade with China has no direct connection with the RMB exchange rate.

One counterexample is that, according to reliable statistics, from 2005 to 2008, RMB exchange rate against dollar appreciated 21.2%, while unfavorable balance of American trade with China increased instead of decreasing. Moreover, even if the RMB greatly appreciates 30%-40%, as some American politicians have been seeking for, the unfavorable balance of American trade would not necessarily be reduced; rather, it would be transferred from China to other low-cost countries, such as Vietnam and Cambodia. Furthermore, American should be aware that the unbalance of trade between China and the U.S. not only results 10 VISIONARY

from China’s export to America, but also from its own reasons, including America’s restriction on high-tech export to China.

On the other hand, to China, with the rapid increase of productivity as a result of more than 30 years of Reform and OpeningUp, it is certain that the RMB does need to be appreciated, but this appreciation should be referred to the real exchange rate rather than the nominal exchange rate.

Unfortunately, it seems that many American politicians confuse these two concepts.

They keep exerting pressure on the nominal exchange rate of RMB, which have boosted the expectation of RMB appreciation, and defend themselves that the appreciation of exchange rate of RMB would increase the purchasing power of RMB, stimulate China’s internal needs and contain inflation in China. Nevertheless, the fact is that pure appreciation of nominal exchange rate could do little to control inflation but rather the continuous high expectation of RMB appreciation would deteriorate inflation in China and thus weaken the purchasing power of RMB. What’s more, while the U.S. is exerting pressure on China, in the hope of reflating the American economy, the Federal Reserve announced to implement the QE2 policy in a very irresponsible manner. The super easy monetary policy of the U.S., along with increasing expectation of appreciation of RMB due to pressure exerted by the U.S., would stimulate large

influx of refugee capital into China, which would not only exacerbate inflation in China but also dilute the efforts of QE2 to alleviate deflation in the U.S. To solve the RMB currency issue, both China and the U.S. need to objectively analyze the current situation and express the difficulties they are encountering to each other through negotiation—China is facing inflation and the U.S. is suffering deflation.

Both countries should be cognizant that excessive expectation of appreciation of nominal exchange rate of RMB would not only hurt China, but also threaten the effectiveness of QE2. If objective enough, American politicians will realize that to a large extent the economic downturn of the U.S. should be attributed to its internal problems, such as low saving rate and failure to properly regulate the financial derivatives. Simultaneously, China should reform its currency system, open its market steadily, and internationalize the RMB gradually.

In fact, as long as China and the U.S. bear one principle in mind that China and the U.S. both gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, not only the RMB exchange rate issue, but also many other conflicts could be solved.

Polished House Words Speak He was a tiny, sliver of a man that always seemed to wear a smile on his face. He was a leading professor in my field of study; I was a young graduate student that thought I knew more than I actually did. He was patient and kind - a teacher. I was impatient and impulsive, an ignorant pupil. He understood the power of words that I am still only beginning to learn even after so many years have come and gone. After a particularly scathing written review (by me) of the work of a fellow student, this tiny little giant of a man pulled me to the side and offered to me what I offer to you now: “Take time to think through and measure what you say in life. Words speak. Words have the ability to inspire, motivate, uplift, empower and move we human beings. Words also have the ability to cut, bruise, belittle, harm and destroy too. Words speak. Since words speak, we must make sure that we take the time to think them through because once spoken or written for public review, words can never be taken back.”

It is important that when you write, the words you choose speak what you want to say. Start simple, and then step back to think about what you have written. Ask yourself, “Do these words really communicate what I want?” Have you chosen words that allow the reader to close his/her eyes and see the picture you have painted? Can they smell the smells, hear the sounds and have you moved them as a human being? Did the reader laugh or cry; sing or shout; understand pain and misery or triumph and joy? Words speak and so I offer this advice to you – make sure they always say what you want them to say by taking the time to work with them. Words speak – but they speak through you and you through them.

This new section of the magazine is an exercise in me looking at the words of a student and offering advice on how to say the same thing while expanding, contracting or choosing words that may offer a clearer, more distinct picture of what the author intended to communicate. I hope it helps you as you seek to improve your writing and make your words speak with power, beauty and clarity.

Greg Robbins Shenzhen Middle School

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Polished House

by Greg

Purpose or Main idea: Some things are worth the effort Narrative using analogy

Let the Memory Fly Let the memory fly I had already being sitting in front of my laptop for hours, “working” on iTunes. It was all because of my new iPod: once after I discovered most of my song files do not have album covers and lyrics attached and show on my iPod as a uniform blank sign of “music”, I made the decision to change that. Yet to work on over 300 pieces of song is no way a simple task. After hours of searching and compiling, I was finally convinced I had gone crazy.

Tired, yet I was determined to finish the job. Seemed that it was God who wanted me to have a rest, I somehow made a mistake when operating iTunes and the laptop started playing songs. It was “This world is yours”, a song in animation “Gintama”. Something seemed to have paralyzed my hands and blanked my brain. I was caught by the rhythm and some of my memories lying in sub-consciousness emerged to surface.

It was just like yesterday when Zhongkao was soon to come. It was a tough period when every day of my life was filled with preparation tests and homework. Though I was carrying great pressure and worried much if I could make my way to Shenzhong, I “launched” pretty many “entertainment programs” to make my time more pleasant. One of them was to watch “Gintama”. I did not watch it openly in front of my parents out of concern that they might worry about me, so I loaded them to my mp4 and watched them secretly before sleep. I still remember how excited I was when I turned on my mp4 player and sensation of everything else began to fade out of my world. It was the highlight in one day. The animation never failed to make me laugh. Covered under a quill, I sometimes burst out laughing and had to bury my head into pillow with the quill. It was always a little bit awkward when I laughed out so loud at the animation that Mom and Dad came into my room to switch on the light and questioned me: why aren’t you sleeping right now, it’s almost 12! Then I had to make promise that I would sleep very soon. What more depressing was that when I was just about to know how the story would develop, my mp4 went out of charge…

“Wake up.” I heard my mom’s voice. I rolled my eyes and finally realized that I had fallen asleep.

Hunched over in my room in the night, the light from my laptop my only friend, I slaved at my mission – finding artwork for my iTunes library. My quest began when I discovered that most of the songs in my iTunes library showed up in “coverflow” with blank album art and no lyrics. There was nothing to show the world, or me, my fabulous song selection. That bothered me, and I made a decision to change things. Therefore, I set out on my quest by making the decision to find the artwork for three hundred songs – no simple search and certainly not an easy task. After hours of searching and compiling, I was convinced I had gone nuts (crazy to everyone else).

I was tired but I was also determined to finish the job. Anything worth doing is worth doing well and is worth the effort to see it through to completion. With that philosophy in mind, it almost seemed as if I were in a struggle of wills – mine versus God. I wanted to work on and God wanted me to rest. At some point, I really don’t remember when, my laptop began to play the song, “This World is Yours,” an animated, “Gintama.” My hands felt as heavy as stones and my brain froze up like a computer hard-drive. It was the rhythm of the song seeping into my subconscious, wooing my memories to the surface.

Memory is a wonderful place to visit, but not this night as I had songs to match with album art. Working feverishly like this reminded me of my recent past when Zhongkao was on the horizon. Those days could best be described as grueling since they were filled with test preparation and homework from sun up until sun down. I had never worked as hard in my life. Added to the workload was the pressure that kept presenting itself to me in the form of a question, “Do you really think you can make it to Shenzhong?”

The question was never more than a whisper in my ear, but it haunted every waking day of my life as I studied for the exam. I found a release by finding my computer and entertaining myself with some of the programs on it. I enjoyed watching “Gintama” but never when my parents were around. After all, why invite more trouble and worry into my life? No, those mp4’s were only opened in the secrecy of my bedroom at night before dozing off to toss and turn until the next day. Sleep in those days came in fits and never seemed to be good. I still remember the excitement of finally finding the time to watch my beloved mp4’s. They were my salvation since they never failed to evoke a laugh – a quite one – while I was hidden beneath the quilt. The quilt became my friend, albeit a hot one, because it would muffle the sounds of my giggling and laughter at my favorite programs. Every so often, my new friend failed me as my dad and mom would hear my laughter and throw the door open saying, “What are you doing? It’s almost midnight and you have to get to sleep!” Usually these admonitions were followed with my contrite apologies and promises to fall on to sleep. What bothered me most was that the minutes spent trying to stay out of trouble with my folks cost me precious charge for my computer and almost as soon as I got back to my program, BLINK, off went my computer. No more mp4.

“Wake up,” I heard my mom say. I rolled my eyes realizing that reliving my memory of watching “Gintama” was actually a dream. I had been asleep for some time.

Apparently, God had won and I had lost, but I enjoyed the contest. After all, some things are worth the effort and so I sit back in front of my computer, connect to the Internet and go looking for album artwork again - let the memories fly!

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April 2011 13

Abroad How to Lust After HER? "Applying for universities is a long struggling way, many unknown and challenges are right there waiting for us each step we take to get access to colleges."

T

here is no doubt that a marriage, a relationship will be a turning point of a life. A partner will change the way one look, do and think forever. So does the college. The process of college application is just like a long way to make the one you love love you. Here in this short essay I would like to share some of my experience lusting after my own girl—a college. Hope this will at least make you guys more confident the moment when a year later you click the button “submit”.

Every boy and girl is unique, and of course no two relationships in this world are the same. What I would like to say here is there is no pattern or formula for applications. We learn from experiences rather than copy.

Something about Hardware Although no one forbids a loyal princess from falling in love with a farmer’s son, such love is seldom sweet or with a happy ending. So if the one you like has a high standard, it’s necessary to have some “hardware”. Such hardware is your academic performance like SAT, TOEFL and GPA. Shamefully I didn’t get satisfying SAT and TOEFL scores; SAT reading and TOEFL speaking are always my nightmare.

My feeling about standardized tests is vocabulary and practice are vital—and those are what I lack of.

In term of GPA, I believe that was the most

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significant thing I faced in my first two years. Hard working is essential to maintain a satisfying GPA, but there are still some tips to make this process easier so that we could spent more time and power on tests and activities. I got more than 4.8 in three years—high enough even in Competition System. And here are my techniques to save time under SMS’s system: 1 Remember getting a high GPA DOESN’T mean that you have to get really high SCORE in each test.

2 Figure out what GPA you want to get when applying for universities. Maintain your GPA higher than this one would be your goal for this term.

3 Before each term, I would calculate the LOWEST—so I would not get very pressed—GPA I have to get to achieve my goal. If you are able to take a longer-time view you can even allot GPA to each term to make terms you might be preparing for SAT easier for you. For example My goal is 4.8, but I only get 4.6 in my 8th term because I have tests in May, June and July, but I get more than 5.0 in the 6th and 7th terms.

4 The first week of each term, I would check each course and estimate the grade I might get. I would maintain those that are necessary for graduation, those I can easily get higher grade than my goal GPA and those I really like. It would be much better if you try to waive or stop courses that are time consuming or difficult.

5 I had never worked too hard on a course—I spent just enough time to achieve my plan: I would never work hard to get an A+ in math if I planned to get an A, or work for top 10 if I want only an A+ , but I would do my best in all final exams.

Hardware, like it sounds, is hard—it is hard because we have to painstakingly work for our goal to satisfy those each of us love; it is hard because it need stable foundation to support, few short cuts is available; it is hard because the moment we take tests, the result that would stick on our application form would be unchangeable.

Writing a Love Letter A love letter provides us a last chance to attract the one you like. The application essays do the same thing. Like what Inception has told us, an idea is more powerful than any other things in essay writing. You might come up with a brilliant way writing your essay when playing computer rather than having seriously thought about it for a whole week. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t have to prepare for essays. The preparation is not taking a week thinking how to write AFTER we get the topic or question, but what we have to do from now on.

There are many different kind of questions, some are ordinary, some weird. But think about the guy or girl you are lusting after: why does he/she ask you such questions? Of course he/she wants to know if you are the

kind of person he/she like. So I regard all questions as WHY questions, and find which part of my personality best fit the college’s sprit. But in terms of those actual WHY questions, I believe the universities not only want to know if you are the wanted one, but also want you to show how much you love it and why you love THE school.

So there is no doubt that the best understanding of both ourselves and universities would lead to more attractive essays. Since sophomore year I began to think about what activities or events I could write in my essays. I recalled those events as much as I could and got a note book to record them. This note book became my best resource in my application. I think I really get a deeper view of my abilities and personality by doing such things. And the other thing is school research. I didn’t spend much time on this—so as a result, I always struggle answering some WHY questions.

But Google helped me a lot in my school research: I have never Googled one single school one time, instead I put many similar school together and search for results. To me the best way to find the unique aspect of each school in limited time is comparison (Like when I was writing CMU’s WHY essay, I googled “CMU engineering VS MIT engineering).

By school research we would know what we are writing for. The next step I took is choosing good example from my resource. In most of my essays, I didn’t spend much writing about big activities; instead I believed everyday events could

more sincerely reflect what I was and what I wanted to be in long term. Many ignorable experiences in my life in fact exert great effect on me. Also I can avoid writing some activities that I had already written in activity forms. However, I am not indicating that daily events are better than big, systematical and influential activities; to me best items for an essay should be those are unique—either my position or the event itself should be unique—and those in which I could SINCERELY express my change, influence and personality.

I have done almost all that written above I saw essay questions—I know what should be in my essays even before I saw what an essay technically need. But knowing what to write is not enough, now in most essential thing placing in front of us is the IDEA— having bricks to build an application, we are to design the way combining those bricks together. I didn’t design essays in an application one by one, but I designed the application as a WHOLE. Of course there is no form for creative ideas, but I would assess all my ideas by following standards: 1 Each essay should express different aspect of my personality, but one personality should be emphasized—like mentioned in all essays—so that they wouldn’t seem to be completely separated when put together.

2 No event was repeated.

3 Some of events are relative to the institute I am applying for.

4 The way I combined each essay is at least not predicable—I myself don’t like to use a failure-to-success story as the main strain of an essay—and better if creative.

After I have finished my designs, I would write drafts and did literal adjustment like rhetorical expressions, narrating techniques, sentence combination, grammar and spelling. I believe by the help of your longtime practice and your responsible teachers, this should not be a difficult part.

Now the whole application is complete.

To sum up, what we should do for essays long before the actual “application season” is school research, self summarizing and thinking about what to write in essays; thus we can focus on designing and technique problems in a time-limited autumn.

Applying for universities is a long struggling way, many unknown and challenges are right there waiting for us each step we take to get access to colleges. As a not-quite-successful applicant who is still anxiously waiting for news from colleges I have applied for, I am writing this short article to you guys not providing some “secret for getting offers”; I just want to tell you guys how I do feel about the agony year that has just passed, the year that changed my destiny. Sincerely I do hope that you could know better about how to prepare for applications after reading this short article. Sincerely I do hope, that all of you will smile in front of computer screens the next April, receiving a sweet love story between you and a college.

April 2011 15

MY STORY

The Global Young Leaders Conference The Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) is a unique leadership development program that brings together outstanding young people from around the world to build critical leadership skills in a global context.

GYLC offers students the opportunity to learn from and exchange ideas with some of the world's top business leaders, policy officials, lobbyists, journalists, diplomats and academics in the challenging and dynamic environments of Washington, D.C. and New York City; or Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai.

16 VISIONARY

November 2010 17

My Story

T

he statement above is the official definition of GYLC, also a quick answer to the people who keep asking me: “What is GYLC? ” whenever I speak about it.

During my first summer vacation in high school, I attended the Global Young Leaders Conference in the States as a Chinese scholar and experienced a special 12-day journey with young people from the globe.

It was truly a convention of outstanding young people from around the world. The collection of domestic scholars from 50 states, scholars from small countries like Zimbabwe, Panama, Jamaica, Malaysia, Dubai or great powers like Britain, Germany, France, China, Spanish, even from countries I had never heard of, is a great demonstration of the GYLC’s most highlighted feature----scholar diversity. The point of having all kinds of scholars here in GYLC is to promote cultural exchange among them, which is also the ultimate aim of GYLC, as I reckon.

We were assigned to our roommates instead of selecting them; we were discouraged to always sit with the same person on the bus; we didn’t have a fixed dining table; we changed our seats for each group meeting; we even had a special activity called cultural exchange. Maybe these unwritten rules

18 VISIONARY

by Maggie Bi

sound perfectly easy for everyone. However, here we are talking about immature youths with different skin colors, different races. I was informed with all these special-designed regulations prior to my enrollment. Frankly speaking, I freaked out at once. To my biggest concern, the disparity lies between eastern and western cultures is an inevitable obstacle for me to tackle. How terrifying it would be to socialize with dozens of “different” people by speaking English? I was attempting to visualize every possibility of embarrassment in my mind throughout my eighteen hours of flight. However, it all turned out to be fallacies.

I had three roommates in total: two in Washington D.C, one in New York City.

They were from New York City, Panama and England, respectively.

The girl from New York, Diana, has the oddest combination of races. She is black with evident Asian looking. The answer to such a rare appearance is that her mother is Korean while her father is black. She asked me on the first day we met “Do you guys have dance parties in China?” I thought it for a while and answered with a little awkwardness “No.” Then I added instantly “We do go to karaoke though.” I was trying to make it up by another fashion

of recreation. Her face showed a bit of disdain, and then said: “You Chinese people are really serious.” I had nothing to say at that moment since her conclusion was an undeniable fact, I just laughed over it. I do hope her impression on Chinese people altered after our short staying together.

it was her out-going personality that brought her such popularity. Almost every night after 11pm, there were Spanish-speaking boys calling our room and looking for her.

The consequence of this case, albeit rather hilarious, was that I finally remembered the Spanish saying of greeting is “Hola”.

The Panamanian girl, Ana, speaks Spanish natively, but also has an extraordinary fluency in English. She came with other ten friends and all of them are white. It was the first time that I knew a big portion of the population in South America is white people and Panamanians speak two languages simultaneously. She screamed out my name every time she saw me. She asked me tons of questions about China.

She talked about Panama with a gleam in her eyes. My Chinese first name is Yunjie, which always bothers foreigners since no one can pronounce it correctly.

Every time I introduce myself to others, I would automatically add my English name Maggie. At the time I told Ana my English name, she got confused and asked me “Did your parents give you English name?” It was not the first time I encountered the same question, and so I said, “No, we chose by ourselves.” She then exclaimed “Oh my god! It’s so cute you Chinese people get to make up your own English names!” I guess

As for the British girl, Isabel, she is the most logic and calmest foreign teenage girl I have ever met. I lived with her for almost one week. Unfortunately, I had a bad cold and lost my voice utterly. Recalling it now, it was too bad that I was not able to talk to her in the first four days. Instead, I got to be a good listener. Due to her father’s special

vocation, her family moved a lot. Actually, she lived in New York City around our dorm for twelve years. About three years ago, she then moved to England. “That’s why I don’t hold a British accent.” That was her explanation for her American English.

She is good at sarcastic jokes, does not like dance parties at all, hates spending too much time in dressing, likes going to karaoke with friends, goes to bed as early as possible, speaks fast, loves mimicking people, thinks critically. These traits normally do not belong to a foreign teenage girl, do they?

She is like the opposite side of the common notion of what foreign girls are like in our people’s minds.

However, that is where the merit of GYLC lies. It gave me a priceless opportunity to feel what it is like to interact with people from all over the globe. Therefore, I regard the GYLC journey as a nearly real simulation of my future college life. I would highly recommend it to those high school students who are planning to apply for American universities. Moreover, you can gain a bonus----improvement in English accent.

"The point of having all kinds of scholars here in GYLC is to promote cultural exchange among them, which is also the ultimate aim of GYLC, as I reckon. "

April 2011 19

My Story

by Jennifer Liao

“Y

ou gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” With this unique enlightenment, I spent a wonderful summer time in Global Young Leaders Conference.

Throughout the twelve-day journey, I engaged in meaningful dialogues with real leaders from the international community who were implementing changes and influenced policies; I gained a precious leadership experience by participating in educational simulations that were designed to challenge me and provide opportunities to further develop my leadership skills; I met young leaders from across the world which represented various backgrounds and built up profound friendships with those cute guys. I was curious about everyday life in Washington D.C. and New York City because they seemed to be brand new for a Chinese urban girl like me, and fortunately, she overcame her fears and maladjustments in order to acquire leadership experiences and international friendship.

The World can Hear our Voices "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

20 VISIONARY

Undoubtedly, it was such an intense program. Challenges were spread everywhere, especially for non-Englishspeaking students. I had to role-played diplomats in specially-designed simulations; I had to attend “coalition building” which activity including brainstorming and information feedback; I had to analyze the dispute through the World Trade Organization in order to explore the complexities of world trade; I had to create a possible resolution given our country’s interests and capabilities to confront a crisis that threatens to disrupt regional political stability; I had to read the document of “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” which was proclaimed by General Assembly resolution in 1948——This is it, but you can not imagine how hard it would be.

At the first two days, I was so scared and abashed because of the superior difficulty.

On one hand, I cannot be absorbed in reading the large quantity of contexts; on the other hand, I cannot get into the mainstream social circle of my group. That would be the most discomforting time of my life—— the real dread is that——it seems that you

are in a small, dark cell, you acknowledge the reality, but you will never know how lengthy the situation will be.

However, things got better after my struggle.

I nearly became “a Chinese nerdy”—— I was overwhelmed by reading and taking notes, but in fact, it worked at last. I was able to comprehend other students’ views and disapproved with them; I was able to communicate with my faculty advisor and exchange my ideas with her; I was able to discuss and debate the issue in an international security council meeting and simply analyze alternative solutions from an international perspective with my fellows; I was able to try my best to be an active participant. Actually, a comprehensive preparation helped me take part in measuring affecting trade in large civil aircraft and formulate the resolutions of Cyprus that involves the unresolved conflict.

I recognized that it was the testament to me as a leader, for sure; it made me feel on top of the world. The activity encourages me to make the self-recognition objectively and be bold to make changes. It is the merit of GYLC. Furthermore, the professional speaking events were worth closing scrutiny as well. Those speakers all played a great role in their own fields, and they had simply expounded their theories that can advance international developments. For instance, Mr. Jay Dhru, head of the Global Financial Institutions Group for Standard Poor’s, stated clearly that he headed a number of teams responsible for rating large complex insurance groups in order to analysis of capital markets transactions such as insurance securitizations and funding agreements; Mr. Alec Ross, the senior advisor for innovation in the Office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had shown that he co-founded One Economy with three colleagues which was a global nonprofit that uses innovative approaches to deliver the power of technology and information about education, jobs, health care and other vital issues to lowincome people. Through listening to those authoritative speeches, I have constructed a brand new worldview and altered some

of my narrow perspectives. It is what the activity granted to me——the opportunities to approach those world-class personalities and learned their logical decisions by communicating with them on-the-scene.

Despite of the academic proportion, we had plenty of times to dance, to play creative games, to make friends, to arrange picnic; as a matter of fact, we came here just to have fun with those guys. Everything stayed in that big photo forever, but it is obvious that nobody will forget about any details.

We were the idlest guys——we got up at 7 o’clock in the freezing, messy room which was filled with dirty shirts, computers, books, perfumes and contact lens; then we would hastily brush our teeth, make up and be jealous of other’s slender legs; everybody shouted “where’s my name tag?” “Where’s my handbook?” and spun around in the room. Surely, we would succeed in arriving cafeteria in time, if the lousy hair could be ignored. When we had a meeting in our LGM rooms, we had played “Mafia” for two hours after the academic discussion; our tag is “Beasttttt!!!!” and everybody roared out with an emphatic gasp; everybody joined in the chorus with the song “Your love is my drug” by Ke$ha when we had the Global Summit in actual United Nation’s gigantic meeting room which was so amazing! Can you even fancy? We make America become active and rocking!

These twelve days had be the experience of a lifetime. The tense schedule, simulations, plenary events, group meetings and obsessed parties are all designed to give me countless opportunities to acquire skills and harvest in my leadership potential. “A leader is a dealer in hope”, I strongly believe that, the responsibility and courage are what we have to foster. Due to the significant purpose, I recommend the Global Young Leadership Conference to every student who is ambitious and bold to take the risk and become a successful teenager. The journey will be perfect if everyone who has been to GYLC can continue to focus on leadership long after these twelve days conclude, so will I.

April 2011 21

My Story

by Kenny Sui-Fung Yim

"Delighting you always" COMMENTS For me and my classmates around, Hong Kong is a paradise both for shopping and for testing. However, what is it really like living and working in Hong Kong? Can we delight ourselves in such a busy city? If yes, how? Kenny offered us a answer and explanation.

by Fuxing Zhou

Kenny Sui-Fung Yim studied English Literature and Psychology at Williams College. He taught in Shenzhen Middle School for half a year. Now he is working in Hong Kong.

Y

ou don’t have to be in Hong Kong long to know that it is just a giant shopping center on an island. And no commodity is more plentiful than labor.

So how do you really make it here - survive and thrive in a world where there’s so much pressure to buy, to compete, to have this, to be that? Where and how do you fit in?

I will let the city answer for itself. There is an advertisement painted all along the corridors of the MTR station nearest to my office – and it reads simply – “Delighting you always”. Over time, everyone fluctuates, and settles into a minimum threshold ability to be delighted. Usually, the threshold starts quite low – very easy to be delighted. Then gradually, as the world piles up images on our memories, pushing and pulling us through the same hallways of the world, that bar to make us feel delighted - it flies higher and higher.

22 VISIONARY

As that bar ascends, so does the work it takes for people to reach it. If you are really living (and that is a big if), the difficulty of life wears you down, and your energy to invest in striving for delight is depleted.

Again, if you are living, and working hard, and constantly pushing against your limits, you will experience moments when you cannot risk delight.

To be truly successful in this hyperactive world is to be able to step back from the chaos, the demands on you, and to seek delight. Delight is shy, elusive, and will only reveal itself to those are vulnerable and open to it. It can happen as you’re sitting on a ferry, and admiring the ingenuity of the inventor who created seatbacks that can slide back and forth, to accommodate views for people going from either direction. Or it can happen, when you burst into song as you sit at a café eating lunch. Delight can show up as a stranger taps you on the

shoulder to return a dropped personal item.

And it can hide behind someone’s casual encouragement that you are valued.

Delight will translate into creativity, innovation; trust in oneself, and appreciation of the world’s complexities. In college, you will have plentiful opportunities to show delight - so eat them up hungrily! It will be harder to find them outside of college, but as we are all master-mistresses of our own fate, remember to keep all of your senses ready to be delighted and to assert your delight in the face of myriad opposition. You will find that delight is all around us.

by Lawrence Wu

From Where to Where? " There are always journeys waiting to be undertaken, whereby a lot is going to be lost and gained."

S

itting on a rock, looking a little bit wistfully out of the picture; his eyes, unproportionally large compared to a sallow face, the boy stares firmly and accusingly at anyone who takes up the picture, as if he will start to weep at any moment for the distress of being laid eyes on.

I found the picture when I sifted through bundles of albums, immersed by pangs of nostalgia. Yeah, that unlovely little boy in the picture bore my name. However, I do not know him since I have literarily no idea what thoughts were floating and exploding in his little head, like chemical reaction in a little test tube; absolutely no clue about where the picture was taken and who shot it; I do not even know the date of the picture. I look at the picture and I know I was there; I was that person, yet it is so hard to recall the distant ambiance and obscure character that the picture is struggling to preserve. They have been lost to oblivion.

Christmas Eve was my birthday. I came home late, being so weary that I did not have appetite for my birthday cake. We lit the candle, sang my birthday song and the cake was sent into refrigerator. I could not remember anything after the shower. The next day I got up, only to find that the cake had already gone bad.

The thing I find standing between me and my goal – that keeps me constantly thriving and sort of lights me up – is absolutely less in intensity than the ordeal, but it is just staying there all the time, haunting me all day long. It is a mist, a kind of obscurity in which I find myself trapped. I have positively no idea where I am heading to, and I always keep myself asking, “What do you want to do? What is your dream?”

This was exactly the same question I faced the night I mourned my lost fourteen. I still remember that night; my mom hung some Christmas stockings in my room that contained some birthday presents. After the light was off, the neon lamps from the building next to our house dimly lit my room. The stockings instantly mingled with the dark wall, leaving only hazy contours – and they seem so real to me even today. It is almost a shock to me that time flows and flees so quickly, even deftly, from my hands stretching out futilely to stop it.

Eleven years ago, our family slowly made its way out of the hick town in which I was born. Cities I lived in, schools I was once familiar with, faces I once talked to… all slipping by like a fickle, rotating slideshow.

I remember our family’s sun-lit, capacious house in the city I was born. That house used to consist of the universe to my little mind – all I could see, all I could hear and all that could make me laugh or cry came from the trivial, nondescript life happened everyday in that place. There were other people who lived together with my father and me – my grandparents, some cousins, and other remote relatives. Life was a fuss at that time. Every morning I woke up, perturbed by bursts of boisterous laughter, and toddled to my grandma for something – or rather, anything – to eat. My grandfather was sitting aside my breakfast table with a hint of smirk on his face. To my back, my father was passionately waving his hands at the television (presumably a football match), with a batch of cousins sitting alongside copying his gestures and enthusiasm. Mom was out of sight; she was far from us in Guangzhou. She sometimes came back to see me, but I had little idea that we would soon leave for Guangzhou and join her – only me and my father. The big house was going to be sold; my grandparents heading

back to their hometown, a small, selfsufficient village where my grandpa died.

I do not know where those cousins went, most likely some towns I never set foot on.

Scenes and settings shifted swiftly after that.

All of a sudden, we were in a huge, aloof city and on our own. The experience was like drifting on a raft in a vast, boundless ocean from which there is no escape. I was inundated by row after row of grey concrete buildings and strangers that flooded the street. It was a maze to me how my parents managed to maintain their composure when deprived of everything familiar in such a violent change. We kept moving to different places, kept selling our homes whenever we should move to our next destination. I cannot remember any of my friends at that time, if there were any. When I was 7 years old we moved to Shenzhen, a city that we have stayed in for 10 years since then, a city where only a least sense of intimacy and familiarity is felt, a city where we do not recognize as home. On paper, we are still residents of Guangzhou. Within 2 years, I will be leaving for America, this time, alone.

There are always journeys waiting to be undertaken, whereby a lot is going to be lost and gained. Whenever I look at the picture, I look straight into the boy’s eyes, only to find that there is something strange and remote in them that I am no longer able to recognize. The journey has changed him so much that I am not he anymore. I know I will have exactly the same feeling a few years later when I look at photos taken now. I will not be the same person. The recognition of the distance between one’s past and present is a token of progress, also where the significance of journeys lies.

April 2011 23

My Story

by Matthew Gao

As

a single senior student, I have once suffered a terrible love affair. (Please forgive my calling it a love experience. It is the first time I wanted to love a girl, but just wanted to.)After accepting the request of a friend of mine, I would like to talk about my feeling about it.

It was terrible.

A great deal of my friends who are in the courtship told me I have lost by remaining as I am. However, I stick at staying alone.

I cannot say that the quarrels of couples made any great effe upon me, or had much the tendency to strengthen me in those antisocial resolutions, which I took up long ago with more substantial considerations. What oftenest offends me is an error of quite a different description---- they are so much in love. They do not even think about the sinking of the single when they see it.

Love Experience —

look,upon that poor and broken bankrupt there "Once upon a time, when my former girl showed me the photo she took with her current boyfriend, I felt like it was the end of the day."

24 VISIONARY

Once upon a time, when my former girl showed me the photo she took with her current boyfriend, I felt like it was the end of the day. Not too much into each other neither: that does not explain my meaning.

Besides, why should that offend me? The very act of separating themselves from the rest of the world, to have the fuller enjoyment of each other's world, implies that they prefer one another to the world.

What I complain of is that they carry this preference so publicly, they perk it up in the faces of us singletons so shamelessly that you cannot be in their company for even a moment without being made to feel, by some indirect hint or open avowal, that you are not the object of this preference. Now there are some things that give no offence, while implied or taken for granted merely; but expressed, there is much offence in them. I think it also does upon us.

From the photo, I found the happiness from their smiles just like the one in our last photo. Just as little right have a couple to tell me by speeches, and looks that are

scarce less plain than speeches, that I am not the happy man, the girl's choice. It is enough that I know I am not: I do not want this perpetual reminding. Sometimes the display of superior knowledge or riches may be made sufficiently mortifying; but these admit of a palliative. But the display of loved happiness has none of these palliatives: it is throughout pure, unrecompensed, unmerited insult.

Nothing to me is more distasteful than that entire complacency and satisfaction which beam in the countenances of a new-loved couple, -- in that of the girl particularly: it tells you, that her lot is disposed of in this world: that you can have no hopes of her.

It is true. I have none, either the wishes perhaps. But this is one of those truths which ought, as I said before, to be taken for granted, not to expressed out unprotected.

The excessive airs, which those people give themselves, founded on the ignorance of us unmarried people, would be more offensive if they were less irrational. We will allow them to understand the mysteries belonging to their own craft better than we who have not had the happiness to be made free of the company: but their arrogance is not content within these limits. If a single person presumes to offer his opinion in their presence, though upon the most indifferent subject, he is immediately silenced as an incompetent person. Nay, after deserting the loved, a boy (or a girl; to me it’s a girl) , when talk about his(her)former lover, even stay with a sneer!!!!!OMG

should be the time for resolution. Mentally, most of us compile formidable lists of “how to end” as the goals of this year.

The same old favorites recur year by year with monotonous regularity. The Mr.Right could hardly find his way to you I guess.

We determined to find the right one, while the resolution makes you lose the chance to find out who they are. Past experience has taught us that certain accomplishments are beyond attainment. If we remain in the single state, it is only because we have so often experience the frustration that results from heartbroken. Most of us fail in our effort on dating because our schemes are too ambitious and we never have time to realize them. We also make the fundamental error of announcing our resolutions to everybody so that we look even more foolish when we slip back into our bad old ways. So, just keep your secret and do the things you want to. You can soon dig out your desires of heart . By the way, I hope all the people who have fallen in love are and would always be lovers after seeing my tragedy.

It is a night for Bachelor Party. Say farewell to the past.

Good night

I do not want to argue, but I cannot get my emotion under my control. The most thing I want to say---love is valuable, please do not play trick on it, especially on a person like me. Okay, I am talking about the dizzy thing. With one or other of these dizzy ideas are no mean to hit you.

It is a new year after the broken. Some singles hope to experience a crush flicker even it maybe an absurd experience. It

April 2011 25

NOVEL The Legend of Echo Irving’s Bookstore Chapter 1, The Confession of Ernest Chou

W

ritten from the first page of an unclaimed diary that has been sitting alone in one lof the shelves belonging to a bookstore named “Echo Irving’s Bookstore” is a cluster of words. From its initial appearance, people tend to deem it as a self-introduction, but for whom these confessions is made remains to be mysterious ever since the diary has been in a place called “here”.

My name is Ernest Chou; I am a senior three high school student in China. Well, I hope it is friendship that we can make; you will not leak my confession to anyone, right? Ah, I incline to take that for granted since the enchanting stories and countless emotions I held hitherto suffice me to trust the bondage between us. People used to be hypocritical while dealing with creatures surrounding, but I hate these fake faces and twisted emotions although I have to meet my teacher, Mrs. Too everyday. I want someone who can listen to me

26 VISIONARY

with sincerity, so I choose you, my dear Diary.

Well, we should have probably chosen each other. Do you forget that? When I was buying my diary at the store, you winked at me! I felt so excited, cause I know you are the one I belong to, and you are the one that I’m destined to get. All the way back home I felt your excitement as well, were you expecting your new home? Why were you breathing so quickly? Your beating heart told me your eagerness to see my home, of course your home from then on. I will make you a comfortable bed and warm quit. Do you want a light? So you can reply my questions when I went out for school. Oh, how jealous I felt towards you! You don’t have to attend classes, and either the frequent exams or flying chalk nuts are of any concern to you. So you would better be hard working, answering my every question before I came back. Then I can reply to you before I go to bed after

screw up my homework.

I know you are listening to me. I can feel your eyes staring at me, don’t be afraid, we will be really good friends cause I really need one. People in school told me that I’m insane because I always squatted to talk with leaves or self-talking for half an hour. But they will never understand that what I’m trying to do is to confess, not to those people with feigned expression and distortion in their inner world but to something that can listen to me without adding any human hypocrisy, and I can always get feedback from them although I know everybody else can hear nothing but my own words. I can hear them talking to me, faintly but explicitly, answering my questions from the bottom of their hearts. They will mourn with me when I get depressed; they will not mock at me when I lost my competitions; they will show me the strength of mine instead of telling me everything is fine. So gradually I take this for granted that I’m the only person who can communicate with nature, without any so called scientific perspective or philosophical ideology but just my voice, penetrating the very surface of nature to arouse the voice inside a stone, a tree or a Diary.

The reason that I became indifferent towards this world and the people around me is because I’m always the one who got haunted and confused. I have a group of friends, but finding no reason I myself automatically sifted the merriment, and thus bad ones remained. I never felt revengeful towards anyone because nothing can be changed by self-sacrifices and sacrifices by others, although I don’t believe in God but I do think there is a judge existed, everything should be judged without bias and fakeness, people should seek reasons in themselves and set themselves free from burdens and fetters. The conscience is buried under the very bottom of everybody’s heart, but not all the people provide the

seed of conscience with adequate water or sunlight, which are set by the person in whom the seek buried. Those who intend to ignore the summon of faithfulness, candidness, sincerity, honesty, kindness are never to be the subject of my tiniest concern, to whom I may concern, I worry for them the choices available facing the bifurcations of their life, I wish them good because I want no one to be hurt or discarded, I always try to be their listeners and friends who is always willing to lent my hands when they are in need. But when I decided to help, Mrs. Too would always be standing there with both hands clenching a Five-Three exercise book, which is quite popular in China, yielding out: “Ernest, you should have no thought other than Gaokao! Now, this is the moment of your life, you should have perceived the significance of it!” Well, being allergic to Mrs. Too’s twisted face that is just like a piece of paper after soaking and foundering in the water, I would always choose to quench my thought and go back trying to wriggle out of the unbearable heaviness of the pressure of study.

It’s de facto a formidable path towards the final breakthrough signifying by the end of Gaokao, the national college entrance examination. Think about it, every year along with all the students from the most populous country in the world, we are fighting for a ticket that would bring us into the college, the certificate of diploma, and namely the future of Chinese students. How miserable! How unfair! The rigidity of the system has been reprobated for a time long enough for it to be fixed, but backing up by the claim that due to the large amount of students being concerned, the reform should be cautious and holistic, which means time-consuming. Every student groans and wails, dreaming a dream like Stephen Dedalus for whom seeking his own understanding of the arts abroad became the result eventually. But how many of us can escape the sole bridge orientating to the door of release, harassed by the cliffs and gorges

April 2011 27

Novel

standing mercilessly along the bridge. There is no one to bequeath us a magic flute, and the sword is nevermore erecting fearlessly upwards while glimmering with silvery courage.

These were what I thought of my fate before, but I have changed my mindset to cater to the torrent of reality when I pried about the demoniac raven yelling out the destiny of all these struggles. We can choose either to take it or not, but without taking it to where would your future lead?

Quoth one of my friend: “No vanity fair but desolation and deprivation of happiness and hope.” The time and pressure whetted my edges, swarmed my ridges and make me haggard, pallid and no more energetic. How I wish I could possess a time machine, so that I can eschew the society by flying into another era; how I wish I could be invisible, so that I can live a life without being harnessed by the regime; how I wish I could be a robot, feeling no pain or anger, idling about waiting to be thrown into the waste bin when my power is depleted. Am I being too pessimistic? Oh, somehow I agree, but I insist on it reasoning more plausible than first being full of hope and later all been disappointed by a ruthless beast guarding the reality.

People around me consider that I’m indifferent to everything and everyone except these dead stones and papers, but what they are ignorant are the fact that I have been watching, listening and observing this world with my eyes, ears and heart. I will keep everything in you, my dear Diary, you will be the most trustworthy accompany I’ve ever met. I can hear you whispering in agreement with me, right? Yes, we shall share our secrets although I know nothing about your secret at this moment, but I understand that more time and collaborations are indispensable to build a strong relationship between us. So I will gradually win your trust and I will always be expecting your confession to me, my dear Diary.

Although sometimes I got frivolous and mad on nothing, but I will

28 VISIONARY

try to compensate the damage caused by my personality. I guess that’s my own way to release myself, because people all have their unique way to release themselves and build inside again a balanced world that outraged equals delighted. Sincerely, I will do every possible mean to not to get on my nerves concerning our relationship, always regarding our meet as one of the most precious gift given by fate, I will treasure our friendship and let us be happy but not annoyance or madness. But please, please always be patient with me, we will understand each other better as time progresses, and we will reach privities based not on lease or service but on our intimacy and acquaintance.

Just like what I have been talking all the time, I worry about those people whom I thought worth my agony and indulgence, but not the least self-sacrifices or sacrifices by others. I should have been welcomed or befriended at least in the scope of these people whom I worried and cared, you might have been desiring to ask me this question. But actually I usually do not dare to unveil my concern to them, namely I was born with a inclination to think and observe behind the dark, even if the people I care was undergoing tribulation or disturbance, driven by a unfathomable force I kept watching and thinking without unleashing my emotions, thus resulted a heart crammed with thoughts and worries decaying, fermenting and inflating until it became no more bearable for me to continue enlarge my little body, I got to release. So I got mad with everything that comes into my sight even if they are things but not living creatures because I can hear them breathing, don’t you remember? I felt inert to confess to a person because this interaction between human being harasses me all the time, mom used to say I might have infantile autism, but I never at this moment, or in the last seventeen years have even the faintest doubt on my uniqueness and health. I can sense things people are incapable of feeling, I can communicate with nature although I hate being exposed to human beings, there is no requirement for a person to choose the minimum time interacting with human creatures, are there? So why some people cast doubts

on my characteristics rather than leaving me alone and enjoy my a-little-bit-different life? My dear Diary I’m more than certain that you will be the most faithful listener in the future, will you?

Oh, nearly forget to mention my sister, Christina. Sometimes it became the only hope to keep me going that I’ve got so nice a sister. I have to make myself believe in a belief because Christina seems to me everything when I got frustrated or depressed; she is like an angel, showing me the every step that was invisible before her showing up. She has a pair of bright eyes, always getting you captivated by an ineffable charisma; her hair curled along with her face so perfectly that I once took her as an angel appeared suddenly in front of me, feeling nothing but stillness, I guess I will certainly fall in love with her if she were not my sister by the connections lied in the blood floating inside our veins. When I confronted embarrassments or troubles, for instance, I had to conceal my concerns for a certain person in order to make those machines operating my physical functions perform, there will never be another person to whom I would like to confess other than Christina, my little angel. She always carries her smiling face warmth that influence everyone who even get merely a glimpse of her. I can’t imagine my life without her; probably it will be a mess I guess, so I always try to remind her that I love her more than I can say with literary stuff or audible tools, all things used by her pursuers. Oh dear Diary, I found words so useless and weak in front of love and affection, what would my life become if she were not my siblings but a normal girl in the neighborhood. Under this prerequisite I would like to assume my chance of getting opening up anything positive but zero. She motivates me, supports me, takes care of me and gives me strength to face my faults valiantly. She is everything to me, I can lose everything except her, my dear Diary, she is so important to me that I will treasure her a life long time, I promise.

But however refined my personality appears to be, I still believe in some adjustments possible in the future, because sometimes I did felt

miserable facing the people I cared suffering, I heard their shrieking everywhere, they are pleading me to help them, but my body was in war with my mind. This paralyzing argument will last for as long as the suffering person yields. I tried to against these devil causing all the agony and catastrophe, kill the king and his mother, eliminate the unnamed dragon but I am no Beowulf and the sword is no more venomous.

So excited to have a place to confess all these, I felt more comfortable now, thanks for your loyal accompany. I got tired, so I will go to bed now.

I hope you will reply tonight! So I can show you to my classmates, may they trust my claims and clairvoyance then!

Good good night, my dearest Diary.

To be continued…

April 2011 29

REVIEW

Review · Book

B

1984

BOOK REVIEW

A

by Chuling Jiang

T

he plots in 1984 were lack of excitement, and the love between Julia and Smith was without any foundation but based on their shared aim of doing something reactionary. Orwell’s style was also fully covered by a cue of black, much different from that of the other authors in the same era. Still, a variety of readers appreciated this great novel.

Maybe that was because the essence of 1984 was not among any of the scenes, but in his grand narrative of the book – THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF OLIGARCHICAL COLLECTIVISM

by Emanuel Goldstein. In other words, Orwell’s balance of writing was usually on the side of ideology rather than the side of rhetoric. All the character and all the plots were set to virtualize the book’s political core – the alarm of the wherever-possible dictatorship.

eing one in the list of ‘the 100 books most worth reading in history’, 1984, which initially named as The Last Man in Europe, was finished in 1948 as the last book of George Orwell, who was famous for Animal Farm. Orwell described that he was born in a “lower-upper-middle class”(The Road to Wigan Pier pg 1, Ch. 8) as his father worked in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service. He was enrolled in Eton College but not welcomed by his colleagues because of his not-high-enough family social status. Nevertheless Orwell never bothered to care that but explored the world of the proletarians and accumulated materials later appeared in his books. What was more in his life of turmoil Orwell was enlisted in the Spanish Civil War, wrote great amount of literature and political critics for BBS Eastern Service and became a battlefield-journalist during the World War II. With all these unordinary experiences, Orwell baked his best opus two year before his death.

A

lthough not intentionally pointed to the politics of any certain country, the scenes in 1984 appeared surprisingly similar to those of the P.R.C in 50s~70s in twentieth century such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. During that period the production of everything was in great much exaggeration by the media while most people were in starvation and different extents of illness. And people tried to maintain political correctness by their absolute support to Maoism (like the worship of the Big Brother) and by nipping the ‘thoughtcrime’ their friends, teachers or neighbors. Also the theory of oligarchical collectivism was proved and is still proving by the governance of the Labor Party of DPRK. People were kept in too poor condition to think of ‘freedom’ so the oligarchy could be maintained.

It was arguable to claim that George Orwell was an insightful but succinct, imaginative but rational writer.

n official in the sprawling Ministry of Truth, the main character in 1984, Winston Smith, whose work was to rewrite the past to suit the needs of the Party, was a thought rebel against the totalitarian world he lived in. Although constantly telling a whole story, the novel was divided into three parts. The first part displayed the Oceania world under the dominance of the Party in 1984 through Winston’s eyes: The slogan of the Party was “WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENTH” and the Party used the all-seeing telescreen and all sorts of watchful eyes to control people. The second part described that longing for truth and liberty, Winston began his love affair with a ‘comrade’ called Julia and joined the conspiracy organization against the absolute leader of the Party, the Big Brother. However, in the last part his plan was discovered by the thought police and he was tortured and brainwashed that he forgot everything he used to struggle for, including his love to Julia.

I

n 1984, Orwell gave out a warning of the potential tendency of authoritarianism in the world at that time.

The book was not merely a political prophet or a decry of Stalinist atrocity as some critics claimed, but a somehow exaggerated reflection of reality as he said in his 16 June 1949 letter to a worker named Francis Henson: “My recent novel 1984 is NOT intended as an attack on Socialism or on the British Labor Party, but as a show-up of the perversions……which have already been partly realized in Communism and Fascism……

The scene of the book is laid in Britain in order to emphasize that the English-Speaking races are not innately better than anyone else, and that totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere. ” (The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 4 - In Front of Your Nose 1945–1950 p.546 (Penguin)) In 1948, three years after the World War II, the general situation of economy in Great Britain was still ebbing, while the news in mass media was full of straight-going victory, just like the propaganda of Times that the Party imposed on its members in 1984. Simultaneously USSR changed from the ally of the Great Britatin during the war to a contemptible enemy, much the same as the capricious saying of the Big Brother: “Oceania is at war with Eurasia. Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia…” “Oceania is at war with Eastasia. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia…”

O

ne of the distinct characteristic of 1984 was the emphasis on self-contradiction on almost everything and everyone in the book. The principle of the Party “doublethink” “blackwhite” rather well demonstrated the point. Most of the members of Inner Party and Outer Party could adjust themselves to cater to the needs of the Party; even on the pettiest thing like 2+2=4, they were supposed to act like what the leader of the Thought Police O’Brien said: “…Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once…To be sane is not easy. ” Even the rebels like Winston and Julia also had limitation on their bravery. Although Winston hated the world and the system he was in, trying to dig out all the past and recording it in his diary, he himself just could not help to rewrite the past for the Times to acquire necessities to live on with. Also, trying to get rid of infliction and showing her love and loyalty to the Party, Julia immediately 32 VISIONARY

betrayed Winston she expressed in front of O’Brien when she was got into the Ministry of Love. So the world of 1984 is a thoroughly egoistic one, which requires people to be self-contradictory to protect themselves. The spirit of the “last human of this world” Winston Smith, who tried his hardest to adhere to the objective truth, was annihilated ultimately. Self-contradiction in the book was more than sarcasm, but as a symbol of the norms in an authoritarianism society conveyed by Orwell.

R

eaders of 1984 may find out that a magic power shared by the book and the Metamorphosis - that is, none of the characters can arouse their slightest fondness, but the book itself is particularly attractive. To be honest enough, there was no other novels could be more unique in its style – being lack of prosaic language, of exciting storyline, and filled with sophisticated political theory, but still stimulating the readers to go on and on, leaving the readers reeling and craving more even after the last page.

1984 By George Orwell

April 2011 33

Review · Movie

by Xintao Li

“I

think if people see this footage......they will say, " Oh, my god，that is horrible," and then go on eating their dinners.” This is a quote from the film Hotel Rwanda, a devastating masterpiece, about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda which was due to the ethnic strife between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. When this country turned into a graveyard brought by a mad massacre and extreme horror, it was as if the world had already closed its eyes and that God seemed no longer to bless his people. Then, along came a man named Paul，manager of a local hotel where European tourists and military dignitaries gathered. He bravely used all his relations to protect the 1286 refugees under the hotel roof. At that time，the Miller Collins Hotel became the only oasis in the bloody ruins.

O

ther than concerns for the destiny of Paul, the heroic protagonist, and the 1286 refugees, another segment of the film deeply impresses me. It was when the UN Peace Corps came

to the hotel and only picked up human beings with white skin color, while abandoning disappointed refugees. I will never forget the look in Paul’s eye when he watched the troops leave, thinking: “You’re abandoned just because you’re black, my friend!” Soon afterwards, there suddenly comes a Red Cross van carrying a group of recently rescued orphans. I can hardly express my feeling my eyes matched up with the pairs of innocence eyes, who confusedly watched the United Nations convoy leave them behind to deal with the complex and relentless world.

W

ithout inspiring words or scenes, but simply through the simplest language ----reality, this film grilled everybody's hearts. Is there real peace and racial equality in the world anymore?

I guess humans are not able to foresee it, or to give a specific definition to it. Maybe it is hidden in the hugs that people of different races share, in the happiness and tears that occurs when people of different beliefs pray together and say “Brothers and sisters! We are all lucky to be alive as kids of God!” What does humanitarianism really mean?

It is having others’ unfortunate in mind disregarding our own situation, whether we are in predicament or not, whether we are in a position of power or not. We could just be like Paul, who saved thousands of lives, when he possesses neither power nor might, and could have been easily killed. Bearing humanitarianism in mind is to do what we can instead of blandly feeling sorry for others’ catastrophe and go on “eating our dinner as if nothing has ever happened!”

N

o one can accurately predict what the world will be in the near future, but if everyone cared and try to communicate the world with our soul, our sympathy and most importantly, our actions, the world could be changed. Thus, the mutual value of humans: peace, equality and freedom will be fulfilled!

HOTEL RWANDA: what blood taught us

34 VISIONARY

April 2011 35

I'm here for your entertainment

36 VISIONARY

April 2011 37

Review · Music

by Lavince Lio

"Our dreams seemed unreachable, but no matter what the aftermath is, we did try."

who is genuinely unique. His music is never going to be conforming. As the most controversial competitor in the history of American Idol, Adam considers music as “someone likes it, and someone doesn’t.”

The people that are different, expressive and are bold with those choices are the people that become successful in what they do because they believe in who they are.

I remember the interview that Hit FM had arranged, and I also remember their advertisement had said ‘Hey, I am Adam Lambert. I am gay. And I’m comfortable with it.’ Adam encourages people by every tiny action that he takes to be comfortable in their own skin and be who they are.

Like Bon Jovi sings in It’s my life: I’m gonna live my life on my own way, completely express myself. Because I now have confidence, have faith in myself, I know what I really want.

M

y first time seeing Adam Lambert was on MTV, when his first debut album For Your Entertainment was on show. At the beginning, it was just a little crush on his glitter. The second time I was attracted immediately when I began to check out Season 8 of the American Idol, and came the real falling in love, which you can’t help.

I saw his capability in the audition, his confidence in answering ‘I can’ to Simon Cowell’s doubt; his optimism, and his brotherly kindness to everyone else. And what makes him unique is that he defines himself as entertainer instead of a performer.

But as a big fan of rock, what made me adore him the most if his spirit of rock. He barely let out a word about his struggling 10 years in Hollywood. He made everyone believe: believe in light, believe in faith and believe in love.

God doesn’t hate fags, god hates hate.

After coming out, every time Adam has a show there will always be some protestors out there waving signs and saying ‘God hates fags’. You can sometimes even see little kids that might not even know what exactly ‘hate’ means.

Adam responded: ‘If I focus on the hate and let the hate affect me, I’d be letting hate win.

I refuse to do that. I’m gonna focus on the 38 VISIONARY

positive, focus on the love and ignore all the negativity.’

I am someone who easily focuses on trivial things. It is not easy for me to be optimistic when I’m indulged in the dark side of the world.

However, Adam invigorated my life. He encouraged me to look at the crazy side of life in a good way. Just go out into the world, be bold, because I know for sure now that the world is not opposed to my existence. Love overcomes hate. Love has no color. Love has no orientation. No matter your sexuality, religion, color, or age, if we connect over how we're the same, ‘life would be a party- it'd be ecstasy!’

Never make apologies for who you are.

Sometimes it is not so easy for one to figure out who you really are. And it’s even harder to face yourself with every fear and imperfection.

Adam’s freely expression of himself awakened something in me that I didn’t know was there. He’s one of the first people that lead our generation to start liberating the music industry. He’s bringing something back to music that’s been missing for a long time, like the fearlessness to not be afraid of who you are.

Now all the artists define themselves as unique and different, but Adam is the one

Life is all about taking the risks to get what you want.

Every roads lead to Rome, but there is just one road leads to your dream. “A man can never achieve his dream” is the greatest lie in the world, yet tragically, most of us believe it. Some people chase after their dreams while some keep theirs in a bottle.

No one knows whether there will be sunrise at the end of our day, no one knows if happiness and glory are waiting there, but we’re still going to move forwards. Life is not a game, and is unfair as well. All we have is our dream in hand, and we just need to follow our heart and listen to what it’s saying. It’s not meaningless for one to come to this world, what we’ve done will mean a lot to ourselves, to people around us, and to our dreams.

Humans are somehow visionary. Our dreams seemed unreachable, but no matter what the aftermath is, we did try. Along the way we’ve been through laughter and tears, and experienced the unforgettable memories of our way. That is the most amazing part of dream chasers, no matter what comes to the end, what we experienced is wonderful enough.

No Boundaries

sung by Adam Lambert

Seconds hours so many days You know what you want but how long can you wait Every moment last forever when you feel you've lost your way but What if my chances are already gone I Start to believe it that I could be wrong But you give me one good reason To fight and never walk away So here I am still holding on Every step you climb another mountain Every breathe is harder to believe You'll make it through the pain Weather the hurricanes To get to that one thing So when you think the road is going nowhere Just when you almost gave up on your dreams They take you by the hand and show you that you can There're no boundaries If ought till the limit to stand on the edge What if the day is as good as a gets don't know where the future's heading Nothing's gonna bring me down I've jumped every bridge and I've run every line I risked being saved but I'm always knew why I'm always knew why So here I am still holding on!

You can go higher you can go deeper There are no boundaries above and beneath you Break every rule coz there's nothing between you and your dreams

The reason why an idol becomes an idol is not simply just because of a beautiful face or a good body shape. An idol is the same as a belief: they are never-fade-away stars; they are beacons shining the light through our misty sea.

April 2011 39

GALLERY

PHOTO

by Mengna Da FRANNY (Mengna Da) (Vassar College 2015er) love doodling, singing, and little sunny things email me at frannydada@gmail.com^^

This summer, I and my partners went to Panda Base in Sichuan, China, to be Panda Volunteers. We were then divided into two groups and each of us had a professional panda keeper who helped us with the work. We fed pandas, cleaned their houses, recorded data for scientists, and just had fun!

PANDA~ 40 VISIONARY

April 2011 41

1

2

3

4

1 Who is the laziest animal in the world? Pandas! In a whole day, what they only do is eating‌ 2 and sleeping‌ 3 and basking in the sunshine!

4 But who is the cutest one? The answer is also: PANDAS!

42 VISIONARY

April 2011 43

5

5

6

6

7

5 Every morning, we wore special work costume and cleaned panda’s houses and put fresh bamboos in. Oh, you cannot see the huge besom, the heavy bunches of bamboos, and the horrible sh*ts… !^%*@^**!^&%*@ But all the efforts were worthy when we saw cute pandas live so happily.

6 Then every two or three hours, we fed them with carrots and Panda cakes.

7 Other times, we go to see other animals in the base.

Once we were lucky to see a new born panda, who was too fragile to hear noises and be touched directly by humans. Visitors are not allowed to see them, but my group’s instructor was a nice guy, so… =)

8

9 8 Or we stay in the office. On the whiteboard there are instructions for a new animal keeper in English, because many foreign students come to do volunteer work as well as study Pandas. In our trip, we met an girl who majored in Zoology in England and had stayed here for over a month.

9 Days passed so quickly. It’s time to say bye. What we had done was not a difficult or huge job, but we were happy to help improve pandas’ living condition by taking care of them well every day. In the end, just give some photos of there cute animals! And hope more and more people will go and be Panda Volunteers!

44 VISIONARY

April 2011 45

Comic

by Triffy

visualization

(2)

46 VISIONARY

April 2011 47

Comic

by Triffy

Information

Hi Visionary’s dear readers, If you have finished a masterpiece, but then find no stage to make it gleam with audience’s appreciation? Are you feeling thrilling but nervous? No worries! That is the reason why we, Visionary, are here!!

The first page has introduced all columns in our Visionary already-Columns, Polished House, My Story, Novel, Review, Essay, Abroad, Photo Gallery-so the opportunity is lying under your feet, and what you need to do is to carry your splendid masterpiece in hand, and walk through out gate with confidence!! Visionary is waiting for your words and sentences at the end of the path with merriment and excitement where sunlight is gleaming!

P.S. Don’t forget to put your name you want to be published with your essay!

The Approach to Us VisionaryMonthly@gmail.com VISIONARY

To be continued…

48 VISIONARY

April 2011 49

UTACCEL

University of Toronto Association for Canada-China Exchange of Leadership 多伦多大学加华国际交流机构

Ideas Worth Spreading VISIONARY