'
我在大学里的生活(mylifeinuniversity)
everyone,everyhighschoolstudentislookingforwardtolifeinuniversity.itseemsthatifyougetintouniversity,whicheveroneitis,youwillsurelyleadafreeandexcitinglife.iwasoneamongthis"everyone".butafteristeppedontothegroundsofpekinguniversity,ibegantorealizethattheatmospherehereisfarfrom"throwingthedamnedhomeworkbehind!",onthecontrary,competitionissofiercethatonehastoworkashardasinhighschool.
thatwaswhatmylifewaslikeasafreshman.butthingsbegantochangeafterayear.ifeltthatnowishouldhaveadifferentlife,notthesameoneasinhighschool.lifedependsonone'sownchoices,soidecidedtodosomethingbesidesstudying.
therefore,lastterm,iappliedforavolunteerjobinthemuseum.thecapitalmuseumwasshortofguidesforaspecialexhibitioninwhichhundredsofwonderfulitemsfrombritishmuseumswouldbeonshow.theyneededenglishspeakingguides,andasiamanenglishmajor,andiamanearlyfluentspeaker.soitwasnotdifficultformetoget"employed"…afterseveralweeks'preparation,thatis.43pagesofscriptsinbothchineseandenglishtomemorize,iwenttowork.youcanhardlyimaginemynervousnesswhenifacedtheinquiringvisitors.someofthemweresohardtopleasethatialmostfelthumiliated.however,youknow,youcannotalwaysbeyourparents'baby,youcannotalwaysbeyourteachers'favorite,andyouwillhavetoserveothersinthefuture.whaticandoistoperfectmyselfandleavenoroomforreproach.iamquiteproudofthisjobevennow.
thistermiwasconfrontedwithadramaticchangebecauseimadeanewfriend.well,youmaylaugh,what'sthebigdealaboutanewfriend?howcanheorshechangemylifedramatically?maybeitisbecauseshetipsthebalanceofmylife,orrather,shebringssomethingbrandnewintomylife.sheisagermangirl.
wemeteachotherthrougha"mutual-help"program.myoriginalintentwastoimprovemyoralenglish,herstolearnchinese--bothverypracticalandinstrumentalpurposes.itsoundsfunnythatishouldfindanon-nativespeakerforanenglishlanguagepartner.andifeltthiswaymyselfsincemyenglishspeakingabilitygoeslikeaparabola:atfirsticouldspeakenglishmorefluently,andthenifoundihadacquiredaslightgermanaccent.whatathing!however,ascompensation,webothhavemadegoodnewfriends.idon'tknowhowwemanagedtobecomesoclose,butirememberwedidn'ttrytoohard(sheoftensaysthatweare"fated").isometimesthinkthere'sanunbridgeablegapbetweenanytwocultures.thatmaybetrue.butitshouldn'tbeaseriousobstaclefortwopeoplestobetrueandgoodfriends.wetalkjustaswetalkwithourrespectivenativegirlfriends.wetelleachotheralotofinterestingthings.soweareoftenshockedbytheoneanother'sexperienceandthenburstintolaughter.howculturesdiffer!whatiscommoningermanycannothelpbutbeextraordinaryinchina,andviceversa.
ialsometlotsofothergermanstudentsthroughmyfriend.theyweremostlyfriendlyandtalkative,andenthusiasticaboutchineseculture,whichsatisfiesmeandmakesmeandalittlebitproud.whattheyaskaboutchineselanguageandcultureoftenleavesmecontemplative.neverhadithoughtaboutsuchquestionsbefore.norhaveirealizedthatchineseissofantastic,anddifficulttolearn!wereallyshouldbehappythatwewerebornchinesesothatwedon'tneedtolearnlanguagesfromoutside.
ofcoursetherearetimeswhenmyfriendandihaveadifferenceinopinions.wedivergeespeciallywithregardtolife-style.generallychinesestudentsspendmoretimestudying,whilegerman(orwestern)studentsspendless.theformerstayinthelibrary,whilethelatteraredrinkingandhavingfuninclubs.theformerthinkthattheyshouldworkhardinordertowinaplaceinacompetitivesociety,whilethelatterthinkthattheyshouldhavearestaftersomeintenseworkandenjoylife.iamarelativelytraditionalchineseperson,whichmeansifavortheformerattitude;butmyfriendisdoubtlesslyleadingthelatterlife.anyway,wewon'timposeourownopinionsontheotherbecauseweknowthatchinaandgermanyaretwototallydifferentsocieties.interestingly,oneofthegermanboysoncesaid,"wecanexpectthatchinawillbecomethesuperpowerintheworldwhilegermanywilldecayaftersometime.why?becauseyouarestudyingwhenwearedrinking!"itisjustajokeandheapparentlyhasnointenttoworkharderinordertosavegermanyfromthissupposed"decadence".