When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation(住所). I suggested that they should stay at local bed and breakfasts, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.

“We didn’t stay at bed and breakfasts,” they said, “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”

I thought this was odd. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”, because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to the house where the sign outside said “VACANCIES”, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to the house where there was a sign saying “NO VACANCIES”, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full.

We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. But that was not the case. In Spanish, the word “DIVERSION” means fun. In English, however, it usually means that you have to take the road because the usual roads are closed.

English people have problems too when they are faced with foreign languages. Once in Paris, I happened to see a “librairie”. I thought it was a library and walked into it, asking to borrow some books. However, to my surprise the “librarians” all stared at me in amazement! Later I found out that “librairie” in French means “bookstore”.

I waved goodbye to my senior high school life just six months ago and now I am a college freshman. However, all the details of my senior high school life are still fresh in my memory.

My senior high school is called Yantai No. 1 Middle School of Shandong with a long history , which can date back to 1931. When I recall my memorable senior high school life, I feel happy and impressed.

To be honest, my senior high school life was tiring but I really enjoyed it. I focused myself on studies and studied hard to realize my dream. At that time, I got up at 5: 30 a. m. and went to bed late in order to have more time to review what I had learned in the day. In addition to study, I also took part in some activities such as English speech contests and calligraphy (书法) competitions.

Our class was like a big family. I got along well with my classmates. We always discussed topics of all kinds after class. I made many friends in the family and we still keep in touch with each other after we graduated. Luckily, my teachers were also very enthusiastic and friendly. We were seen as their children. They not only taught us knowledge but told us how to study better.

What's more, my dormitory life is also worth mentioning. Living far away from my home, I was quite independent by the end of the first semester at senior high. My roommates and I worked as a team to do the cleaning every day. We had a good time living as a family together, and my social skills were gradually improved.

This is my senior high school life, busy but fulfilling. I will never forget it.

A Love Note to My Mum

When I was a little girl, you always modelled for fashion photographers. It was years later that I finally understood the role that modelling played in your life. Little did I know you were saving every penny you made to go to law school.

I couldn’t thank you enough for what you told me one autumn afternoon when I was nine. After finishing my homework, I went into the dining room where you were focusing on reading law books. I was confused. Why were you doing what I did — memorising textbooks and studying for tests? When you said you were in law school, I was even more surprised. I didn’t know mums could be lawyers, either. You smiled and said, “In life, you can do anything you want to do.”

Young as I was, those words kept ringing in my ears. I watched as you faced the challenges of completing your studies, starting companies with Dad, while still being a model and a mum of five kids. You never complained or gave up. With your words of wisdom in my mind, I suddenly felt the freedom to pursue my dream. My whole world opened up. I set out to live my life filled with hope, seeing endless possibilities for personal and professional success.

Your words became my motto(座右铭). As I grew up, I always found myself in the unique position of being either the first or one of the few women (chief medical reporters) in my field. I gained strength from your words every time I got into trouble.

Encouraged by your words, I have forged ahead(稳步前进) with my life’s journey, less afraid to make mistakes or to meet challenges. You did it, and now I’m doing it. So much to do, so many dreams to realise.

Gone are the days when you and your best friend shared everything about your life. Whether you’re at fault or she is, mending a broken friendship is far from easy. If the relationship means a lot and you aren’t willing to simply throw it away, fixing it is possible. That’s what I have learned in the past months.

When I first moved to Florida, I felt so out of place. I had come from a small town and was so unsure of myself. Luckily, my husband and I moved into a friendly neighbourhood, and things became better.  

For many years, my neighbour across the street and I shared happy times. But then a misunderstanding occurred, and she quit speaking to me. I tried many times to speak to her about the issue and tell her how sorry I was that I had let her down. But she refused to take my phone calls and avoided me when I was outside.

During our conflict, my husband and I put our house up for sale. We weren’t leaving the neighbourhood because of a feeling of hurt; we were having twins and needed more room for our growing family.

Months later, I moved away without talking to her and putting an end to our misunderstanding. It always made me sad when I thought of how poorly it had ended. For many times I wished we had renewed our friendship. I just hated the feelings left from our unsolved conflict. It was like a scab(痂) that kept reopening and worsening with pain and upset.

About eight months after we moved, I decided to take a drive back into the old neighbourhood. As I drove down my street, I saw my former neighbour washing her car in her front yard. I knew that I needed to stop and greet her. I opened the car door and got out. To my surprise, she came up and gave me a big hug. We both apologized for our actions, and I felt that I finally achieved closure. I was able to say I was sorry and have it accepted.