Dear Fumi,
Welcome back from your summer break! It sounds as if you used your time
well. My comments follow.
Sincerely,
Prof. S. Stiner
s2396055@cc.cgu.ac.jp wrote:
>
> Dear Dr. M. Susan Stiner,
>
> Hello, it's nice to contact you again. How was your summer vacation like?
> I hope you had a wonderful time.
I did. I am as bad as my students, in looking forward to vacations,
especially summer. If you go to this site,
http:----------------------------------, you can see what I did on my
summer vacation. I showed that page to my students at Villanova. We
returned to school on August 27 (twenty-seventh). That was way too
early and neither students nor teachers were ready to resume. To see
what my husband did this summer, go here:
http:----------------------------------.
Of course, he did much more than visit ---------. He grew a wonderful
garden this year. He planted cucumbers for the first time in years.
They did wonderfully. We had a very dry summer, but he managed to keep
his vegetables moist. We have enjoyed the veggies all summer,
especially the tomatoes.
Our daughter, -----, went to --------- with us. She had never seen the
city before, and was willing to tolerate us for a week in order to get
there. She really enjoyed herself.
> For me, this two-month summer vacation was very enjoyable and a little
> courageous as I went sightseeing to San Francisco through Sep.17 to 21 myself.
> It was my first flight and travelling abroad, so I had been quite excited about
> that for almost half of the holidays leaving the study unfinished.
Wow! You must have been excited, to leave some studies undone. I'm
sure it didn't affect your "cum," as my students say. Pronounced
"Q-mmm", it is short for "cumulative average." That is, it is the
single number that represents the average score all of your course
grades so far. In the U.S., most schools use a four point system. Zero
is an F, (very bad-you flunked). One is a D (terrible, but passing).
Two is a C (average). Three is a B (good). Four is an A (very good).
The cums are usually carried out to two decimal points, e.g., 3.67. I
imagine yours is a 4.00 (Four-Oh, as we say here).
> Only buying a flight ticket from travel agent, I ordered a hotel room
> by telephone from Japan, used shuttle van to the hotel, etc. That was very surprising
> and a great experience.
You sure are adventuresome! What a great experience! Did you look on
the Internet for plane tickets? Over here, there are often cheaper than
getting them through a travel agent.
> I was impressed with the magnificent "Golden Gate Bridge", exotic "China
> Town", charming "Cable Car", great amount of food, clear blue sky, a smell of
> deli or something, and so on. Every scene is still as a dream but clear.
Keep those memories forever! I hope you had some help from Fuji (or
Kodak!) to remember. Are you going to put one of the pictures up on
your webpage that you make at the end of this course??
I love San Francisco. It is such a pretty town. I love the crazy
hills, as long as I don't have to drive them. I wouldn't want to
negotiate those roads in snow or ice. I was surprised at how chilly it
was in San Francisco. I guess I think of all of California as warm all
the time. It certainly is not in the Bay area.
Did you see the Exploratorium? It is a huge science museum. If not,
you have to go back. There are all kinds of exhibits that are
"hands-on." They let you do something: turn handles, look through
microscopes, shout, etc. It's wonderful!
Did you see Pier 39? It's so much of a tourist trap, but I love it.
After I've shopped 'til I dropped, I loved to sit on a bench and watch
the water and the people. The only thing wrong with San Francisco, is
that it has this tendency to shake like Jello. Not having grown up with
earthquakes, I find it unnerving when the ground wobbles.
> From this dreamlike trip, I realized that I didn't have enough skill or
> ability to communicate with people. I strongly feel I should brush up my English,
> especially that area.
Your written English is phenomenal. You learned that speaking and
understanding the spoken word is different from reading and writing it.
I guess we need to add audio to this course! If it is any consolation,
I studied Japanese conversational tapes for a month before my husband
and I went to Japan in 1987. He was to deliver an accounting research
paper (in English). I wanted to have some basic phrases down. I
thought I knew something, until we got out of the plane at Kyoto.
Nothing sounded like anything I had heard before! I got around on your
fellow citizens' darned good ability with English and by showing the
person the phrasebook and pointing to the Japanese translation of what I
was trying to say! The whole time we were in Kyoto I carried a pack of
matches from the PalaceSide Hotel, where we stayed. I don't smoke. I
was afraid I would get lost! My plan was to show the matchbook cover to
a taxi driver and gesture a lot!
How did you adjust to our driving on the "wrong" side of the road? I
never did adjust to looking in the opposite direction before crossing a
street. I'm lucky Japanese drivers looked out for gaijin tourists!
Next time you venture in this direction, visit the East Coast and stop
in and see us. We'll "put you up" (let you stay in our house) as long
as you can stand us.
> In fact, I feel I'm still in the dream. Did I really go there???
Just check your bank account! I'm sure it will tell you, YES!
> Thank you for reading. Now, I'm getting ready for your next lesson.
> I'll do my best!
>
>
> Best regards,
> Fumi
It is time to resume our talks about accounting, American style. Before
break, we talked about two of the most important financial statements.
These are the balance sheet and the income statement.
The balance sheet shows the company's financial picture on the last day
of the reporting period. The income statement shows the company's
profit, or loss, for the entire reporting period.
Both the income statement and the balance sheet use the accrual method
of accounting. Under the accrual method, income and expenses are
recognized, regardless of whether cash is received or paid.
Cash is such an important asset to a company that American accounting
information users want to know all about it. We have a formal financial
statement, the Statement of Cash Flows, that tells us much about the
cash received and spent by the company. Next week, we will talk about
that statement.
--
Prof. M. Susan Stiner