🛸 Space Transmission: HSK 1 Poetry, Choosing My Chinese Name, & Scammers in Deep Space

 🛸 Space Transmission: HSK 1 Poetry, Lessons from the Universe, & Scammers in Deep Space

Welcome back to the Story Time Space Dome! 🌌 If you’ve been tuning into my space transmissions lately, you’ve probably noticed a lot of Chinese-influenced content beaming across your screens.

I’m loving this journey of diving deeper into a part of my heritage. Although I might be an alien observing this world from my cosmic vantage point, I still love exploring human culture, learning from it, and connecting with my roots. 🪐

🌸 Finding My Roots: Meet Liu Xia Lu Na

As I dive deeper into learning Mandarin and writing poetry, I wanted a name that truly reflects this journey. So, I’ve officially decided to use the name Liu Xia Lu Na (劉夏露那) for all my Chinese writing!

This name is deeply inspired by my original Chinese surname, Liu. It feels like a wonderful bridge between my heritage and the creative, space-faring adventures I write about in my dome. 💫

📚 HSK Classes & Experimenting with Poetry

If you’ve been following the Story Time UFO for a while, you know I’ve been diving deep into learning Mandarin and taking HSK classes. During my last HSK classes, I’ve been experimenting with poetry.

Lol, maybe if I'd focused more on the actual test content instead of scribbling poems, I would’ve scored a perfect mark on the HSK 1 test instead of 196 out of 200 (and 98 out of 100 on the local Confucius Institute test)! But alas, I am a writer at heart. ✍️😄

I love experimenting with words. Learning languages gives me a whole new playground to unleash my creativity and craft new adventures right here in my space dome at Story Time Productions. I’ve been taking my basic HSK 1 vocabulary and turning it into poetry! Thankfully, both of my Lǎoshī (teachers) are patient enough to proofread my non-class-related creative ramblings.

Honestly, when it comes to writing in Chinese, I think I’m doing a pretty great job for a beginner!

📖 The Scholarship & The Universe’s "Signs"

This brings me to one of the very first batches of poems I wrote: a mix of Chinese and English called Wǒ Xǐhuān Nǐ (我喜欢你), which means "I Like You."

I actually submitted this poem (along with a few others and my exam grades) for a Zhejiang Summer Camp Language Scholarship. And guess what? I got accepted! 🎉

As a tech babe, how could I not love Zhejiang Tech University?! Gasp, y'all know I geek out like that! It was an incredibly exciting opportunity, especially for a total nerd like me who was actually looking forward to learning and was one of the few in the group who met all the requirements. 🤓⚡

But then... cosmic roadblocks hit:

1. Ferry Issues: First, the ferry to Guyana broke down. I had planned to use my USA visa to travel to Hangzhou through the United States. My entry point would be Guyana. Although I love Suriname, the exaggerated flight prices from Suriname just weren't it for me!

2. Booking Date Chaos: Bad luck with flight booking dates meant I could no longer participate in the camp schedule with my flights. 💔

3. Budget Constraints: Even though several amazing friends offered to help make this scholarship trip possible, the Universe kept throwing up red lights.

It was a painful dagger in my heart, but as I keep saying, it is what it is. I followed my hunch and canceled my scholarship at my dream university. Maybe life was trying to tell me I shouldn't go to China just yet. 🛑🌌

⚠️ A Cautionary Tale for Tech Babes: Scammers in the Orbit

As it turns out, following my intuition was a blessing in disguise! 🛸

Before canceling, I got involved with a shady online travel agency called Limited Fares, recommended by a friend who found them online. As a tech babe, I made the dreadful mistake of trusting them with my card information before checking their online reviews—relying a little too much on the safety net of my Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).

When I finally looked them up, I saw their online reviews were horrible. An agent from the company called me, and even though I directly confronted him with the scam reviews, he just kept denying it. I immediately pulled the plug on using them for my travel plans.

Shortly after, they tried to charge my card multiple times for unauthorized purchases! Thankfully, my 2FA blocked the transactions, leaving me with no choice but to temporarily freeze my accounts. Even now, with my accounts frozen, I can still see their repeated attempts to charge me. 📱🔒

🚨 Tech Babe Lesson: Be careful out there on the internet! No matter how much of a rush you’re in or how tech-savvy you think you are, always double-check reviews before sharing financial info!

📝 The Poem & English Translation: 我喜欢你 (Wǒ Xǐhuān Nǐ)

Here is the exact poem I submitted for my scholarship, along with its English translation:

我喜欢你 (Wǒ Xǐhuān Nǐ)

上午我起床，(Shàngwǔ wǒ qǐ chuáng,)
去吃早饭。(Qù chī zǎofàn.)
The sun stares and smiles at me.

我很开心，因为你是我心中的星。(Wǒ hěn gāoxìng, yīnwèi nǐ shì wǒ xīnzhōng de xīng.)

Outside, flowers wait for me.
They ask me what I plan to do today—
我的计划是喜欢你。(Wǒ de jìhuà shì xǐhuān nǐ.)
因为我会一直喜欢你。(Yīnwèi wǒ huì yīzhí xǐhuān nǐ.)

今天, another lover wakes up,
Pouring the tea of passion.
我喜欢你。(Wǒ xǐhuān nǐ.)

— by: 刘夏露那 (Liú Xiàlùnà)

🔠 English Translation

I Like You

In the morning I wake up,

I go eat breakfast.

The sun stares and smiles at me.

I am very happy, because you are the star in my heart.

Outside, flowers wait for me.

They ask me what I plan to do today—

My plan is to like you.

Because I will always like you.

Today, another lover wakes up,

Pouring the tea of passion.

I like you.

— by: Liu Xia Lu Na

🚀 Join the Mission!

What do you think of my HSK 1 poem and my new Chinese name? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below! 👇

Don't forget to subscribe and board the Story Time UFO for more space stories, writing adventures, and language-learning chronicles! 🛸✨

Stay tuned for upcoming episodes where I reveal how CapCut scammed me... Gasp, it’s a cruel world out there! 🎬💔