Tsunami 2011

It's really a shock to see the quake and tsunami in Japan which remind me of the earthquake in China in 2008.

I know the human beings are always very powerless in front of natural disaster, especially in this case. Anyway, this time the Japanese show their calm and discipline again, they did their best and I also see the best result in the worst situation.

If I had to experience a disaster, I hope I were then in Japan, not in US or... China.

New York Botanical Garden

On Saturday I was in N.Y. Botanical Garden with Kun Yu and So Young to see the last day of fall here.

In summer, as Till and I were there, it was not so beautiful because we saw all the time the color of "green".

But now, even it's already the late fall season, still the landscape is much better than in summer.

The spring rushes, Kun Yu said, she liked hearing the sound of spring, I said it could be much better, if we could sit there and make a tea ceremony and enjoy the peace around us.

This is almost like a cliché, but still it's actually beautiful, may your life as colorful as the fall!

green Vs red

Don't say the fallen leaves don't have the emotion to their tree,

they fell down and dedicated themselves to the next spring for their tree. 

I love the sound when I walked on them, 

that's the sound of autumn for me.

It's the most beautiful tree I photographed,

I like its shape which let me memorize some artistic Chinese stone-sculptures.

Halloween Parade @ NY 2010

Every year the Halloween Day comes. And in New York there is a big Halloween Parade as you know. This year it is from Spring Street to 16th Street (My old lady told me it used to be until 23rd Street).

Yesterday I planed to stay there longer but I didn't, because it was really very cold. So cold, that I definitely believed the winter was already here! It was very crowded. I couldn't even get space to stand correctly. My korean friend said it showed that people here could always enjoy "nothing".

Maybe, there was nothing serious to see. I myself didn't find so much fun at all. I don't like celebrations like Carnival, but still it was also an experience.

Sep./ Oct. 2010 @China

I forgot my camera at home in NY. The photos taken by the mobile couldn't be so nice as those by a good camera as you see. However, I still chose some of them in order to memorize the time in China. 

Osmanthus

For me it is the autumn tree which brings us the most elegant fragrance. Who said this season was sad?
You are just thinking too much of the coming winter.
There are many Chinese classical poems describing the osmanthus trees. I like these two lines by Song Zhiwen in Tany Dynasty-

The osmanthus blossoms fallen down from the moon,
their fragrance flies over the clouds.

Tianmu Lake

Have to say it was not as beautiful as West Lake, but I was there for three times because we have friends there.  I like this view. Peaceful. 

Near the lake. It is a typical Chinese village in Southern Yanytzi-River with fish ponds and rice fields.

We spent a whole day there for fishing. I only got 2 tiny ones... Still, it was interesting.

And of course two weddings! Especially the first one of my good friends.
A lovely package of wedding candies.

The wedding hall. - So you see my wedding in SH was not such a typical one. It is usually a huge hall without windows. But I find ours is more beautiful :) 

Xujiahui Park in SH. I was there with my friend for a nice walking in the afternoon.

Shanghai is always full, sometimes even annoying. So it is really pleasant to have such small green parks in the center of the city. Yesterday as I was in the international center an old lady told me before she left the earth she would like to visit Shanghai again. - Because it is now much prettier than ten years ago. I can only admit it.

And twice at EXPO. The night sightseeing is much better than daytime.

What should I say to this big project? I think it is the first time that a whole world is standing in front of you for most Chinese people who have never been abroad. Of course it is not so impressive for me since I went to many countries before. But I am really happy to see that so many people are enjoying it.

陌生 Die Fremdheit

陌生

陌生真是件奇怪的东西，
当它遥远的时候，
你叫它另类风情，
远远望着它，向往它。

当它走得太近，
你却开始张皇失措，
于是它一度变得可憎。

再过一阵，它似乎仍旧在，
却不再触目惊心，
渐渐陌生成了淡淡，
可你还是不愿说它熟悉。

最后的最后，
你把过去的熟悉的也过成了陌生。
最后你只能爱你的淡淡陌生。

Die Fremdheit

Die Fremdheit ist eine merkwürdige Sache,
wenn sie unergreifbar bleibt,
nennst Du sie Exot -
Du betrachst Sie aus der Entfernung und träumst von ihr.

Wenn die Fremdheit zu Nah kommt,
beginnst Du jedoch, ängstlich zu werden.
So scheint sie eine Zeit lang unerträglich.

Nach einer Weile ist sie nicht mehr so auffällig;
Allmählich ist das fremde Gefühl nur sehr leicht,
aber Du willst sie trotzdem nicht vertrauen.

Schließlich bringst Du Deine alte Bekanntkeit zur Fremdheit,
so dass Du bloß Deine jetztige leichte Fremdheit liebst.

---------

1 OST from a japanese old comic movie. - < I can hear the sea >

Freiburg

I recently visited a friend who lives in Freiburg, Germany's warmest city and the first big city to have a mayor from the Green party. I always pictured it as sth close to Tübingen and Heidelberg, but this city actually feels quite different.

I think that's because Freiburg is considerably bigger, but still seems to have all the advantages of those two other famous university cities in the Southwest. What I liked most where all the little Bächles that run through much of the city center:

We also made a small trip to the Kaiserstuhl area, where vineyards are everywhere.

But the most exciting encounter of the entire trip was with this guy:

So don't tell me there are no large insects in central Europe... At least it didn't attack the Euro coin, that would have been an inauspicious sign. I think I will soon miss the German forests - such as this one:

Maybe this post was a bit picture-heavy. But at least everyone can understand this... I'll try to translate Hanshui's recent post... Soon. Now I'm in urgent need of sleep. zzzzz

万里之行，始于足下 make the first step!

Yes, but not you, 汉水。。。 'Cause YOU should be studying for your exam in Sociology on Friday.

I, on the other hand, should have been writing my dissertation during the last hours. Let's be fair and compare our achievements in an objective way real quick:

The outlook seems to be rather bleak for my dissertation...

New ideas like this blog always come to our minds when we should be working on sth. - let's be careful here not to jeopardize our residual motivation with negative thinking - slightly less intriguing than, say, Mario Kart.

That's why we created this blog today. Another reason is that we think we are at an important point in our lives, just 18 days before our move to the US. We hope to use this blog to keep in touch with our friends back home, but also as a way to chronicle this whole journey for ourselves.

See you soon - 再见 - bis bald!