If you come back from your trip, you will gain something.

If you come back from your trip, you will gain something.

20 14-9-3 12:36

The famous saying of our ancestors, "It is better to take the road of Wan Li than to study in thousands of books", is deeply rooted in people's hearts. Since the meaning of traveling even exceeds reading, I can't help but take stock of the gains of traveling for more than two months!

On June 26th, the first day of our daughter's holiday, we left California for Florida and stayed in Florida for 12 days. It took off from Miami in the eastern United States on July 8 and arrived in Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland. From July 8th to August 28th, we spent most of this summer vacation in Europe. Having been to Europe several times, my daughter and I have lost our curiosity and fuss for the first time, and we have gained a lot of understanding, tolerance and familiarity with many different customs we have seen.

I benefited a lot from my holiday. We can see some of the results. For example, when we left California, each of us had a checked suitcase. When we came back, we paid an extra $200, brought two checked suitcases, and everyone had a heavy backpack behind them. In addition to what we bought for ourselves, I was far-sighted, and partially solved the gifts I planned to bring to my family and friends when I returned to China next year. Each of us has gained a touch of beautiful wheat color on his face. When we went out to meet friends, everyone said that we looked particularly healthy. Accustomed to the bronzed skin of westerners, especially Europeans, I went shopping with my daughter the day before yesterday and saw several Asian women wearing shorts showing their white thighs, which made me feel bright and dazzling. During the 10 day in Italy, we did as the Romans do. Like the local Italians, we ate dinner at 9 o'clock every night, strolled back to the hotel in the middle of the night, and ate almost every day while walking in front of Italian ice cream shops. We couldn't help but want to buy a sweet and attractive ice cream. Is Italian dessert delicious? Italian semantic ice cream is also the first word learned by many foreigners who have been to Italy, just like German Bier. Although we walk in the hot sun every day, our weight inevitably increases. Plus, during my stay in Germany, I ate a lot of meat and drank a large glass of wine. When I came back to weigh myself, I painfully found that my weight had set a record! I gained more than 6 pounds! The uneven distribution of these 6 pounds of fat on my stomach makes me feel a sense of crisis! Next will be the most serious weight loss exercise in my life! !

Speaking of intangible gains, the three of us each have a lot.

After visiting several European countries and seeing the unique customs of each country, my political commissar realized that for us, California is our home, and even though there are many possibilities and choices, our future is still in the United States. Because my husband's good friend Y works in the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Y asked his advice a few years ago. Would you like to work in Geneva if there is an opportunity? At that time, we all felt that we would be extremely excited to find such a high position at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Like Y, after getting the position, he sold his house and company in California, moved his family to Europe and chose to live in such a quiet small French village with only 500 people. This time, I have a chance to walk in myself. After coming back, I feel that for us, we are more adapted to the American environment and life. It's ok to go to Europe for a holiday, but don't live and work.

For me, after a trip to Europe, I began to appreciate English from the bottom of my heart. I think there is really no reason not to learn English well. When I returned to America from Europe, I watched TV and went shopping. People around me speak a language I can understand, and my heart is full of familiar and long-lost intimacy. During my stay in Europe, I heard a language I didn't understand every day and gradually felt illiterate. Fortunately, I came to the United States to learn to speak this language, which is the easiest for a native of China. I can't turn my tongue skillfully and make strange "R" sounds from all angles. The two words "Grazie" and "Prego" that can be used every day in Italy need to be pronounced with a special R sound, which is particularly difficult for us in China. I tried it many times, but my pronunciation was inappropriate and I was very depressed. During more than a month in Europe, except for a week in London, I was surrounded by people who spoke German and Italian. Because I don't understand, I can only understand each other's meaning through their body language, which is very uncomfortable.

Finally, talk about the daughter. For a young man of 14 years old, traveling is the most rewarding.

I remember a few years ago when I was chatting with my blogger friend Lu Xiao in Melbourne, Australia, she gave my daughter a brain teaser and encouraged her not to give up Chinese: What's the name of a bilingual person? Called bilingual (bilingual); What is it that a person can speak three languages? Called trilingual; What is the name of the language that a person can speak? It's called American. This should be a little joke that people in other countries in the world laugh at Americans who can't speak other foreign languages except English. My daughter and I are deeply impressed. This joke was later told to the Americans around me, and everyone smiled and nodded in agreement.

When I travel to Europe, I meet many Europeans who can speak several foreign languages, and I envy them for switching freely between languages and being relaxed. My daughter took Spanish as an elective at school for two years. She studies well and is very talented. Because Spanish is very close to Italian, she likes her experience in Italy very much. The English level of Italians is generally inferior to that of Germans. If we need directions or help, we will ask our daughter to help us learn Spanish. At first, she was shy. She was worried that the Spanish she spoke would not be understood by Italians. Later, on the one hand, she was emboldened by our encouragement, and on the other hand, she realized that there were regular subtle differences in pronunciation between Spanish and Italian, which was enough for Italians to understand what she wanted to express.

I remember that our first stop was Venice, Italy. When we took the bus, we found that there was no route map on the bus and the driver didn't announce the stop. Every time we arrive at the station, we nervously look at the name of the stop sign outside the window. I have been reluctant to believe that buses in Venice do not have the function of announcing stops. Later, I found an electronic card near the back door of the car. The words on it kept rolling and there was an arrow pointing to the door. I pointed to the electronic card on it and asked my daughter: Is there the name of the radio station being broadcast on it? My daughter looked up at the Italian on it and told me that it said that if she wanted to get off the bus, she should ring the bell in advance. Only then did I understand why there was an arrow indicating the location of the bell. Another day, I got on the bus and sat near the front door. I also saw an electronic sign on it. I asked my daughter: Is this to announce the name of the station? My daughter read the above words and told me no, that's to remind you to swipe your card when you get on the bus to make your card valid. I said to my daughter: it's great to see that you know Italian while learning Spanish, and you can understand and understand everywhere! Mom can't read or understand, which is no different from illiteracy.

I think this experience has increased her interest and determination in learning Spanish a lot.

My daughter came to America when she was seven. I never put too much pressure on her to continue learning Chinese. Although she has a very good foundation in Chinese Pinyin, her Chinese level has not improved significantly.

The night before I left Europe, when I said good night, my daughter sat in front of me seriously and said, Mom, I think you can start teaching me Chinese after we return to America, ok? You teach me some time every week. But you have to give me more patience. You think this is easy. I should. Maybe I don't remember it long ago, but I'm determined to study hard. After listening to the children say so, as a mother, what reason do I have to be impatient to teach my children? My daughter also told me that she would use her spare time to teach herself German, and she would continue to take Spanish for the remaining three years of high school, and then she would learn French.

I don't know if she will have time to realize her desire to learn a foreign language during her busy three years in high school, but at least I realized her determination to learn after experiencing cultural shock.

The day before yesterday, when I saw my daughter exchanging ideas about learning a foreign language with one of her little pen pals, she wrote: Personally, I think learning a language is both challenging and very interesting. I am currently studying Spanish and English in high school. I began to learn German in my spare time. Learning a language is challenging, but when you have the ability to understand it, it is not only worthwhile. Personally, I think learning a language is both challenging and interesting. I am taking Spanish as an elective course in high school now, and I plan to start learning German in my spare time. Learning a language is more rewarding than challenging, especially when you can understand something that your peers rarely understand. )

I'm glad that she really felt the happiness brought by a foreign language through her own personal experience. Learn one more language and the world will open another window for you.

When I came back from this trip, I found that my daughter had obviously grown up a lot. Although school has not started yet, she gets up before 7 o'clock every morning. My daughter got up early in the morning and started to work, because she had just returned home, and there were many places outside her home that needed cleaning. On the first day, she spent two hours cleaning the front yard, and the next day, she spent nearly five hours cleaning the backyard. I got up at 8 o'clock in the morning. She has been working for an hour. My husband went upstairs to watch the football match. Later, he went downstairs and was surprised to find that she was still working alone in the backyard. At noon, the California sun is like fire, covered in sweat and covered with branches and leaves. She didn't perfunctory or complain, which made me sit up and take notice. I heard that my leg hurts after standing for a long time last night, so I volunteered to go downstairs and prepare foot bath water for me. I sat there soaking my feet, and she always stood by and guided me, telling me when to add water and when to use the olive oil and white sugar scrub she prepared for me. After washing, I wiped my feet. She immediately handed me the lotion and asked me to apply moisturizing cream in three minutes to keep my feet moist. After I soaked my feet in water, she wouldn't let me move, saying it was too heavy for my waist. She tried to carefully move a big wooden basin full of water to the bathroom to help me dump it. I calmly accepted everything my daughter did for me, and my heart was warm.

I paid for her, and she repaid me at an early age!

Some people say: people's hearts are always far away, and the farther they go, the closer they get! Yes, this is the biggest gain that travel can bring us. Panorama is not only a beautiful scenery, but also an inner self. We have experienced, experienced and felt. We should cherish life better and live hard!