Visiting the Xian Music Conservatory

I went to the symphony tonight and enjoyed it very much.  I had some basic information but did not have as much information as I would have liked, and that had a negative affect on my confidence.  Just like now as I try and decide if it should be affect or effect.  I will stick with affect.  My students say that English is very difficult and I always agree with them.  I was able to find the right bus stop and found a person to help me get from the bus stop to the entrance of the university where the music conservatory is.  There is no better feeling than to be on a eight lane divided road, on a motor scooter, going the wrong way into four lanes of traffic.  Helmets, we don't need no stinking helmets.  Even though I was on the scooter for a very short time the first thing to cross my mind was, I don't want to upset my Mother.  I guess that kind of thought will never go away.  But I am here now and was able to get to the symphony on time.  The program was entertaining and I did enjoy it.  I also met a young man who is trying to get in to graduate school in the USA.  He has to find a school that will transfer his Chinese credits.   He was talking about how difficult the process is.  He is right about that.  It is hard to find the right school when you live in the USA and it is harder when you have to do it in a different language and live in a different time zone.  I also told him that in the USA he was not going to find a 6 yuan bowl of noodles for lunch.  I do think this young man will do fine.  He has a lot on the ball and has good English skills.  I hope to go back and listen to some classical Chinese music.  Tonight we listened to the type of classical music I have heard all my life but before I return to the USA I hope to hear some Chinese classical music.  That of the GuZheng and other instruments. The next bus trip will be easier.  Like they say here, Hao hao xue xi, tian tian xiang shang.  Everyday make a little more progress.  I assume Ava will tell me if I got that correct or not. Every time I to try to do something new I get a little better at understanding the culture and the way things are here.  I tell my students that every time they try and speak with a foreign person it will get easier for them.  It is difficult to be in a culture that is so different from the one you live in but it is so interesting to be in a culture that is so different than the one you live in.  I tell my students that there are two basic forms of communication that everyone uses and everyone understands, one is a smile and the other is a frown.  The smile works better most of the time.  I try to smile as much as possible even when I am going the wrong way on a busy street on the back of a motor scooter.