blog6: My opinions about k-pop

In this blog, I want to share my points about k-pop.

Actually, whether our Chinese youngsters should follow this trend is a much-debated issue. Many people, especially the parental generations, think this fad will breed a side effect on us. In their opinion, as a Chinese, whose country’s history can be traced back to millennia ago, it is unreasonable to worship others’ culture. Further, South Korea, in their orthodox recognition, is merely one of the countries that once had been denominated by us since Tang dynasty; therefore, its culture is pale compared with ours. They show great concern about such mechanical imitation of South Korean custom, fashions and even the language. In other words, our seniors are worried the loss of our cultural identities. I think some parts of their anxiety are legitimate. From my observation, our domestic markets have been saturated by enormous South Korean products. Indeed, these products are obviously changing our lifestyles. Empirical evidence shows that, in many cases, if a boy could say “sa lang hei you” (I love you) to a girl. She will feel exceedingly happy. One reason is that she could gain the boy’s love. Another reason may sound somewhat ridiculous, but it is true. That is, she probably thinks this boy must be romantic, considerate, bold, debonair, candid and responsible, just like the actors in K-operas.

Undeniably, we should cherish our own culture, since the ancestors had bequeathed so much treasure to us. For instance, although, the contents of examples cited in the classics, were relatively obsolete, the code of ethics and thoughts, which were contained in them, could be still useful to our daily life. Thus, why we need to pursue this trend instead of such time-honored, tangible and intangible wealth? I do not reckon my peers who are crazed about k-pop are not patriotic. Nevertheless, the cultural erosion is a chronic and subtle process. If we disregard this problem, severe repercussions will ensue.

Of course, I have to admit that South Korean culture does have some positive aspects. I want to put a movie called “more than love”(假如爱有天意) as an example. In that movie, the background music sounded soft and its rhythm was always slow. Meanwhile, the scenes in that movie were quite beautiful, which completely captured my heart. More importantly, the plot was very impressed. I think this movie is educative and instructive. Doubtless, it purified my soul and inculcated the meaning of true love in my mind. I am not a suave and sentimental person, but I still could not stand crying when the movie came to the climax. (Since then, I know that if you really love a person, you should try your best to let her happy and never require anything to repay. Even though she does not love you, you should also be gratified to see that she lives happily with another person. What the true love needs is not the money, gifts and a kiss, but the meticulous care, regardless of whether that girl could sense it.) In fact, this movie exemplified the style of South Korean movies. They are fresh, elegant and enlightening. After watching such films, I always subconsciously reflect my behavior and promote my spiritual altitude.

In a nutshell, k-pop is a two-edge sword. What should we do is not to hold back this irreversible trend but to use it to our advantage as well as minimize the disadvantage.

Blog 5: Personal Space

With the world exploding population, we seem to have less and less personal space. Nowadays it is a common problem bothering people that all too often we may feel disturbed and uncomfortable by others encroaching on your personal space , which happens quite frequently especially in a crowded occasion, such as a MRT station or an elevator. Thus, it becomes more and more difficult to maintain personal spaces especially in such a modern society.

Although personal space highly varies with different cultures or individuals, there is one thing in common that it is such an essential factor to protect ourselves from intimate or unacceptable physical contacts. For example, my personal distance is a little longer than the average because I will easily tend to feel being offended and lose the sense of security when unfamiliar persons get closed to me. Therefore, even when I was queuing in a line, I would try to keep a long distance from the person in front of me. Moreover, I am always careful to avoid joining a crowd when I am going to get vehicles. However, sometimes entering one’s personal space can also be an indication of familiarity for the reason that we would like to get quite closed to our friends.

Since personal space can strongly influence feelings of people and even indicate some facts, it is significant for us to pay more attention to it.

Blog 5: My Reflections on the Personal Space

Recently, Ms Christine asked me a very interesting question. She asked me whether I would allow Xiangyu to whisper something in my ear. At that time, I said that I was ok with it. To my surprise, my answer aroused controversy. Some classmates found this action,which is quite common for me, might be too intimate.Therefore, I have thought a lot to find the reason why we have this divarication.

As far as I am concerned, it is about the personal space. Everyone has his/her own opinion about personal space. Some people demand greater personal space,which means they will be bothered if people come too closely to them. But we do not share the same feeling.That is why we sometimes offend others without being aware of it. For example, in China, many people believe that the more hospitable they are, the more satisfied their guests feel.On the contrary , guests will become unconformtable if hosts give too much concern. It is because some guests may think their own spaces suffer from invasions when people pay much attention to them. Therefore, to avoid such embarrassment and trouble,we need to be considerate. We should never take what we think is right for granted because it may be offensive in other people’s view.

In general, being aware of the personal space of those around us and being considerate of how our actions may be intrusive is a golden rule of the social life.

Blog 6: An Unforgettable Experience

March 30, 2012 was surely an unforgettable day for me, for it was the first day on which I became a Chinese calligraphy teacher of more than 20 students in Commonwealth Secondary School. I eventually understood how exhausted my former teacher was when he taught us in my senior high school, and I also realized how dynamic and patient should a teacher be in order to be capable of his or her job.

After signing up for the GIVE Programme organized by MOE months ago, I was invited to share my skills of Chinese calligraphy (pen) with some local students and, of course, I was so excited about that because I thought teaching must be of great fun. When the day of school visiting was approaching, however, as a totally raw recruit, I felt a bit nervous. I did not have a general concept of regular teaching patterns, nor did I know the techniques to handle students. Everything about teaching was covered with a mysterious cloth and it seemed impossible for me to reveal it.

Whether I liked it or not, the day finally came. That morning I got up very early, about 6 a.m. when I opened my eye, there was still entirely gloomy outside. I dressed up decently, packed up my bag and hurried to the MRT station in order not to be late at the first time. I sweated profusely all the way, which mainly because of my anxiety instead of the hot weather.

It was only five minutes left before class began as I arrived at the front door of the classroom. I took a deep breath, adjusted myself swiftly and stepped into the class with a big smile. Immediately, I received some friendly smiles from some of the children, from which I believed they were kind and of good manners. I gradually thought that I was not giving a lesson, but actually had a heated discussion with them- in other words, there were many interacting sections during the class with a brisk ambience. Most of the students were active and willing to show their ideas and thoughts. Whenever I threw out a question, I could receive creative answers regardless of their accuracy.

I enjoyed being a teacher even though actually for only one hour. The children were very lovely and cute and I could not help being with them. I realized the true meaning of the saying: “Roses given, fragrance in hand”. I felt happy after sharing my skills with others perhaps because I received others’ appreciation and respect. I would have a sense of achievement when my students make progress.

I kept talking for so long without a rest that after the class I am extremely dry; my throat also became a bit hoarse for talking in loud voice. Nevertheless, I still love the procedure of teaching, fromwhich both my students and myself gain a lot.

Blog 5: Let It Go

Life is indeed a journey in which you could never go back. Those sceneries along the road as well as time fade away from our sight at an incredible speed. When we look back, we will always feel pity for certain things, for those we've lost. In my opinion, holding a wise attitude to these things is the key to advance in our life journey

Though I have only been in this world for 19 years, there have already been enough things for me to feel sweet, to taste sorrow, and mostly, to regret for. The failure of doing poorly in National Entrance Examination, the improper behaviors which hurt my parents, the final separation of she and I, and countless other things are all the secret pains locked in the inner room of my heart. Every time I recall these memories, I could feel as if someone is squeezing my heart.  I always asked myself what made me so stupid to do such a ridiculous thing? Why i didn't know how to cherish? Why I let her go? There was a time when all of these existed as heavy burdens to me, which blocked my way forward.

I knew my attitude was wrong, but sometimes man just couldn't prevent his emotion from destroying his rational thoughts. However, after experiencing quite a lot of things, I think I am mature enough to handle it.

As the Chinese saying goes:"Things in the past are beyond redemption, yet we can pursue what is in the future", the most degage thing you can do is to leave a loud laughter for the Irreversible past, and hold your sight to the unpredictable future.    Now, I would still feel sorrow every time I think of things I lost in the past time, but I have gained enough courage to face it, to learn from it, to smile to it. Things lost are lost, so why we use the lost things to add worries into our minds. After all, the future is still in our hand!

So, why not let the past things past? Let it go. If they come to our mind, why not smile to them, chat with them, and then say goodbye to them. Maybe we cannot make those things lost to come back, but at least we can seize the things we will have tomorrow and leave less pity in our life road.

Blog5: the Crossroads of My Life

I’m sure that almost all of us have encountered this problem- which major to choose in our four-year campus life at NUS-recently. ”Just choose what you like best” the words said by the professors and acquaintances I’ve asked for advice make the problem confusing me a lot seem very easy to solve. However, it is still fairly hard to choose because I even don't know which subject I have interest in.

Actually, I think that just following our interest when choosing the field of study may not be sensible enough, since things which are interesting and enjoyable when they are hobbies can become both unprofitable and unsatisfactory while turning to professions. Therefore, we should think twice before we decide as well as make the decision not only according to our interest but also career prospects.

Nevertheless, it’s really hard to tell which profession is truly promising. Modern world is changing every minute, let alone four years. The specialties we think are good enough today may even don’t have the possibility for us to find a job four years later. Choosing the major quite needs our long-term vision.

In addition, the name of a profession may puzzle us because its curriculum is probably not like what we have expected by judging from the major’s name. Take chemical engineering as an example, one of my seniors chose it due to the love for chemistry, while he disappointedly found it filled with classes in physics but not chemistry after he was enrolled. From this perspective, we should collect enough information about the curricula of our possible choices before the final decision.

The above are all my thoughts on how to make a proper decision when choosing the field for undergraduate study. No matter what speciality is finally chosen, I think the most important thing for me is to make myself like it and learn it well. After all, it's difficult to change the external conditions but it’s easy to change ourselves.

Last but not the least, hope everyone could get the ideal major:)

Blog 4: Do You Believe Love Will Last Forever?

The first time I listened to the song "I will always love you" performed by Whitney Huston, I was still a primary school student. At that time, I was attracted by the melody as well as the voice of the singer. Last Saturday I heard it being performed in the Esplanade concert hall, however, this time my feeling was a little bit complicated. And I can't help asking: Do you believe love will last forever?

In our daily life, seeing so many people falling in love but at last breaking apart, I sometimes will doubt the sense of security of love. In the movie series Harry Potter, Snape fell in love with Harry's mother Lily since their childhood.His love continues even after Lily got married. The part that moved me most was his recall of the past. His love towards Lily never changed. At last when Dembledor asked him:" So you still love Lily?" He answered:" Yes, always." Seeing this scene, I was so touched that I couldn't help bursting into tears. This is just a story of a novel, could an affection like this exist in real life? 

According to the scientific research. The affection between a couple physically could only lasts for 1.5 to 2 years. That is to say, after this period of time, the relationship is mainly supported by a sense of responsibility as well as a habit of being together. But do remember, we can gradually get rid of a habit. The sense of responsibility may also disappear one day. So don't say I will love you forever so easily. The promises will only reflect the fragility of love. At the beginning of the movie "Titanic", Rose was telling her love story as a grandma with some children. She was so in love with Jack during the time on Titanic; Jack even died in front of her. But she still got married after being survived. I don't mean that we can only love one person throughout the whole life. What I mean is that everything is changing all the time. Love is really fragile. 

There is a line in the song "Before  the Storm" preformed by Miley Cyrus and Jonas Brothers--"It's the memory that lasts." Tomorrow cannot be predicted;past is the past. So the only thing we can do is to take every effort to value today. Word hard and play hard, love crazily so that there will be no regrets in our memory.

Although forever is so hard to achieve, I'm still willing to believe. There is a sentence:" It used to be there, so it will always be there." Memory will last forever.

Blog 3: I Miss You

Dear September:
 Last night I had a dream about going back to our Junior middle schoool, the middle school attached to Jilin University. In the dream, I was on my way to school in my father's car as if I were several years ago. I was very happy because I could see you and all our friends. But when I arrived, the school was actually empty. At that moment I suddenly had a feeling of extreme empty. The emotion was so strong that I couldn't help crying. Later on I was woke up by my tears. It was at that time that I realized I haven't seen you for three months and I miss you so much.
 Everything has been so well since I came Singapore. I met a lot of new people. We shared a lot of very happy moments but I still cannot make sure whether they are friends. If they are my real friends, then why I still feel really lonely sometimes? Late nights when I surfed the Internet，I saw many pictures of our school. I miss the small restaurants around, the playground, even the toilet where we used to practice singing. I still remember that time when we were performing a song of Coco Li, we sang it hand in hand from beginning to the end.Hey do you know a line of the song Fearless performed by Taylor Swift?--"You took my hand and drag my headfirst fearless."You gave me the courage to sing the song in front of so many people.
 To me, friends are not only mean to share happy moments together, but also means supporting as well as caring for each other no matter what happens.
 We both had a special preference for crying.Do you remember we were lying on the playground missing Ms Li, our Chinese teacher who was replaced for being pregnant, with tears all over our face. Some of our classmates was quite confused seeing us crying so hard at that time. I guess no one else could have more sensitive soul than us and maybe that's why we always feeling safe being together.We are so similar to each other.
 Just now I was reading our common dairy books for our 3rd Grade in junior middle school. All our tiny feelings for those days were kept in these books. And I found a sentence I like a lot now--"If someone could help forget your past, then he must be your future."
 Once you said to me that when we are old enough to live alone, we must buy a house next to each other. Our husbands will become good friends; if our children are of the different sex, they will fall in love and get married one day. The day when we are too old to die, our graves will be put closely next to each other.All the people will see that we are the best friends.
 Now we are both working really hard to build our economic base. We are sure to enjoy a life like that one day~!
 Finally, wish you a really good night and I miss you.





                                                                  Yours sincerely,
                                                                          Dashaxu.

My Preference in Music

I have been crazy about music since I was a little girl. I can still remember when I was about five years old; every time I heard some beautiful melody I cannot help dancing for joy. As I get older, my love for music grows so strong that it has been the most one that I depend on especially when I feel down.

I appreciate a wide variety of music and styles. Therefore, there are many singers I admire. For example, I am fond of songs of Yoga Lin who has a unique and superb singing voice, and is called psychedelic prince by people. Eason Chen is also an excellent singer because what he sings can always elicit my deep emotion and reaction. I also care for the band Mayday because of their warm-blooded spirits which can inspire me to break through all the gloom and stride ahead.

Among all of those excellent singers, Jay Chou is my favorite artist who is extraordinary significant for me. He is a talented musician, a nice piano player, as well as a gifted composer. Listening to his songs for over ten years, now every time I listen to his songs I will still feel moved. Not only the beautiful melody inspires me, but it is the past experiences and emotion that the songs remind me of that touch me.

For me, songs are like my diary. I love listening to them with nostalgia for a past age. Reminded of all those old experiences, I will never forget my initial dream.

blog 4: More Information About Xi Murong

This thusday I have introduce something about Xi Murong but after class some of my classmates asked me more about her especially her poems. Thus now I will introduce more about her.What I want to stess is her achievement in the area of poem.Most of her poems are about love and hometown. Her poems can catch the hearts of girls so much that nearly all the young girls have the poem anthology of hers. Now I will translate some of her poems with the help of the Internet to let you know more about her. I will also tell you her which I have talked in the class
A blooming tree
How can I render you rencounter me
At the very moment of my prime time
I have been entreating the Buddha for 500 years for the sake of it
begging the Buddha to bridge us with a worldly tie
Thereby, the Buddha grows me into a tree
Standing beside the footpath you walk along regularly
In the sun
Are ardently but discreetly blooming blossoms
Any of which is the anticipation of my preexistence
When approaching
Do listen earnestly
The vibrating leaves
are my passion for awaiting
When you are ultimately getting by without the slightest attention
Those scattering all over the group
My dear friend
are not petals
But my fading heart.

Youth
All endings have been written
All tears have been on the way
Suddenly the beginning was forgotten
In the past old summer day
No matter how hard I trace my mind
Young you passing like a cloud and wind
Fuzzy seems your smiling face
Slowly fades in eve mount haze
Then I open the book to flyleaf yellow
Only to find the fate binds it so hollow
In tears at the book again and again I look
I have to admit youth is too hasty a book.

Regretless Youth
If you fall in love
when you are young
please - be kind to her
no matter how long or short
you share your hearts
If your feelings
may continue
then every moment
will be peerless perfection
If you must leave
still bid her fond farewell
and be thankful in your heart
for the memories she left you
When you are older
you will realize
at the instant when you suddenly
recall those moments
that
a youth without resentment
is without any regret
just like the aged moon
gracing the hills with
quiet clarity

All above are some of the poems of Xi Murong's
I think you must like her after reading her poems

Blog4:Sports is a good recipe

    Two weeks ago, I hurt one finger of mine when I played basketball. At that time, I wanted to steal the ball from an opponent’s hands but my action was so rude, as the result, my finger became the victim. The next day, with a heavy sore, I with my friends went boating in a reservoir at Clementy and held our first party since we knew each other. Of course, the scenery there was really beautiful and we paddled the boat with songs happily. Afterwards, since we wanted to catch up with Junji and Wang Yu for water fight, therefore, I paddled at a high speed, consequently, I broke my left hand unfortunately. In the next two weeks, it is impossible for me to play basketball because the sore. As we know, if you changed you custom for a while, you will feel uncomfortable both in mental and physical. I had not done sports for fifteen days until today. Albeit very tired after a five-hour lesson, I decided to play basketball and I did. At the beginning, my left hand was still very sore when I drabbled. But I did not care and carried on playing because there was nothing was happier than running and jumping on the court. Unconsciously, we had played for two hour and I found my hand was not sore anymore and got well. After that, I felt bright from my head to toe. Sports did refresh me. OK, I can begin my study in the next days with a high spirit. Thank you, basketball

Blog4 Tastes and Preferences

A lot of people enjoy reading, but their preferences and tastes differ widely. The way we think of our preferences is appearing much more significant in our daily life. Therefore, we should take it seriously in some aspects.

If my friends and I sit together to watch TV, some of us turn the channel to sports program, so we have to put up with the fact that the rest of us would not take fun in watching sports. In order to maintain a harmonious atmosphere, we are required to show our respects to each other’s preferences.

We should note that in some cases people show no interest in some kinds of things, because they have little knowledge in them. Thinking the mentioned example in the last paragraph, if we introduce basketball games to my friends who are not familiar with it in details, some of them may begin to fix their eyes on this exciting game.

In addition, our preferences are not just preferences themselves; they also reflect our future potential in a certain aspects. Maybe if we can try to analyze our preferences in a scientific way, we will know what kind of occupation is fit for us. Hence, we will have a good time in the office rather than complain about how boring the job is all day. To go further, if a boy shows his great preference in football, perhaps his parents should help him to get in a football training school. Maybe one day he will become an outstanding football player.

In conclusion, not only should we respect others’ preferences, but also we need to think deeper in our personal choice. Miracles may come out from our preferences if we pay enough attention to them.
 

Blog 4: Cycle and I

There is a saying that ‘Life is based on sport’ and I like sport. When I was three years old I began to ride a tricycle and at the age of 4 I learn how to ride a bicycle.  From then on, bicycle became one of the most important parts in my life. I love cycling because it feels like fly. I began to go to school by bike from grade three in primary school. Till now I have ever had four bikes and the last one is Giant, a Mountain bike. In my 10s, my father ever rode with me to my grandmother’s home, nearly 20 km away from mine. When I’m in high school, it takes me about 10 minutes every day to cover 2.2 km, as I measured accurately, from home to school. Cycling is also an enjoyment for me. I ride along the river feeling the fresh air and viewing green plants. One time I covered 36 km to get to my friends home. I feel great except for pain in my butt. Also in a hot noon with strong sunlight, I covered 40 km without having lunch. In my memory, I have ever felt angry and went for a ride to release myself, for it makes me happy. Bike is my best friends. I love cycling. I love sports.