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On the Way of Dream Seeking-- Shirley's America Travel Diary 144 & 581st Friendly Greeting - June 11, 2018

Hi,Dear Friends

How are you? Have you had a wonderful week and enjoy your weekend? 

On my side, I have been busy on teaching, writing and performing my travel plans and hope to go back to Beijing as soon as possible. 

Until 12:00am, Friday, June 8, 2018 (American Central Daylight Time, Beijing Time 1:00am., June 9),finally, I finished 78 Cross-Cultural and Comprehensive Art lessons in 3 American K-12 schools (63 class teachings and 15 hours for a summer workshop, total 144 lessons in the 3 schools since 2015, 309 lessons and about 409 hours in 39 American schools and 2 Chinese schools for about 5,580 student - person times for free since 2009. Meanwhile, I have gotten 103 reserved lessons from 5 American K-12 schools for my next travel in the Fall Semester, 2019; One of them has reserved 58 to 60 lessons for 6 weeks already. 

At about 2:00pm, on the same day, my new tenants and I signed a lease to ensure there will be someone living in my American foothold/house after I leave for China. 

Then at about 3:30pm, I made an appointment with someone for fixing a new bedroom or a bookroom for my house. 

And then at about 4:30pm., I went to Best Buy to buy a gas dryer for my new tenants (I had bought one at the same time I bought my washer, but it uses electricity and my laundry supports only Gas so that I had to return it years ago) but for the price has raised too higher so that the clerks advised me to wait for the price down...then I waited for a taxi for 1 hours and 20 minutes for going back home. :-) 

To work with a so tight work schedule, for I wanted to finish the jobs in my American travel and try to go back to Beijing 2 months ahead for at least 3 reasons:

First of all, I must continue my dissertation under the direction of my supervisor to pass the middle term inspection of 5 professors in the middle of Oct, 2018.

The second, I must complete and publish at least 1 acdamic paper on arts in a magazine before my dissertation’s oral defend in May, 2019, to reach the minimum requirements to get a Master degree of Fine Arts from Chinese National Academy of Arts. 

Anyway, since it is my second master degree, I do not want to stop on the lowest requirement of the school, but wish to publish 2 or 3 acdamic papers base on my last two Cross-cultural and Comprehensive Art’s publications with 2 books and 2 DVDs which were published during I studied/study in Chinese National Academy of Arts in 2013 and 2018, before entering the thesis oral defend step, to meet the goal which my supervisor – Professor Mu Jiashan has required me to meet : “ Your dissertation must be the best one among the candidates for Master Degrees and it must meet the level of a candidate for his or her doctoral degree, then I let you pass.”

I know it is a quite hard assignment, but I am glad to accept it, because, to find a theory support for my Cross-cultural and Comprehensive Art and its project is one of the two purposes of mine to keep studying in Beijing for 9 years (until July, 2019). Since my current dissertation is not on this topic for my supervisor doesn’t allow me to work on a transdisciplinary topic, I wish to publish another paper(s) on it. 

The third, I am going to attend 3 International Music Academic Conferences which will be chaired by Central Conservatory of Music which is the highest music educational academy of China and there will be about 200 foreign experts from the world in it July 10 to 17, 2018. 

I have registered and paid for it for I am interested in their topics and wish to catch the good opportunity to study, re-survey and re-think my cross-cultural and transdisciplinary research with a wider visual field and more opening mind. 

I know clearly: although I had 3 music teachers and learned music for many years, composed and published some of music to match classical poems, and keep practicing my voice every day even though in my travels, however, I have not had any formal music education yet. I do need to improve my music culture, since my Cross-cultural and Comprehensive Art is based on Chinese paintings, focus on Chinese poem and be assisted by music...

So, until this morning, June 11, 2018, not only have I connected the Central Conservatory of Music on their academic conferences, but also, I have known how to connect the Central Conservatory of Music Press. I would really like to improve myself and the music part of my cross-cultural and comprehensive art project by studying and working with the best conservatory of music of China and one of the best professional music publishing houses. 

So, quickly, I have changed my tickets and summarized the teaching jobs with my American work partner already. 

I do appreciate Mrs. Glad Eyerman for her wonderful organized jobs and made my 63 lessons to be done in 3 schools worked in a very good order; then she did so much work to make the summer workshop work smoothly under the good supports of the parents and schools. As an experienced teacher, she has not only given me a lot of good suggestions on how to organize students and adjust classroom climate, but also, she has often improved my expressions in English and helped her students to understood me better. 

I do appreciate Principal Cheryl Hall of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, Principal Theresa Coleman of Immaculate Conception School and Principal Lindsay Paulsell of St. Agnes School for their good directions and supports. 

Also I appreciate my lovely American students for their strong thirst for knowledge and exotic culture, good interactions with me and bright smiles, all of these have become the best motivation to encourage me to work harder and try to improve and innovate my teaching for benefiting and helping more people in the world. 

Almost every day, I get some gain, experiences and lessons which I should be able to improve in my future work. And the biggest gain or lesson I have gotten from 21 lessons for a group of students who had 15 hours lessons in their workshop plus 6 hours in their classrooms is how to design and tailor different lessons according to different age and grades of my American students. 

I am lucky enough for since 2009 to 2019, I have had / will have the god-given opportunities to teach from kindergarten students to adults in the USA. I would really like to cherish my luck and try to improve my teaching by more creative work and effort. 

How about you? Do you have anything special to share in your life or work? 

Appendix: A Group of My Students' Part Paintings From Nature & Creations (Not Finished Yet):

My 14 years old student Grace's painting from nature & creation on her 3rd day --after total 15 hours' training



My 14 years old student Grace's painting from nature & creation on her 4th day-- after total 18 hours' training



My 14 years old student Grace's painting from nature & creation on the 5th day-- After total 21 hours' training(not finished yet)



My 15 years old student Riley's painting from nature & creation on her 3rd day-- After total 15 hours' training



My 15 years old student Riley's painting from nature & creation on the 4th day-- After total 18 hours' training


My 15 years old student Riley's painting from nature & creation on the 5th day -- After total 21 hours' training(not finished yet)



My 16 years old student Serenity's painting from nature & creation on her 3th day-- After total 9 hours' training



My 12 years old student Hendon's painting from nature & creation on her 3rd day--After total 15 hours' training



My 10 years old student Kalee's painting from nature & creation on the 3rd day-- After total 15 hours' training



My 10 years old student Malana's Painting from nature & creation on the 3rd day--After total 15 hours'training


 ~
My 12 years old student Hendon's & creation 


 

 

I am just a student on Arts of Painting, Music, English and Management,and work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do something with what I have learned, to make this little web site to be a little Electronic Bridge of Cross -cultural and Comprehensive Art Study and Chinese Language Learning, to help the others while to improve myself. 

I would like to appreciate you for your good understanding, directions, supports and help. 

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write toshirley@ebridge.cn or leave your message on Message Board

Shirley Yiping Zhang

June 11, 2018 (Chicago Time)

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