Amazing Similarity

      How time flies! Our six-month summer session program is drawing to the end: we have come to the middle of the fifth week.

Since we were free this afternoon, Summer and I went shopping ̶ we need buy a suitcase to contain what we bought in America.

We took a bus to Macy’s. On our way there, we saw several teen-age boys sitting in the front of the bus. When a disabled black man walked onto the bus with the help of two canes and passed by the boys, none stood up to offer a seat to him.

This reminded me of what I saw buses in my home country China: some young people didn't give their seats to the old either. What a similar phenomenon in China and America! The difference is that in China the bus is generally crowded and the old did not get a seat in the end, while in America, there are usually vacant seats and the disabled finally got a seat. And we know it is viewed in China as a virtue for young people to give their seats to the old, but we don’t know whether it is a virtue or even acceptable for young people to offer their seats to the disabled.   

On our way back to Yale University, we happened to see the notice on the inside wall of the front bus, which says: “Please make these priority seats available for senior citizens and persons with disabilities who wish to use them.”

What an amazing similarity again between China and America! For in a bus in China, there is also a similar notice on the inside wall of the font bus. What is different is that not only the old and the disabled but also the weak, the sick and the pregnant are given priority to have a seat in a bus.

        It seems that whether in China or in America or perhaps in any other country, people advocate similar virtues.

Unity is Power

     After class this afternoon we Central South University teachers had a meeting.

First, we discussed and reached an agreement on working in pairs scanning all the good books our instructors generously lent us to read, for in this way we can do it much faster.

Our monitor is very kind and helpful, he patiently taught us how to download and use the scanner.

Then, after another short discussion, we decided to have a meeting after class each remaining afternoon to share with each other what we have learned from class observation during the past month, for we observed different teachers, or different classes of the same teachers and we don’t want to miss any useful teaching technique.

The meeting lasted about one hour and a half. Everybody took an active part in the free talk. And everybody listened attentively and took notes. At the end of the today’s meeting, we all felt very happy and satisfied because we found the sharing very rewarding.

Once again, it is proved that unity is power.

A Shopping Trip to Clinton Crossing Outlet Mall

        Thanks to the efforts of Morse College Activities organizers, this afternoon we took a free trip to Clinton Crossing Outlet Mall.

Free buses left from PWG at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00 pm, and they returned from the mall at 2:30, 4:00, and 7:00 pm. 

Most students took the 1:00 bus to the Mall and returned by the 7:00 bus. We are all crazy shoppers!

The organizers are very responsible and consderate. On the way to the Mall, they got us to write down our names and cell phone numbers on a piece of paper. And before the bus left the Mall as scheduled, they had us sign our names to make sure nobody was left behind.

Unexpectedly, not everybody was punctual. About 7:10 pm, one of the two activitity organizers, a black girl, asked us to pass on the sheets of paper on which we wrote down our names and phone numbers and sign our names. Several minutes later, the other organizer, a white boy, thanked us for our patient waiting and told us that three students were not back yet, and we had to wait for them. He also told us that we needn’t worry about supper, for Pizza was already made for us. Tired and hungry, we all cheered at the news.

At about 5:25 pm, I saw through the window two students hurrying to the bus behind us. And then I saw the boy organizer ran to the Mall. We waited and waited, getting very uncomfortable, for it was hot in the bus without air conditioner. About 15 minutes later, the boy organizer ran back alone. Getting onto our bus, he told us that it was really difficult to find out whether the missing student was in the Mall or back on Yale campus. Then he told the bus driver that we could go back to the school.

It turned out that the boy organizer had been searchinng for the supposedly missing student all over the Mall who actually had already returned to the university!

Soon we arrived in the school. We were served not only Pizza but also salad. And it was the organizers who had it prepared for us.

        We were all satisfied and grateful to the Morse activities organizers!

It's OK to be Takei

     This afternoon, I watched a special screening of the film To Be Takei.

Takei is a Hollywood icon and political activist. From the film, I learned that he is a gay, and he has been fighting for equal rights for gays since 2005.

“It’s OK to be Takei” is a line from the film, which implies that it’s OK to be a gay. This reminds me of the heated debate we had in Tuesday class. In that class, when talking of a girl student who told her classmates that she was a gay, some said that to be a gay was immoral. They argued that to be a gay brought shame, burden and humiliation to the family; therefore, it was immoral to be a gay.

       I am on the other side of the debate, i.e., I disagree that to be a gay is immoral. A gay might make his/her family feel ashamed or humiliated because gays are in the minority. But it does not follow that to be a gay is immoral. Research findings show that homosexuality is mostly inborn. As Takai said in the film, to be a gay is an orientation, not a lifestyle. Hence, it is unfair for us to say that to be a gay is immoral.

Takei as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu

Takei at the 2013 Florida SuperCon.

Two Puzzles

     On Wednesday afternoon, Summer and I went to shop in Christmas Tree Shops. Both on the way to and back from the shops, something surprising occurred.

We took a bus with the letter “O” on the front of it. We had intended to buy two all-day tickets but failed to get them. Guess why? The reason is that we had a five- and a one-dollar bills, which is the fair for two all-day tickets, but the ticket-issuing machine admits only one-dollar bills or coins. In the end, we had to change our mind and bought two one-way tickets which cost us three dollars.

I was really puzzled and surprised at this. As the world’s most powerful country, America has the most advanced technology. Why don’t American people improve the ticket-issuing machines on buses so that passengers can use it more conveniently?  

Both Summer and I bought some clothes, and ridiculously, none of them was made in America, most of them were made in China, and one in Vietnam.

After finishing shopping, we took another bus with the letter “O” on the front of it. Getting on the bus, I saw a vacant double seat which was turned upside down. Finding that I was intending to set and sit on it, the black man sitting in front of the vacant double seat told me that it was not sittable. But immdiately a white woman who sat on the left side of it argued that I could sit on it. Both the black man and the white woman were sitting on a double seat, the difference is that next to the black man sat another person, while next to the white woman there was room for another person.

        Not knowing who was telling the truth, I chose to stand beside the vcant double seat. However, Summer insisited that we sit down, so I went further inside the bus and sat down next to another black man after asking for permission, and Summer next to the white woman. I had thought that the white woman told us that we could sit on the vacant double seat simply because she was unwilling to share a seat with one of us, but I was soon proved to be wrong, for she agreed and took away her bag immediately when Summer asked her for permission. So it puzzled me why the black man and the white woman gave us totally opposite information about the vacant double seat.

After Locking Myself Out

     At about 7:30 this evening, I locked myself out, which I had thought would never happen to me. Fortunately, one of my colleagues had done this before and I have learned about how to get help.

        I went down stairs and called the police. After I introduced myself and gave a brief account of what happened, the policeman who answered my call handed the phone to another policeman, and I repeated my words. The second policeman said on the phone that they would send someone over to me. Feeling ashamed, I apologized to him again and again. About ten minutes later, a policeman arrived. I thought he came to help me, so I immediately approached him and greeted him. But after I told him which building I live in, he went to the adjacent building saying he would soon come back to me, for someone else also needed his help and he /she called the police earlier than I did. He apologized to me, and I replied it was OK.

         Very soon, about 5 minutes later, the policeman returned. He is a very polite and friendly man. Again he said sorry for keeping me waiting. He opened the door of my apartment room, and asked me to fill in a form. And kindly he told me to write down only the important information. When it was done, again I apologized to him for the trouble. He replied smiling that it was his responsibility. At last, we happily said good-bye to each other and he left. 

         I love the policemen's high work efficiency, and I truly appreciate their help. 

The Music on the Green Concert

    This evening, Julia, Summer and I together attended both The Yale Summer Festival, which was held on the courtyard of Trumbull College from 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. , and the The Music on the Green Concert, which was held on the historic New Haven Green from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m..  

    As we set off for The Yale Summer Festival after finishing our supper around 7:00 p.m. and arrived at the courtyard of Trumbull College ten minutes later, we saw only the ending part of the Festival: a band playing music, scores of young students enjoying listening, watching, talking, eating, drinking and taking photos of the band, and a group of staff members serving foods and drinks. We took some photos while listening to the music, and tasted some food, which was delicious. And when the Festival came to an end as scheduled, we left for The Music on the Green Concert.

   

    The concert was extremely popular. There was a sea of audience. The spacious green-land was crowded with people, some simply sitting on the grass, some sitting on a folding chair, some standing singing and dancing to the music, and a few lying on the grass. The music and singing were loud, and the people were excited and delighted, whistling and shouting and applauding whenever a song was finished. Looking around, we found that besides students from Yale University, the audience consisted mainly of couples, including old and young, and families, including very young kids. Some of the couples danced and kissed each other, and some families embraced each other. It seemed that the couples and families were deep in love and happy together. Among the big crowd were also policemen, and around the huge Green, I saw one ambulance and a long line of portable toilets. The organizers of the concert are really considerate! According to me, the concert offers a good opportunity for couples and families to stay together, to feel and express their love for each other by listening to music, singing and dancing. It may follow that the more such concerts are held, the lower the divorce rate in America.