GHT

IMAGE OF THE MONEY

1. My first car was a VOLVO 850 T-5 which cost me RMB 650,000 (about 120,000 in Canadian Dollars) after I bought a genuine drive license from a friend in the end of 1996 when my son was 6 months old. I ordered this smuggled sedan from another friend in Hongkong. I was the third person who owned a VOLVO in my city at that time.
2. Now we live in a small 3 1/2 apartment in Westmount. The rent is nearly equal to my one-month salary in China. It is worthy to pay this amount as far as I think even many of my new friends from China met in the free French course held by the Chinese community now live in smaller apartment or basement in other cities for the sake of saving money.
3. My opinion to the money has been changed a lot so far.
4. Ten years ago, There was only 40 yuan in my pocket when I got off the train in Shenzhen. My first month salary was 800 yuan. Shenzhen is one of the four special economic zone located near Hongkong in China. At that time, my classmates who worked and lived in other cities got only 300 or a little more per month. It is definitely hard for us to make ends meet.
5. We took 40,000 US dollars to Canada. We got a good price to buy a brand new JETTA after we told the salesman of the VW that we could pay the whole money in cash once. I can buy only a wheel of VOLVO in China.
6. “ TIME IS MONEY, EFFICIENCY IS LIFE!” This was a popular slogan in Shenzhen five years ago. Now it has been misunderstood to “OPPORTUNITY IS MONEY, HAPPINESS IS LIFE!” May be it is just the difference of money value between the East and the West.
7. When I for the first time went into the Wal-mart in Montreal, I was impressed by the goods. Many items are made in China. I just wondered I could not see and buy these goods in China. After I have bought some odds and needs in Dollar shops, I got the clue.
8. Life is on the way.
9. “ Are you care of money?” sometimes I asked myself. Every time I am confused on this problem. I comfort myself with the answer that it is sometimes and sometimes not.
10. At the time when I saw some buskers in the metro stations or some stragglers on the street, it reminds me of the song words “ A rich man, a poor man or a beggar, no matter who ever you are, there is a star shining up above you, looking for a star!” Perhaps the star is the chance or the luck.
12. Money can meet many desires, but not all.
13.        A friend of mine will leave Montreal to Toronto to work this summer after she got the MBA degree from McGill University. Her salary will be 70,000 dollars a year. She can get 50,000 a year from the same job title and position in Montreal. So she decided to Toronto to work and live even though she dislike Toronto.
14. I got a ticket in front of the city hall of Westmount last month. The old lady set me free from this after I applied a parking permit in her office. We had a short talk. The kind-hearted lady knew the story of Norman Brethren. She said that I looked like a communist. I know there is no communist party in Canada now.
15. I decide to quit drinking and smoking and swim every two days.
16. I am sensitive to the stock markets and figures but blunt to the reaction. When the NASDAQ index fell through 2000 points, I planed to enter the market and discussed with several financial managers, but until now, I have not opened the investment account yet. What I have chosen is just putting the money into the term deposit.
17. From the web pages of Bank of Canada, I know that there is 1% of counterfeit note in the circulation.
18. I am in for the value of the money, not the price of the money. This is my money value. “Where there is need, there is a market.”  This is a classic basic rule of the economics. The truth of the money is the media of our needs.
19. I need money, but I am not the slave of the money.
20. Not ended.

Angel

I strongly agree with your point of view.
Though I am poor both in Canada and in China,
I am always happy indeed. Sometimes money is just sth like a symbol.

Mtl160

Hi, SHENZHEN,

I can not agree with you any more. As  Shenzhenian, we have all realized the sense of money in that bustling and full of opportunities city.

To my mind, money, when you need it, it has value. Otherwise it is only a figure. It can not give you happiness and good life. Last May, I got back Shenzhen, and went to my hunting houses with my old friends. Frankly speaking, Shenzhen is not place to live for human being , although it is the best city in China and full of opportunity of making money.

Some days ago, there was a post tiled "Hi, friends from Shenzhen, would you please tell me Shenzhen is so bad?" I was embarrassed about it. I read that post without saying anything. I Emailed that post to the friends in Shenzhen to make comments about that. But no response.

I came to Montreal with the purpose of changing living style and pursuing the real life.

Hi, my friends from Shenzhen, hope all of you are happy here!

Orange

Dear Shenzhen,

even I am not sure the value change is good or bad in human being's life....but I am on your side.

oversea experience broaden our eyes as a new generation .....we are confused by something and we are changed by experience.

Hope you  can handle the transforming time smoothly...

all the best,

Orange
Vancouver

GHT

The "IMAGE OF MONEY" is an article that was assigned in my cretive writting course held by Westmount community. When my friend have read this article, he suggested me to post it on this website.
As a matter of fact, I have been in this beautiful city for only 2 months. Everytime when I overview the posts on this web,I have a complicated feeling. There is no wrong to save money, but I just feel some immigrants may be immoderate.They take care of their own money and neglect others services and value.
I agree with MTl160 saying that SHENZHEN is not the best place to live because there are many tempts and is not safe. but I think it is a good place to make money. If I thought about the money,i would not have choosen immigration.