A big surprise

Last year was a really unlucky year for me. I carelessly lost my mobilephone in the taxi and when I phoned the taxi driver it was already taken by somebody. Because of the concern for my safety, my mum bought me a new one though,she was a bit angry. Only two months later, my ipod touch which was in my pocket was stolen when I was standing at the entrance of the subway station. Again, my parents bought me a new one because I needed to use it as a dictionary to look up new words.

However, my bad luck didn't end. I went to my sister's home to see her new-born baby three weeks before my birthday. Before I arrived at my sister's home, I went to the convenience store to buy some snack food for their daughter, but again my cellphone was taken away when I was lining up in front of the cashier. What even worse was that I didn't realize my phone was stolen until I went back to my home. When I found it wasn't there in my pocket, I phoned my mobilephone which was already shut down by someone else as quickly as I can. This really made my parents annoyed, especially my dad. That was the time when my parents were thinking of sending me abroad, and the biggest concern my dad had was my safety. My lost phones and ipod touch made my parents really worried about me because of my carelessness. Therefore, they decided to not to buy me a new phone as a way of punishment.

However., 3 weeks later, when I came back home from school, my dad led me to my room. I was surprise to see a new cellphone placed on the desk in a lovely box. I asked my dad with a unbelievable tone:' You said that you won't buy me a new phone until I'm not such incautious.''But today is your birthday which is different for you and for us.' answered my dad.

The new cellphone I received last year is the most surprising birthday gift I've ever had. Not because I want a new one, but because of my dad's reply when I asked him why he bought me a cellphone. Although last year was a really unlucky and tough year for me I still got a big surprise by the end of the year.

(from google image)

Reading

My mom loves reading, so she taught me how to read in my first language. There are a varitey of books on our bookshelf including fiction and non-fiction. For me, fiction especially the adventure novels are more appealing. I can experience lots of different things which won't occure in reality by reading novels. For example, there is no school of magic like Hogwarts in real life, but there is in the book Harry Potter.

However, there are still some difficulties when I'm reading a book. For me, it's easy to start reading a book but it's hard to finish reading a book.

The library here is big and well-furnished with various genres of books, video and music and even video games. There are comfortable sofas, desk for studing and computers for searching books. The library here in Victoria us ynlike the library in china. The library in Victoria is not very crowded and is totally free. You don't have to pay to get a library card while in China you have to pay the library monthlyy otherwise the library card will expire.

The book I chose was Harry Potter and the deathly hallows writthen by J.K.Rowling. The reason I chose this book is quite simple. I love watching the movie Harry potter but I 've never read the novel, because I 've watched the movie, it's easier for me to understand the story.

(http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Deathly_Hallows)

Harry Potter and the deathly hallows is the last book of the whole series. In this book, Harry had his last duel against Lord Voldmort by destroying the seven deathly hallows which contain the spirit of Voldmort. By the end of the story, Harry defeats Voldmort and protects his friends.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y57sYHIDP_Y)

My favourite food

My favourite dish is a traditional Chinese dish called boiled fish with pickled cababage nad chili. Sichuan cuisine is one of the most popular dish styles in China and this dish is the most well-known dish among Sichuan cuisine.

                         (source:http://www.meishichina.com/Eat/RMenu/200804/35377.html)

The main ingrediants of this dish are fish and pickled cabbage. Oily broth with white fish meat and mint green pickled cabbage decorated with jade green chili, make this dish very fascinating. The dish is usually cooked in a big bronze pot.

the fish meat tastes very spicy and soft; the pickled cabbage tastes very refreshing and sour. Although the broth is oily it tastes very refreshing, delicious and a little bit numb because of the pepper. As being the most common dish in Chinese restaurants, it smells very attractive  because of the fresh smell of the fish and pickled cabbage.

Boiled fish with pickled cabbage and chili is also a popular homemade dish in China which is one of my mom's best dishes. I can still remember the scene when my mom was cooking this dish in the kitchen. The big bronze pot was put on the fire; it boiled with bubbling sound. The fish meat is cut into pieces and placed on a pan with a sizzleing sound while my mom was standing beside the pot, cutting the pickled cabbage with a clanking sound.  The kitchen was filled with the tasty aroma of the dish.

I love eating boiled fish with pickled cabbage and chili not only because of its special smell and refreshing mouthfeel, but also because it  reminds me of my sweet home and my mom.




(source:http://www.meishichina.com/Eat/RMenu/201102/97124.html)

culture clush comic

Quotation

A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind
                                                                          
                                                                             -------Albert Szent-Gyorgyi


The meaning of thhis quotation is that  a discovery is an accident which won't occured without any preparation. I chose this quotation because of the importance of discovery to people. In fact, cicilization began with a discovery. All developemts and simple improvements made by humans throughout the ages were based on discoveries.

Somebody believes that discoveries are accidents occur by chance. However, the lightning flashed across the sky for thhousands of times, but only Benjamin Franklin thought about the difference between lightning and artificial electricity. After years of studying, he got the answer and invented the lightning conductor. Therefore, if discovery is and accident, it may happen at anytime and met by anyone, but only the one with a prepared mind can realize something.

The story of Madame Curie is another example of this quotation. Madam curie and her husband discovered Radium after a number of experiments. Because of their hard work they refined Radium successfully.

The quotation is also meaningful to me. It tells me to be prepared before doing anything to receive a good result.

A Piece of Advice That Brought Me Here

Last June I was still in China, spending my whole summer vacation studying TOFLE test. It was a very hot summer and my parents were thingking about sending me to a developed country to sutdy there. At first, they thought about sending me to Singapore as it is a safe place for studying. However, my parents do not have any friends there, and if I study there, I'll be alone. Finally they decided to send me to Canada where me dad's best friend lives.

They asked me about my opinion towards studying abroad, which iwas a really difficult question for me. There are a number of Chinese students who dream of studying abroad, and some of my friends are already studying in foreign coutries. I was also very curious about the life in a compeletely different culture, and the education system in western countries. I wasn't sure if it is worth studying abroad in an unfamiliar country, leaving mt entire family, and all my friends in China. I was feeling very hesitant and absolutely didn't know what to do.

For several days, I was troubled by this problem until I got the advice given to me by my father which made me feel enlightened. My dad said 'that the length of life is limited, no more than several decades, but the width of life is unlimited. What you can do to make your limited lifespan more significant and more colorful is to widen  the width of your life. However, when you are in China, you're meeting the same type of people everyday, speaking the same language everyday, and experiencing the same culture everyday. It's hard for you to change your life and try iyt something new. Thus, it's difficult for you to widen the width of your life. Nonetheless, if you go to a very different country, you will have a chance to experience new things and it will also be an opportunity for you to enhance your living skills.' My dad's words really moved me. Why don't I offer a chance to challenge myself ? I decided to go and study in Canada eventually. I think it is the biggest and the most important decision I've ever made.

Now I'm here in Canada, experiencing a new way of life and a different culture. Thanks to the adivce given to me by my dad, I'm very happy and feeling very wxcited towards my new life here.

Beijing,my homecity

I come from Beijing, the capital city of China. I was born there and was raised up there. Now, I'm going to show you around my homecity.

There are a number of historical and traditional buildings with vermilion walls, chrome wide roofs and golden luxury columns in Beijing for being the capital city of China for 6 dynasties. One of the most famous ancient buildings in Beijing is the Summer Palace. It is a place for kings in ancient China spending their hot summers. There are beautiful glassy lakes wuth clusters of pink lotus, and huge willows provide shadows for passengers in hot summers.
Beijing is also a morden and cosmopolitian city with skyscrapers and big shopping malls in the central part of Beijing.

(Summer Palace)

 (Summer Palace)

Beijing is a crowded and energetic city with a large population. Therefore, there are tens of millions of viechles in Beijing although each lane of the road is very wide. You can always hear the sound of the  rushing cars when you are walking on the steet.

 (traffic jam)

the food in Beijing is also awesome. There are some traditional foods such as Roast Duck which is the label of Beijing as well as different kinds of food come from all over the world.


 (Noodles with soy bean paste)

The weather in Beijing can be very dry and windy, especially in the spring time. Sandstorms occur often in March to early April. But in the autum, the scenery in Beijing becomes very beautiful. Leaves of the trees turn to yellow or red and ofem a colorful view of Beijing.


  (Autum in Beijing)

So this is my homecity. I love it because of its culture, long history and energy.