August 3rd.2002　　Saturday　　Cloudy and rainy

　　Today, our school"Embassy CES" organized us to pay a visit to the famous university ------ Cambridge.

　　Hastings' weather is changeable. After several days of shinning sun, we came across a fairy cold day. Early in the morning, I said good-bye to my host family with the packed lunch they had prepared for me and went to the school happily. The wind blew against me on the way along the shore. It made me peculiarly feel comfortable though I was just in a short-sleeved T-shirt. It cooled me. It calmed me even though I saw the sea was rough, with the wind and the rain whistling by.

　　I have been teaching and learning English for over twenty years in China. Never before have I had a chance to learn the language in a native English-speaking country. I found lots of things I was not used to here at first, not just the food, the weather, or the way of life here, but, I mean , the way to study the language. And I find lots and lots I still don't understand. I feel my English is quite limited as an English teacher. Maybe the knowledge of the language is just like the sea, which was invented and has been being used, while changing and improving itself over thousands of thousands of years. So , at times, we feel puzzled for her profound ranges of knowledge.

　　It is not easy to master a language. However, although my English is not good, I am confident that I can use the language to communicate with people here in the language, and be more helpful to my students in the future. I must seize every chance to try, and to practise, to learn, and to absorb everything now. Here is another good chance for me today. So I felt so happy.

　　We set out at about 8:45 a. m.. We were told the trip would last over two hours. During the journey, it rained several times. On the bus, we together sang some Chinese songs, as well as several English ones. The Chinese songs aroused our homesickness. In this remote country of England, while singing such familiar Chinese songs, naturally we thought of our families and all the folks at home, our colleagues and our students. We can have never felt loving them more!

　　As for our senior three students , these days are very important, for they each must have got their results of the college entrance examinations. All of us senior teachers among the classmates are all eager to know what good marks our students have got. We had tried every means to get the information about it, but not enough. I wished from the bottom of my heart that all my students can get their ideal results and will be able to enter the university they each want to.

　　This is really a far-away missing, a far-away concern and a remote wish!

　　With such feelings on mind, I was lost in thought and didn't realize to enjoy the scenery along the way until we reached the destination , where it turned out to be a fine day.

　　Cambridge is a city famous for her old universities and her outstanding ancient buildings with fine architectures. In my eye, it is old, mysterious, grand and graceful, with neat streets, green grasses and fresh trees everywhere. The river Cam runs across the city. People like to punt on the river. We all had a try, too. Walking around the marvelous city, we felt proud of the British people, who created this wonder in the world. We felt proud of the celebrities who came out of the universities and made great contributions to mankind. And we are proud of ourselves, too, for now, as English teachers from China, we can more or less learn and understand the stories of the city, and are able to enjoy these great arts of mankind and get something important for us to use home later.

　　But the more delight that brought to us is to see lots and lots of Chinese people walking on the streets, gathering in the campus, or punting on the river. They greeted each other in a warm and pleasant way wherever they met in the city. It seemed we were having a Chinese festival in Cambridge!