Several months ago, I began reading Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy, the famous Russian author.

In the beginning of this novel the main character is experiencing a great number of life’s problems; his wife wants to leave him, he’s on the verge of financial ruin and on and on his troubles mount. At one point this character comments: ”…what can one do when so many things are going wrong, except focus on our daily routine…” This line caught my attention. I began pondering its truthfulness. While this truth may be slightly anti-climactic, I believe it is in fact true.

While great minds struggle to find effective solutions to today’s current problems, there are a few things you can do within your daily routine to improve your academic abilities. I have noticed that all the students I teach, can read out-loud from the textbook. However, most students struggle with sounding-out words. There are many long pauses where the student is thinking about how to pronounce what he or she is reading.

My advice concerns this single problem. I suggest each of you select one to two paragraphs of your textbook, English novel, whatever you like. Read these two paragraphs out loud. Then, try again, but this time see if you can do it more smoothly or with more fluidity. Then, try again, this time think about pronouncing the words and sentences with confidence.

I used to do this myself when studying Russian in Moscow, Russia. I would practice introducing myself, telling people my name and asking their name. It made a HUGE difference in how Russian people perceived me. While this exercise might not exactly sound like fun, I assure you, over time, the benefits will be noticeable in your social and academic life, in the west.  

On the topic of crisis, former President John F. Kennedy once commented:

“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger--but recognize the opportunity.”

Some people will be tempted to assume the worst and loose hope. But the way forward is to focus on the things you can positively impact amidst your daily life.  While that may not sound like much of useful advice, today’s slow and steady approach will be rewarded ten-fold when our situation turns around.

Now is the time to steel our resolve and consider how we will seize the boundless opportunities that will soon present themselves.

      几个月前，我开始读俄国著名作家列夫·托尔斯泰的《安娜·卡列尼娜》。

     在这部小说的开头，主人公在生活中遇到了很多问题：他的妻子想要离开他，他的经济面临破产，各种各样的麻烦接踵而至。有一次，他说:“……当这么多事情都出错的时候，一个人除了专注于我们的日常生活还能做什么……”这句话引起了我的注意。我开始思考它的真实性。虽然这件事情可能听上去有点不可思议，但我相信它是真实的。

      当伟人们努力寻找有效的方法来解决当前的问题时，你可以在日常生活中做点别的事来提高你的学习能力。我注意到我所教的学生所有人都能大声朗读课本上的内容。然而大多数学生都很难单独读出某个单词。学生在纠结于如何发音时，会磕磕绊绊而且会有多处停顿。

      关于这个问题，我建议你们每个人选一到两段课本内容或者英语小说，随便你们喜欢的什么都可以。大声朗读这两段话。然后重复地读一遍，但这次要看看你能不能做得更顺利或更流畅。多次尝试之后，你会越来越有信心读出那些单词和句子。

当我在俄罗斯的莫斯科学习俄语时，我自己也尝试去这么做过。我会练习自我介绍，告诉别人我的名字，并且询问他们的名字。这令俄罗斯人对我的看法产生了很大的改变。虽然这个练习听起来可能有点枯燥，但我可以确定的是，随着时间的推移，它的作用会在你的社交和学习生活中显现出来，尤其当你在异国他乡的时候。

关于危机问题，美国前总统约翰·肯尼迪曾经说过:

    “中国人用两个字符来合成‘危机’这个词。一个代表危险;另一个是机遇。在危机中，要意识到危险，但也要从中发现机遇。”

有些人会做最坏的打算，从而失去希望。但关注那些你能在日常生活中产生积极影响的事情便是你前进的方向。虽然这听起来不是什么有用的建议，但当我们的情况好转时，这种沉稳而缓慢的方法将会给你带来十倍的回报。

       现在是我们立下坚定决心的时候了，我们应该考虑如何抓住即将出现的无限机遇。

翻译：2221班赵曼可

Hello, everyone!  I know that we have not seen each other face-to-face in quite a while, but I assure you that everything will be okay this semester.  We are all young and happy together and I want to agree that the future will be bright for all of us.  Stay warm and stay healthy.  The Buddha once said that “With our thoughts, we make the world.”  You need to continue to have positive thoughts in your consciousness every morning before you arrive to school.  We all need to share our happiness together because it will help us all agree on a single consonance.

The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity - or it will move apart. - Franklin Roosevelt

It should be a good moment to reflect what we still have together: unity, honor, country. - Mr. Lafreniere

大家好！我知道我们已经有一段时间没有见面了，但我向你们保证，这个学期一切都会好起来的。

      和你们在一起的时光，使我感觉更年轻、更快乐。我也相信大家的未来都将是光明的。希望大家能够保持温暖，也保持健康。佛陀曾经说过“万法唯心造,诸相由心生。”所以，你需要在每天早上上课前，保持积极的学习态度和活跃的思维。我们都需要一起分享我们的快乐，因为它将帮助我们达成一致。

我们所处的历史时刻充满了希望也充斥着危险。我们的世界要么走向团结和繁荣，要么走向分裂。-富兰克林罗斯福

但同时，这也是一个很好的时刻，体现我们仍然拥有的东西：团结、荣誉和国家。

翻译：2220班李郑浩

Addressing the stress of uncertainty and fear is the focus of the Mindfulness sessions I hold with students. Educating, Equipping and Empowering students to master their emotions; meeting the challenges of uncertainty and widespread fear is my mission. I now know that teaching and leading students in breath work, yoga poses and techniques to USE the energy of stress to grow and expand beyond “right now” is the REAL reason I came to China. When we learn to turn fear into our power; we overcome ALL obstacles.

       我和学生进行正念课程的中心就是解决不确定性的压力和恐惧。我的使命是教育、引导且提高学生能够掌控自己情绪的能力，并以此来应对未知的挑战和普遍的恐惧。现在我明白了自己来中国的真正原因，那就是教授并引导学生利用呼吸、瑜伽姿势和技巧来转换压力，自我成长并超越现在，当我们学会把恐惧转换成力量，我们就会克服一切障碍。

翻译：2120班学生