wonderful services (1) In stores

Wonderful Services (1)

 In stores

     Though as one from China, I feel the inconvenience in public transportation, here in United States, I really appreciate the perfect service provided in stores and in libraries.

     By making use of spare time, my colleagues and I have been to several stores nearby for daily utensils and gifts for our family members, relatives and friends back in China. When coming back to dorms, we sometimes found we were not satisfied with some of the commodities, so we brought them back to the stores. Without hesitation and without examining the goods, the store staffs got them refunded, including the sell tax.

     Of course, in China, we can also get the refund when your goods are really not damaged to any extent. But the experience is usually not pleasant. The staffs’ routine inspection of goods before they take them back makes people feel suspected.

     I just wondered about the reason behind the differences. Trust! Yes, trust places a great role. I have ever heard about the American social system of credit, and now I see it really works here. Maybe the situation can be interpreted this way:, the establishment of credit system under the guarantee of legislation enables people to trust each other.

     Interesting enough, I also come up with another idea relating to collectivism and individualism: two different value systems. The case then can be interpreted in another quite different way. Chinese staffs tend to identify themselves with the stores, and they regard every damage done to the stores should be avoided, thus they examine the goods carefully in case of any damage. While in the opposite case, the American staffs are dutiful in fulfilling their assigned tasks, and get paid. When my colleagues and I went to select some bring-back gifts, we saw some red sticks were ruined, which made us really feel pity for it, but the staffs there seemed not to care about it, and engaged themselves around.

     No matter care or not care, I believe, trust counts.

Learn to be Independent.

Learn to be independent.

    

     It might be doubtful to an American that an adult like me in her forties has to learn to be independent, but the occasion happened last week really told me what is “independent”in American.

     As a Yale Summer Session student, I signed up for The Phantom of the Opera activity. Unfortunately, through lottery, I did not get the chance. On Thursday, the email from Summer Session office read that there were 18 seats left, so my colleagues and I thought of taking the chance and tried to leave earlier from Sterling Library for signing-up place——Morse Dining Hall. To our surprise, there was already a long line there, and turned up to be the 13^th , thinking we were lucky enough. The YSS assistants came at 5 o’clock, just in time after we had waited for about 40 minutes. The entrance of the dining hall looked a little bit of mess, for it was crowed with students lining up for the seats. Another thing unlucky happened again: we didn’t how why when it came to me, I became the No 19, which meant that I missed the chance again. And my information about name and telephone number and email address was put on the waiting list. Deeply regretful for not arriving earlier, I tended to persuade myself that maybe it was a chance for me to do something different. My colleagues comforted me that there might be chance the next day.

     My colleagues said it! On Friday, when we were having lunch, my colleagues told me excitingly the news that there were 4 seats left. They told me to try to grasp the last chance, and help me think of the way to deal with it. Since we were to visit Mark Twain’s House on that afternoon, then I might miss the time signing up for it, some of my colleagues suggested me to use her phone to call counselor. I did, and asked her my, next door neighbor, to pay for me at 5 o’clock that afternoon and I promised to return her that evening. She accepted it, but she said she was not sure whether she could have a seat for me. All the same, I emailed her my information. After the call, my colleagues saw a girl who they remembered to be the one of the assistants in charge of the signing-up. We told her about my situation of being the 19^th in the line on Thursday, and my information was put on the first place of the waiting list then. She, a sweet girl, asked me to leave her my information, and later on she emailed my situation to the one in charge of it. Some colleagues thought of writing an email directly to the one who email sender, and then I did. About 2 hours later, I got the reply, saying “yes, you can come to pay after you return from the trip to Mark Twain’s House”.

     I really longed to pay a visit to the House of famous novelist Mark Twain, but I was not sure that those I asked for help would do help. I hesitated, and Carrie and Siggy let me make my own decision. Finally, I chose to give up the trip with my dear teachers and colleagues, for the reason that it is not far away, and I could visit it later on.

     At 3:00 on Friday afternoon, I headed for the signing-up dining hall. To my shock, there were already two students waiting there, and then another came just behind me, and immediately after her came another student. There were some student came continuously to queue for signing-up.

     At 5:00pm, the assistants came, when I mentioned the waiting list and their reply, they kept silent, and I found there was no waiting list there. The counselor didn’t show up. I was the third on the line, so I got the chance.

         I learned that no one should be responsible for me except myself. I should not depend on the others to fulfill something. 

My First Impression of Yale University

When I stepped on the land of the campus of Yale University on June 26, 2015, the first things came into my eyes was the green grassland and the trees and the grandeur architectures. They stood there quietly and peacefully. It seemed that they were smiling to me, welcoming me and waiting for me to communicate with them and explore their beauty.

I was also impressed by the people here in Yale University: though we knew nothing about one another, they  always so friendly greeted me and my friends and were so hospitable and so helpful whenever we asked them the way.

I am sure that I will have an unforgettable stay here in Yale University this summer.