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Guest Feels at Home & Misfortunes Never Come Singly-- Shirley's America Travel Diary 101 & 492nd Friendly Greeting - August 30, 2015

Hi,Dear Friends

How are you? Have you had a good weekend? I do hope you have and you are starting a good new week with a big smile.

In my first week in the US, I have done so many things:

-- On Monday, I went to the 5th sponsor of my art exhibition – Brentwood Branch Library and met Miss Peggy Hanes who has been connecting with me since Oct, 2013. We had a good talking and she arranged the schedule for my work in her library. We will start to hang up my paintings since Monday, August 31, and my art exhibition will be opened on Sept 4, 2015.

-- Also on Monday, Mrs. Glad Eyerman – an art teacher of 3 schools in Springfield, MO and I had a good talking and we have made an outline on my Chinese Poetry and Chinese Painting teaching work in St. Agnes school, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School and Immaculate Conception School. We will have second meeting tomorrow and to make a detail schedule.

-- On Tuesday, Co- President Desiree of Visual Artist Association of Springfield, MO arranged my schedule to work with the members of her organization on Sept 12, 2015.

-- On Thursday, I went to the book store of Missouri State University and bought the book Essential Materials of Music Theory by Prof. Michael F. Murray according to the good direction of Prof. John Prescott, and started my music theory learning in English first time in the USA.

-- On the same day, I got in touch again with Ms. Leah Hamilton – Director of Arts Administration and Instructor of Drury University and the former Executive Director of Springfield Region Art Council and the sponsor of my first art exhibition.

-- On Friday, I got in touch again with Mrs. Art Allie – Department Chair of Fine Arts of Humanities and Manager of Art Gallery of Ozarks Technique Community College and the sponsor of my 4th art exhibition. She has arranged a basic time frame for our meeting.

In the past a week, I have also worked on checking as much as data under the good direction of Mr. Denial Hou and Mrs. Hou; checking the environment of my target place for founding a true base for my little cross-cultural and comprehensive art project by the actual support of my former classmate Mr. Zhu Bin. Now I have had some idea in my mind...

Something happiest in the past week was I have re-started to paint. You can see it below and hope to bring you a big smile.

Something touched me in the past a week most still was the kindness, sincerity and good upbringing of the local people. Can you imagine?

-- Monday morning, I got a letter from an American music professor first time. Dr. John Prescott whom I have not met yet wrote to me and would like to offer help on my dream seeking.

To be honest, when I read the words “ Music Department of Missouri State University ”at the end of the letter, I could not believe my eyes and felt luck enough. After all, I would like to create a unique art project with poetry, painting and music and I had learned painting and Chinese language and literature respectively 5 years. What I really lack in my knowledge structure is just music. Even though I have written more than 130 piece of music, and learned to sing for 9 years in my free time, what I have done is really childlike and it has not been a true music works yet.

It seems like truly the God looking after me and sent his another angel to me? I should really catch the good opportunity that the God has given me. So, now, I have not only bought my first music theory book and started my new studying, but also, I am trying to translate it into Chinese when I am reading it, as an special training to improve my English level.

-- Something touched my heart once more on the road I went to buy the music book: when I waited for the cars to go at the first by a street as I had often done in China, two lines of cars from right and left all stopped there and let me go first…

Oh, at that moment, I did feel a high respect as a human being in this place – Springfield, MO, USA indeed. Now in Shenzhen, people have started to do something in China firstly as I had met in the USA several years ago – to let people go at the first at any fork in the roads as a law. But, this is really the first time I have met two sides’ cars stopped there and let me go first.

In my heart is full of the respect to the local Missouri People and its good education level.

-- My former and only classmate in Springfield, Mr. Zhu Bin not only drove me to see 11 places, but also it was he who made an appointment on an Entrance Examination on Sept 18 for me to take part in a free English training at OTC on his own initiative.

To be honest, if there were no the good help and support of Mr. Zhu Bin, I would not be able to do so many things in my last travel in the USA and in the past first week in my new travel at all. So, now I am really a little bit worrying about in case he and his family move to LA along with his son going into a university there, whether I will be able to meet anyone else who can help me as Mr. Zhu Bin and his wife have done?

-- Even though still in a travel, Mrs. Mary Ellen Collins called some company in Springfield for resolving my problem on Internet and quickly, I have had an expressed Internet connection. Though we have not met each other, in my heart, she is jus like a kind sister and good friend who looks after my life from far away place with a so considerate style.

-- In Ava, President Caryl -President of Ava Art Guild not only arranged an event for the members of her Art Guild and me, but also, they would like to help me on the other work relates to my art dream.

So, now, in Missouri, USA, I have no any family member here at all; but here, I do have felt so much warm and friendship that I am thinking, maybe this is just like what a pastor said: I have come back to the family of God. Right?

Anyway, when I just wanted to send the letter to you, something misfortunes happened:

-- I hurt my waist when I carried a desk.

-- I got 7 phone calls from China and the property management company told me that my home was smoking and asked me to go back home to deal with it and then they me that they had entered my home from the window and turn off the Gas... Oh my Godness, it was impossible because I am in the USA, unless someone bad was staying at my home.

Then, after making more than 10 international telephones and asked my work partner who takes my keys to see what had happened while making sure it was a true instead of a news from a trickster.

Then you cannot imagine, the property management company called me back that they had made a mistake and the smoke was from the kitchen of my neighbor...

-- During I made the phone calls with my Chinese cell phone to China, I put my American cell phone in the table of kitchen and when I took it up, it did not work for some water inside. Now, I am facing whether I should change a new cell phone since I should call do at least 4 people and to do 4 things with them in a local school, at the library and somewhere else on Monday... :-)

How about you? Do you have anything special to share in the past a week?

Shirley's Art Works 1043-- Chinese Mogu 064-A348-My 79th Painting in the USA and the First One in My 6th American Travel- August 30, 2015

Sincerely,

Shirley Yiping Zhang
August 30, 2015 (American Local Time)

In the Past 3 Months -- Shirley's 593rd Friendly Greeting - May 6, 2019
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Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! -- Shirley's 591st Friendly Greeting - Dec 25, 2018
The Road Is Long, Far & Winding, Still I Am Seeking My Dream -- Shirley's 590th Friendly Greeting - Dec 11, 2018
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