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Meet Sue
In April 2002, Sue visited Vance in Houston, Texas.
Webheads went online with webcams for the occasion. http://sites.hsprofessional.com/vstevens/files/efi/sue_houston.htm
Vance dropped in on Sue and her husband, JJ on July 1, 2005
and took this picture.
Sue graduated from Texas A&M and got married and moved to
Houston, where she had a baby boy, Vincent, in May 2005. Vincent was asleep
when the picture was taken. |
. On June 18, 2002 Sue had a birthday party online using
Yahoo Messenger web cams. Many Webheads sent
greetings, which you can read here.
Sue asked Vance to help her with a letter in May 2002. This is an
exerpt:
I am a Chinese graduate student, currently studying in the English
Language Institute at Texas A&M University. I speak and write 3 languages
fluently. During my masters courses in Osaka University, I learned the Japanese
language and, at the same time, I completed my MS program successfully. As a
result, I received scholarships from Ninety-Nine Asian Student Scholarship
Foundation and from the Ministry of Education of Japan when I was taking
masters courses. Furthermore, I was one of the two students among international
students and Japanese students, honored with an award for outstanding students
from the department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering Alumni
Association at Osaka University. My studying experiencs in the first foreign
country for me has helped me develop the ability to adapt to new circumstances
quickly and independently and improve my ability to solve problems efficiently.
Besides, until December of last year, I worked as a Naval Architect in a
Japanese shipbuilding company, where I was the company's first female Engineer.
I was also a Vice President for The Youth Union, in charge of organizing
hundreds of youth in our company to work on social activities
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In mid-November, Vance recorded a chat with Sue on Yahoo
Messenger. It is posted here with Sue's
permission.
Thank you very much for your kind reply. I opened the webheads
and read mails from other students. Suddenly I feel that i should send the
photo to you, to all friends here. I am sending it right now, I am sorry that
in my computer there is only one left, which has been done by my
friend.
Hope to meet you on Sunday.
Sue, 24 May 2000 |
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Sue likes the video-sharing so much that she bought her own web
cam.
Sue lives in Okayama, which is here ...
Sue is concerned about global warming.
Read what she thinks about it here <--
I would like to thank you very much at first for giving me such a chance
to study English under your kind instruction. I studied English until I
finished my bachelor in University. But since then, I have seldom used it. It
is easy to forget since it is not my mother tongue.
Although I am working in a company now, I would like to apply for my
Ph.D course later once I pass my TOEFL and GRE examinations. Not only for
further study but also for international communication with all people from all
over the world, it is necessary to speak fluent English and use it freely. I
hope I can improve my English greatly under your instruction.
Please forgive me if there are mistakes in my English.
July 15, 2000
I just checked the mails now, there are more than twenty mails from
webheads. What a lively Eclass. It is nice to see that you all are so happy and
enjoying yourself.
I am not sure whether i can attend the class tomorrow since I am taking
driving license now, need to go to driving school every day. It would last for
around two months to get the final license here.
Sue is going to Malaysia in August 2000 for Vacation.
A year later, in August 2001, Sue is planning to study
English in the USA, at Texas A&M University, in Bryan, Texas. Vance and Sue
were trying to figure out how far that was from Houston, where Vance's parents
live. Here's a map:
Sue made it to Texas!! Now she's
in Bryan (END on the map above)
Howdy, my dear friends.
It is fantastic to come back to textbooks again, although it is a bit
hard to get used to so soon. Everything is fresh, amazing. I do like the
university facilities such as library, recreation center, etc. It is very
comfortable and I am impressed by their computer services.
Right now there is a vote for bonfire in the main campus which was
cancelled because two years ago there was an accident and several people were
killed and injured because of it. Students want to keep this tradition and need
each one's vote for it. It is cool.
Since I have no car, it is a bit hard to get around Texas. It is too
big to move easily in. I can only ask friends to give me a ride around this
town. The weather is fine, warmer than in Japan. I hope to be able to go to
Houston in the coming Martin Luther King's celebration day.
P.S. anyone who is at TAMU is called aggie.
Sue has visited Houston (Vance's
hometown, and START on the map above)
Yesterday we went to Houston. That was the first time for
me to go out of college station for a short trip. Compared to college station,
Houston would be called a huge city. We went downtown, visited my friends'
office, and on the way we passed by ENRON's two shining buildings. I forgot to
bring a camera with me; otherwise I could take a photo as a memory of ENRON.
Who knows how fast the name will be changed. We saw CNN reporters waiting
outside of the ENRON building.
There are a few things to see in Houston. I was impressed with one
fortune wall, thought I did not remember the name. When I stood at the center
of the wall and looked up to see the water falling down, I just felt dizzy. I
heard the same reaction from other visitors.
After having a nice dinner, I was taken back home. I enjoyed houston
more than college station. We joked that the day in Houston was like heaven,
while I have to go back to hell for my study. They just laughed at me, and
asked me why did I not change my university, into the University of
Houston.
We visited the University of Houston. Although I know it is a good
university too, I'm not sure of its ranking with other U.S. universities. Maybe
TAMU is above it. For a good future plan I think maybe it is a good idea to
stay at TAMU, but not change universities. What is you guys' opinion?
Sue had a problem with a bigot at TAMU. <--
Read about it here.
From a message from Sue, July 4, 2002
I am good at new ideas, but i find my weakness in writing is that my
organization is always loose, I could not construct them into a tight body. I
hope it can be improved.
I finished my midterm tests yesterday, so tired, still feel sleepy and
headache. The university system in the U.S. is really different from the one
both in China or in Japan. Maybe because I have not been used to it, I feel
time is so limited, I have to do projects, homework everyday, I barely have any
break time. Some of my friends say that that is because I have not been used to
its system, once got used to it, it would be easier. I hope it is like what
they said.
Sue writes in Nov 2002
Finally I confirmed my admission to graduate school for spring semester
next year at TAMU. I did it :).
I might get assistantship either TA or RA. I am safe :)
I want to say thank you so much for all you guys' continuous
encouragement and patience.
Thank you for help.
I really appreciate it.
Best regards
----Xue
24 Nov 2002 from: Dafne Chavez
A virtual hug for VAnce and all webheads that helped Xue achieved her
goal !!! Bravoooo!
Daf
24 Nov 2002 from: s.nyrop@get2net.dk
Dear Xue,
I'm so happy that you made it. I remember all your worries at the
beginning of your studies in Texas, and feel happy that you're now able to
continue the studies.
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Last updated: December 5, 2002 in Hot Metal Pro 6.0
