Comments Reply II

Dear Lucy, that was really a sweet burden :) But here I have noticed many young mothers carry their babies with them everywhere, on the bus, to the store and even hiking! When your baby is a bit older, maybe it’s a good idea to take him/her out sometimes: )

Dear Mizan, glad you like my German pictures :) keep reading the blog and more pictures from China will come up! Oh I would love to tour around Asia, including the south west part of it. (Pity is that as Asian I have never been to any other Asian country before…)Bangladesh is definitely an ideal destination! And as for your idea of “if someone's mind and intuition shape something, he/she should head towards to execute”, I find it very correct. I also realize that encouragement along the way is of great importance—thinking if my parents had not been supportive by buying books for me and encouraging me to write, it would have been a totally different story. By the way, I can tell you read a lot too!

Dear Ramilton, one of the German girls living in my dormitory has just returned from Africa! She said it was wonderful and has brought back many interesting and exotic souvenirs. Hope you will have a wonderful journey too!

Dear Ravindra, I’m ashamed now that I’m replying you (and others) so late and my posts are not that active…I have a lot that I want to write, but always get disturbed by my school assignments…anyway I will do my best and big thanks to your support!

Dear Rocio, I hope you have found my answer to your choosing-literature question satisfying:) I admire you so much for your courage and persistence on foreign language learning. After mastering German, my next ambition is Cantonese (well that’ s still Chinese, but the speaking part is entirely different from Chinese mandarin which I speak) Korean and French…and maybe that will be another ten years…Yet it is never too late to learn! Keep up your good work Rocio!

Dear Israel, as I was learning the Bible as a literary text (I’m not Christian) the other day, I realized Israel was originally a man’s name, then a people’s, then the country’s. Is that right? There is indeed story behind everyone’s names！

Dear Rabail, thank you for enjoying the pictures! The scenery was just so wonderful that every normal click would produce a post-card picture! Big thanks for commenting on my entry too, that gives me huge motivation to write! Speaking of my course of World Englishes, it is getting more and more interesting. We started from American accents last time, which made me realize even within a speaker (like J. F. Kennedy), the rendering of a certain phoneme (such as “a” and “r”) could be inconsistent. I will be doing a presentation on colonial Englishes soon, mainly about Cameron and Hong Kong. I agree with you that people’s English accent is influenced by their native language. Have you noticed that their penmanship is so too? i.e. The way Chinese people write Chinese characters will very likely form the way they write English letters, even the two writing systems are very different.

Dear Soroush, an amazing thing: a couple of weeks ago when I was on the castle of Heidelberg, I saw SNOW! It was barely visible but I saw it! The weather went normal again till now. I guess the winter of Heidelberg will be just as interesting as in Toronto. I’m really looking forward to Christmas now And Bingo! You are absolutely right about Chinese names: 1) The baby name is used only within the family, when parents call the child. This may continue to the child’s adulthood. And official name is what’s written on your passport, school transcript, etc. and called by people outside the family. 2) The last name (or the family name) comes first, which makes the first name (or the given name) come second. The common Chinese names you may have heard of like Wang, Chan, and Liu are actually family names. Now, do you know how to address, for example, me (Jin Lu)-- Miss Jin or Miss Lu? (I’m sure you do!)

Thank you Ana Paula, I’m up to my neck in work too, school work though. But writing this blog is the last thing in the world I would ever give up! Thanks for reading it and being so encouraging

Dear Diema, yes it’s a happiest thing to study what one really wants. Some of my friends don’t get to do that, which is very unfortunate. But it’s also possible that I will end up doing something entirely different from what I study in college, which is fun too. Who knows?:)

Dear Marianna, your comment is so informative and insightful. Sorry, firstly, for the confusing sentence: I meant that German university is not entirely different from my university in China. Secondly, absolute agreement with you on treasuring our meaningful and beautiful languages. Even I study and use English intensively I still find myself most attracted to Chinese (and ancient Chinese). I know little about the writer you mentioned, but I’m sure he was profound in mind and determined in life. Glad you enjoy the Bronte sisters’ works as well. Hope reading helps you get better

Thank you Asma for being so kind and encouraging! I am actually very optimistic and happy indeed It just bothers me sometimes that I will never get to read up ALL the good books in the world! …well just joking: ) Anyway reading is so much fun and hope you enjoy it too.

Dear HYOSHIL, I have just made up my mind to pick up my Korean and hope I will be able to speak it one day! Maybe I will go live in Korea for a year or two and get to know an authentic Korea. I did see a fortune-teller one time in an old temple in a mountain, but it turned out to be funny…he said that math was my strongest subject in school and I would have many troubles with English learning, which was apparently the other way round…I just had a big laugh (well not in front of him though). Speaking of fortune-teller, it is interesting that Chinese restaurants in foreign countries always give people fortune cookies, but in Chine NEVER. I hadn’t seen anything like that until I was in USA one time…

Dear Sahimeh, welcome! And you are already helping me and yourself in learning English by writing a comment. Keep reading, I hope you will find our communication helpful :) Best wishes!

Dear Van, thank you for the encouragement! I once intended to read the Chinese translation of the Jane Austen Club but never finished it. I think of two reasons:1) everyone has their Jane Austen Club story so I was always interrupted by my own story and could not continue within the book 2) the Chinese translation was not good enough. Both reasons make me feel more determined to learn English well, because there seems to be something always untranslatable from one to another, language or life story.

Thank you Mateo! I am actually writing a long story for my writing course at Heidelberg University and enjoy it very much. But I’ve never thought about making writing a formal career. Not only because I’m far from good, but also that it would be so stressful considering the commercial side…Anyway I will never stop writing, that’s for sure : )

Well, Silvia, the reason is dull. There was a girl who had the same first and last names as mine in my class, (this situation is common in China) so it caused huge inconvenience for everyone. Then my dad decided to give me a new name. He happened to like the anchorwoman I mentioned, who had the name of “Lu”(of course with a different family name). And there was my new name:)

Dear Vladimir, I wish I could be like Jack London, but mentally and physically I CAN’T. I am definitely the latter type: I write when I feel like it. I do have an idea in mind when I start an piece of writing, but usually the idea gets lost and distracted by something else that comes along the way, and the piece ends up being something different or even opposite! I wanted to write about the house I’m living when I started the “A world of words” entry, but see, it apparently went far away… But life is so much more interesting with a wandering mind, ha: ) There is little chance I will be a professional writer, but if I ever publish anything, then the name of the author will be JIN LU. Always, I promise you.

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