Enrollment for Chinese Study Fall 2010

August 16, 2010

Dear Parents,

I hope you have all been enjoying this warm and nice summer. Now as school time approaches, I would like you to start thinking about registering your children with Panda Land for another year of exciting Mandarin Chinese study.

From 2009, many children have joined us in learning Chinese language and culture. They have been eager to learn and have worked hard. Over the past year they have made significant progress. The older kids have learned so much that they can sound out Chinese words using Pinyin by themselves and have mastered the tones, constructed sentences using words they have learned, enjoyed writing Chinese characters, and become familiar with Chinese culture. More than anything, they think learning Chinese is fun after mastering some basic skills and are eager to continue in the fall. We also have had a lot of lovely younger children who enjoyed learning and came week after week for their Chinese lessons. Some of them got very ambitious: one 4-year-old girl wants to write a big Chinese book; a 7-year-old boy wants to go to China and climb the Great Wall.

This summer, I participated in the Peabody Essex Museum’s Art Adventure Club summer program and taught three sessions on Chinese Art and Calligraphy. Children were eager to try out the brush and ink, and had a wonderful learning experience.

You may have heard or read today that China Passes Japan as Second-Largest Economy,

www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/business/global/16yuan.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage.

Watching where the world is going, we all want to think about our children’s future. If you want your children to learn Chinese, I am here at your service near your home.

In fall 2010, I will teach Chinese at the Shore Country Day School for its enrichment program. In addition, we will continue to have several small group classes and private tutoring lessons for children age 3+ starting the week of September 13. Each class will have a one-hour lesson per week. Tutoring lessons will be arranged with each individual. Due to increased interest, we would like to plan for the class based on enrollment. Please send me an email to provide the following information ASAP:

Your child’s name and age,
Previous Chinese learning experience, if any but not required,
Schedule -- please specify what are the workable dates and times and what is the preferred:

a. Monday -- one hour between 3 to 4:30 pm
b. Tuesday -- one hour between 3 to 4:30 pm
c. Thursday -- one hour between 3 to 4:30 pm
d. Friday -- 3-4 pm
e. Saturday -- Noon - 1 PM or 2:30 - 3:30 pm
f. Other time -- please specify if you prefer any time from 9 am to 3 pm from Monday to Friday.
Location -- The Salem Athenaeum has been very supportive to us and has provided a separate reading room for our classes. We can arrange classes there for Tuesday and Friday from 1pm to 4:30 pm, Saturday from noon to 2:30 pm. We also use public library space and private homes for very small groups. If you could help us with group class spaces, in Salem or nearby towns, we will be very grateful.
Helpful, constructive comments and suggestions if any.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at judy.bedell@gmail.com or
978-998-9317. Please feel free to pass this letter on.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Judy Wang Bedell
Panda Land
978-998-9317
judy.bedell@gmail.com
www.pandalandchinese.com

Fund vs Chicken Essence 基金 jī jīn 与 鸡精 jī jīng

After 10 years’ work at FMRCo Fidelity Investments, “mutual fund” is quite a familiar concept to me, as are many other financial investment terms--stocks, bonds, derivatives, long and short, etc. However last month I found that I was completely baffled by many of the Chinese words for these when I attended a seminar on China’s Mutual Funds: Development and Opportunities; Hedge Funds, What They Do, and Opportunities in China.

The event was held in Boston’s Chinatown. We had a wonderful banquet with friends old and new before listening to a speech by Ms. Qi Zhang who is the Deputy Division Director of China Securities Regulatory Commission (a counterpart to the US’s SEC.) It was the first time that I’d listened to such a discussion in Mandarin by Chinese about the financial market and industry in China. I was completely fascinated by Ms. Zhang’s talk on the characteristics of the fund business in China--fast growth, strict supervision, professional investment, and moving towards the global market. She then explained the legal framework, product innovation, and future development opportunities. In discussing the development and growth of the Chinese mutual fund industry, she constantly made comparisons to Fidelity Investments.

The concept of the fund, including the mutual fund and the hedge fund, is relatively new in China, where the industry began only 13 years ago. Ms. Zhang joked that many Chinese, especially farmers, don’t really understand what a fund is but like it dearly because in Mandarin the word for Fund, jī jīn, sounds very similar to the words for Chicken Essence, jī jīng. I perfectly appreciate the point: Chicken Essence is good for one’s health, and the Fund is good for one’s financial health. Isn’t that a nice Chinese extension to Mr. Robert Pozen’s The Mutual Fund Business?