nighthawks

it is 3 a.m. walking the now abandoned streets of the city, the flickering lights of a dim neon sign catch my eye. i cross the street to the all night cafe, eager to get out of the cold. the tiny cafe is tucked between a laundromat and computer repair store that appears to have been shut down. a faded "for lease" sign hangs crookedly in the store's display window, giving it an air of despair. i pull open the door of the cafe, accompanied by a draft of icy air. a few somber customers turn at the tinny door's chime before disinterestedly turning back to their rapidly cooling coffee. it is warmer than outside, but not by much. cold seeps in from the aged window seals, filling the place with a chill. i stand in the doorway, surveying my surroundings. i am aware immediately of the cutting silence, only broken briefly by the ruffle of a newspaper page turning or a spoon clinking against a china cup. i walk to the counter where the barista slowly shuffles about, his shoulders slumped and eyes hooded. he takes my order and i climb on to a cracked red vinyl bar stool, absentmindedly swiveling from side to side in my seat. i watch the barista silently pour coffee into a cup for me, steam swirling off of it and dissipating into the air. i notice the lines etched into his face, forming trails and valleys that transform his face into a weathered monument. he is the one who needs coffee, i think as he slides the cup across the counter toward me. i stare into the quivering liquid, i see my reflection, i see coffee grounds drifting along the bottom of the cup. i'm not sure why i ordered it. i drink it anyway, putting it to my lips and taking a large gulp of the scalding drink. it's as crappy as i imagined.

foreign exchange letter (betty)

Dear Sophia,

Hi! My Chinese name is Zhang Yujia. (In China,Yujia is my first name and Zhang is my family name.) And my English name is Betty. I’m in Kevin James’s English class. I’m 18 years old and a freshman in Qingdao University. I major in English and minor in French. I have just graduated from high school for about 8 months. At first, I missed my family very much but gradually I adapt to the new school life. I make friends with my new classmates, participate in many interesting activities and study very hard. My college life is very colorful. Hearing that you will go to college in 2 months, may you have a happy school life!

As for my family, I am the only child in my family. Because in our country there is a policy that one family shall have no more than one child if they live in a city. I always long for a brother or sister, who can play with me so that I won’t feel lonely. There are 3 children in your family, so you must have a fulfilling family life. I love animals but my mom doesn’t allow me to have one at home because she think I don’t have either the time or the energy to take good care of it. My favorite colors are pink,blue and purple. I love music and sing songs. Now I’m studying how to play the guitar. From my perspective, it is cool to play the guitar while singing a song. Different from you, I like sunny days because the sunlight makes me feel delighted. In my spare time, I always go out with my friends or study in the library. I hate the feeling of being alone and I like being accompanied. I hope I can be admitted into a famous graduate school after graduating from college, so I have to study hard from now.

Our university is in a city called Qingdao. It’s a seaside city with agreeable weather. There are many places of interest in Qingdao. I decided to visit all of them before graduation. If you come to Qingdao, we can appreciate these beautiful views together. I have been wanting to find a foreign friend for a long time. I hope I can write to or chat with him or her to improve my English. I’m very glad to be acquainted with you. Hoping we can become good friends and keep in touch with each other.

Attached photos of me. I’m looking forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Betty

Dear Betty,

I’m sorry it has taken me so long to reply, but I was gone for a while because of spring break, and it is difficult to respond to your letters because of the restrictions we have on our computers at school. However, I have read your letters and you sound very interesting! You sound very musically gifted with being able to both sing and play guitar. I used to play the piano, but I quit when I got to high school. I still love to sing and love all types of music. I’m actually going to a concert for one of my favorite bands in a couple of weeks. It is also amazing to me that you are multilingual. I speak some Spanish, but I could never imagine being able to speak three different languages. You must be very smart.

I’m so glad to hear that you love college. I hope I’ll love it too! I am very independent though, so I don’t think I will miss my family quite as much as you said you missed yours. My brother is already in college so I don’t see him very often anyway. I am hoping to be able to be as involved as you are with outside activities and make friends as well.

Qingdao sounds like a very beautiful city. I absolutely love the ocean, it is so big and beautiful. If I ever visit China, I will make sure that I visit Qingdao.

I read your piece about your photo albums and I loved it! You were very descriptive and I felt like I could see your story in my mind. It was very interesting and uplifting. I especially loved when you talked about your favorite photo album. It is important to love yourself and your looks. You sound like a very confident, strong person. Those are very admirable qualities.

Sincerely,

Sophia

P.S. The pictures you attached of yourself are lovely!

foreign exchange letter (jennifer)

Dear Sophia,

      I'm Jennifer, a 21-year-old girl studying English at Qingdao University. I'm your partner for the Exchange Project. In the photo I attached below, you can see me clearly. I'm not beautiful and a little fat. Even if sometimes I feel sad about my look-Why am I look so common?But later, I accept that. Because I think, I must excel in some fields. And I will achieve a great goal and become a useful man.

   

       Let me introduce my family to you. I have my mom, older sister(40), older brother(38).My sister and my brother are all married. And they all have two sons.So I have four nephews. You may be puzzled about the age distance between my brother.Actually, I'm an adopted girl. I was abandoned when I was born.My adoptive parents found and raised me.They treated me as if I was their real daughter. From when I could remember, I was told that I was an adopted girl. They even helped me find my natural parents and told me who they were and where whey were.Sometimes, I would spent the New Year with them. But before long,they on longer like me. So I lost in touch with them ulittle by little. I never come to see them from then on.I decided to forget them.Because I don't want to hurt my mom's heart. I want to accompany her and love her for good. Oh, I forget to tell you, when I was 10,my adoptive dad passed away because of cancer. Sometimes I felt very sad and I would cry at night. I love him so much, and my mom. They all give me deep love. I never feel myself pitiful. Instead, I feel I was the most lucky man. Because God let me come across them, they are the precious gifts God sent to me.

       When I was a junior high school student, I dreamed about becoming an English teacher.However, after I entered senior school，I changed it. Because I found it's quite boring to be an English teacher. So I want to be an interpreter.As an interpreter, I will have more chances to explore the world and touch more foreign culture I never before.

       In my spare time, I like listening to music, drawing, watching movies,taking photos and making handworks.In the photo below, you can see my work. The girl is my friend.I sent my work to her. That's called “Feng ling” (windbell).I like playing volleyball, but I don't like running. Because I am a ulittle fat, I feel out of breath.But I do indoor exercise in order to lose weight.I tried to find a part-time job to spare my tuition, but I couldn't find a suitable job for me.

   

      Now I am a freshman, I will work hard to achieve my aim. No pain, no gain. I believe I can do that.

Even if we never meet before,I regard you as my first foreign friend .What I mentioned is all my real life experience. I 

want to show you the real me. I look forward to maintaining contacts with you.

  

      I have read your essay.In my opinion,your essay  is a little poetic.I can't deny that I couldn't understand it 

totally,because I have difficulty in understand the word's meaning. My English level is far behind you. So I need to improve it.And I think your attention about life are nice. Shell is common, but you let it different and unique.It will be helpful for you to be a journalist.Give me more time to read your essay, and I will love it.

     Attached  is my homework.My writing style is quite common,I hope ,maybe you will like it.

Sincerely,

Jennifer

Dear Jennifer,

I’m sorry it has taken me so long to reply, but I was gone for a while because of spring break, and it is difficult to respond to your letters because of the restrictions we have on our computers at school. However, I have read your letters and you sound very interesting! You sound like a very motivated, hardworking individual, and I admire you for that. You’re right, no pain, no gain. An interpreter is such a cool job to have! I know that if you keep working hard, you will be able to achieve such great things and have many opportunities to travel and experience new things. 

I love listening to music and watching movies too! I like a very broad spectrum of music. In fact, I am going to see one of my favorite bands in concert in a few weeks! I am very excited. I like to draw, like you, but I also love to read and write. That probably makes sense because I want to be a journalist, but I like different types of writing other than journalistic writing, such as fiction and poetry. I can tell you caught on, since you said my essay sounded like poetry. In a way, a lot of my writing tends to sound poetic. I think words are beautiful and I love stringing them together to form beautiful scenes. 

I also read your object essay. I don’t think you are crazy at all! Losing such an important loved one is very tough. I  understand that he meant a lot and I really felt that you cared for him in your writing. I hope you keep expressing yourself in writing! Your work was very impressive and I loved how you explained every feeling you had about your father and that photo. Thank you for sharing such an intimate piece with me. I look forward to receiving more works of yours!

Sincerely,
Sophia

window poem

weathered wooden porch in front of me,
uniform rails cut the sunlight into slats in the floor.
the left, towering walnut trees interlace branches,
forming criss-cross paths for squirrels to skitter over.
today no breeze rustles through the leaves, everything hangs in an eery silence.
the porch is deserted as well, the animals that sometimes pause to play are nowhere in sights.
a crumbly leaf drags across the porch, the last one in sight.
the empty spines of the trees huddle together as if for warmth. 
the sound of a distant care makes its way through the forest, 
the only evidence of the road just beyond.

georgia o'keeffe

red canna (c. 1920)

splashes of red and yellow 
bleed toward the center,
frilled petals fall delicately in layers,
swirling in bright stripes to make
psychedelic patterns.

color seeps out of petals edged in crimson, 
replacing the soft blush with stark white.
yellow ocher mingles with red,
creating tangerine hues. 

it was blue and green

it was blue
a navy sky speckled with glittering lights
deep steely waves capped with white froth
a worn pair of jeans, fraying hems, slung over bony hips

it was green
a pine forest, trees tucked tightly together, dusted in a new snow
eyes, sparkling like emeralds set beneath dark lashes
a majestic statue, its smooth jade figure frozen in place

it was blue and green
swirling together like an oil spill
twisting in meandering pastel paths

artist profile: georgia o'keeffe

georgia o'keeffe was born november 15, 1887 in sun prarie, wisconsin to francis and ida o'keeffe. she was one of seven children. georgia grew up on her parents' dairy farm. her mother found it very important that georgia and her siblings had a good education. she also had an art teacher come teach georgia on their farm once art sparked an interest in georgia. when she was older, georgia went on to study at the school of the art institute of chicago for a year, then at the art students league in new york, and eventually at the university of virginia. during georgia's life, there were many important events going on, including the great depression, both world wars, the korean war, and the vietnam war. georgia herself faced struggles of her own that delayed her career, such as typhoid fever; measles, which left her eyes temporarily weakened; her mother caught tuberculosis; and her parents' business wasn't doing well, both of those things putting a strain on their marriage. despite these setbacks, she became a very famous american artist during her lifetime and beyond. the majority of her art was done in oil, however she did many watercolor paintings as well. she was part of the american modernism period. her most well known paintings were those of giant, close up flowers and desert scenes, but she also did several of new york and even a few nude paintings. some of her most famous works are jimson weed, cow's scull: red, white, and blue, and yellow hickory leaves with daisy. georgia married alfred stieglitz, the man behind her first gallery show. she died at 98 years old on march 6, 1986.

georgia o'keeffe

yellow hickory leaves with daisy

cow's skull: red, white, and blue

print writing

this print looks like rain trails are streaming down it, pulling the pigment from the picture as they continue on their paths. at the top, the print is a silvery gray, but there are large blue blotches ringed faintly with green scattered around the page, growing more frequent in number as they reach the bottom. the top of the print looks like faded wallpaper, but the bottom reminds me more of a pond, deep blue waters thick with algae. the print looks like a watercolor painting because of the watery appearance of the blotches and rain streaks. it makes me feel calm, like how i would feel on a cool rainy day or having a picnic in a meadow by a small thriving pond. although it's calming to me, i'd say this print reminds me of the story the yellow wallpaper by charlotte perkins gilman, mostly because of the faded wallpaper look. it's also sort of ominous as well, even if to me particularly it's relaxing. it isn't yellow, and the pattern certainly doesn't look like a woman trapped behind bars, but the fact it looks worn and pale brings that image to my head. 

rivulets of rain
dive down silver wallpaper
explode in color