Xiaohu “Little Tiger”

Xiaohu is a four-and-a-half-years old little boy who was born in a Chinese family in Melbourne.

Xiaohu’s parents came from China fourteen years ago. They were both studying at Deakin University. After both of them graduated, they got married and had two children; Xiaohu is their youngest son. “Xiaohu” is nickname at home; it means “little tiger”.

Xiaohu is four-and-a-half-years old.

When his parents go to work, he is sent to kindergarten. It is located in a quiet suburban street at the City of Monash. The kindergarten he attends is very small. There are normally two to three staff members looking after twenty-two children. Sometimes the parents are requested to volunteer with repairing facilities and improving the environment.

Xiaohu’s dad Philip Wu is a partner at a small accounting firm. He works very hard to provide financial security for his family.

Xiaohu’s mum Haiyan Wu is also a financial accountant at a law firm located in Melbourne’s CBD. After work, she takes the train home as quickly as possible. When she gets home she does the household chores, while taking care of the children at the same time.

Xiaoguai is Xiaohu’s big sister. She is nine years old. Xiaohu is always hanging around his big sister and imitates everything she does.

Xiaohu and his family moved into their new house in Mount Waverly in March 2015. His parents are busy, so setting up the furniture has progressed quite slowly.

Everyone was busy with his or her own matters so Xiaohu had no one to play with on the weekend.

Xiaohu likes to spend a long time quietly drawing.

When Xiaohu gets bored, he likes to make trouble everywhere. His mum once told him, “go tidy up your toys now or else they will be given to other kids”. His mum does not spoil him and she knows how to deal with his naughtiness.

Xiaoguai was cleaning her room when she said to Xiaohu, “if you stop making trouble, I will give you a very nice sticker”. This made him excited for quite a while.

Xiaohu was excited to find a pedometer when his mum was cleaning the room. His mum told him that he and his sister had to take turns playing with the pedometer for five minutes each.

It was Xiaoguai’s turn. Xiaohu waited for only one minute before trying to grab it.

Xiaohu didn’t get the pedometer back and started crying and shouting “It’s my turn! It’s my turn!”.

Xiaohu asked his mother to make his sister give the pedometer back. His mum checked the clock on her phone, telling him it wasn’t his turn yet and he had to wait.

Xiaohu was hugely disappointed. He could not stop crying and shouting.

Xiaohu was sent to his bedroom. His dad told him to either stop crying or stand in the corner because he can’t get what he wants by crying.

It was finally Xiaohu’s turn to play with the pedometer. He stopped crying so his mum helped clip the pedometer onto his clothes.

Xiaohu quickly made up with his sister. He taught her how to draw a creative map on a cardboard box that would be thrown to rubbish bin. They were drawing earnestly and enjoyed it a lot.

During the Easter holiday, Mom and Dad took Xiaohu and Xiaoguai for a walk at the park.

Xiaohu’s Mom asked him and Xiaoguai to look far way, because it’s good for their eyes.

Chasing after the ducks is Xiaohu and his sister favourite thing to do.

Dad took the children to visit their neighbor. They wanted to thank the neighbor for helping them with their rubbish.

Xiaohu and his sister received chocolate eggs at Easter.

It’s the Easter long-weekend. It was decided that Xiaohu would get a haircut on the way to grocery shopping at Springvale Shopping Centre. His mum said that his hair was so long that it made him look like a caveman.

Organising a haircut for Xiaohu is a headache because he cries everytime. This time was no different. Xiaohu started crying straight after getting up from bed, and didn’t stop when he got to the hairdresser’s salon.

After the haircut Xiaohu’s mum told him that he looked like a new person. Xiaohu was a little embarrassed by this.

After Easter Monday, the kindergarten has not open yet. Xiaohu was sent to a day care centre. Xiaohu’s mom went to pick him up after work.

In a few more days later, Xiaohu will be transferred to a new kindergarten

where there will be more children. His parents prefer him in a bigger

group. Xiaohu is not old enough to have a say, but he expresses his

feelings about it by crying. Although his mum understands that Xiaohu

feels anxious about leaving his old teachers and friends, she hopes he

gets through the transition quickly and cheers up again.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My thanks to Robert Gale and Jesie DiBlasi for the guidance and the advice.

Thanks to Jessica Zibung and Stephanie Holt for the text proofreading.

Thanks to Jacqueline DiBlasi for the guidance of book design.

Special Thanks to

Steve Wu (Xiaohu), Sophie Wu (Xiaoguai)Haiyan Wang, Philip Wu

Many thanks to all the support of my families.

28 05 2015

ABOUT THE PROJECT

This book has been produced as part of a joint project between the Diploma of Photo Imaging and the Associate Degree in Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT. This cross-disciplinary collaboration involved establishing professional relationships between editors and photographers, with editors assisting photographers in varied ways to support the presentation of their photographic narratives in book form.

“The collaborative experience for the Photo Imaging students gave them insight into both the methodology and approach taken by writers and editors. This complemented and refined the learning that was taking place within the construction and development of their narrative projects – a real-world experience.” – Jessie DiBlasi, Robert Gale (Photo Imaging teachers)

“Working not only collaboratively but across disciplines provided complex challenges for the editing students involved. Creativity, flexibility and patience proved crucial. In responding to, and supporting, each photographer’s vision, the editors deepened their knowledge and understanding of the publishing process and diverse editorial roles.” – Stephanie Holt (Advanced Manuscript Editing teacher)

“These exciting and stylish publications are the result of highly successful collaboration between students from the School of Media and Communication. The project mirrors contemporary industry practice, demonstrating the strength of RMIT’s vocational education in the creative arts.” – Clare Renner (Deputy Dean, Vocational Education)

Copyright © Dan Zhou

This book is copyright.Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be address to the creator.

Printed by CPL Digital117 Thistlethwaite StreetSouth MelbourneVIC

Dan Zhou Photo