Susan Sontag

"If we continue down the path we appear to have chosen, the danger exists that we will end up exactly where we seem to be heading." -written on the bookcover on same day as my graduation seven years ago 

Roy treated me today. I had a blueberry scone and a cup of rooibos tea. Roy said, "everything is political." He told me that he did not expect himself to be an expert on German cinema, but he is one now. He said that I might like Walter Benjamin's work because I was a little like Walter Benjamin. I went to Borders after lunch to find out more about Walter Benjamin. There was only one book by him left, Berlin Childhood Around 1900. Roy also told me that he did not like Facebook. I did not believe the reasons he gave except that Facebook was a waste of time for him. He will let me meet some of his friends in New York in the future when he goes there. I need to remember to say "hi" for him to a couple of people at NYU. Near the end, he said that it was nice talking to me. Me too! We shaked hands and parted. I guess his second favorite city is Berlin because that was what's written on his gray T-shirt. 

I woke up this morning thinking that I would be a PhD student. 

Dear Roy, 

I stopped ruminating over my shortcomings. Something in me is beginning to change, and I have to thank you for making such a change possible. 

The two lines on the scroll are written by a poet named Li Bai (701-762AD) in a poem called "Bidding Farewell to A Dear Old Friend." You notice that instead of giving you a general idea of what the poetry means, I only disclosed the meaning of each character to you. The line on the right says nothing but floating clouds, a roaming man, and his expectations, wishes, and longings. The line on the left mirrors it by saying nothing but the setting sun, a dear old friend, and the emotions or sentiments associated with these two objects. 

I searched some open sources for a presentable translation, but I was quite unhappy with what I found. One source even misinterprets the two lines as "I shall think of you in a floating cloud, so in a sunset think of me." I do not think that Li specifies which object symbolizes whom here. The poem is only specific to the point that it tells you what's in the picture, and nothing further is being instructed. I like how the clouds and the sun are not motionless. The clouds are light and floating, they are in a beautiful contrast to the sun which is weighty and setting. I also like how the idea of a wandering man and that of a dear old friend appear to generate two opposing sentiments, but in fact create a powerful emotionally-charged unison. Furthermore, I like how the poem gives the reader freedom to think about what goes on in the two men's hearts and minds. In some other contexts, the last character of the right line also means reasoning, and the last character of the left line love or passion. From all these contradistinctions, you can just see how well this poem is written!

If you really really want a general translation of the two lines, I hereby provide you with my own. Hope that it will work: "Looking at the floating clouds, I can understand the thoughts of a roaming man; and seeing the setting sun, I can feel the love of an old friend." 

Thank you again for taking me as a friend. (Now I can boast to people that I have bought a friend with ten words.)

Forever, 

Isabel