我在大学里的生活(My life in university)

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.lifedependsononesownchoices,soidecidedtodosomethingbesidesstudying.

therefore,lastterm,iappliedforavolunteerjobinthemuseum.thecapitalmuseumwasshortofguidesforaspecialexhibitioninwhichhundredsofwonderfulitemsfrombritishmuseumswouldbeonshow.theyneededenglishspeakingguides,andasiamanenglishmajor,andiamanearlyfluentspeaker.soitwasnotdifficultformetoget"employed"…afterseveralweekspreparation,thatis.43pagesofscriptsinbothchineseandenglishtomemorize,iwenttowork.youcanhardlyimaginemynervousnesswhenifacedtheinquiringvisitors.someofthemweresohardtopleasethatialmostfelthumiliated.however,youknow,youcannotalwaysbeyourparentsbaby,youcannotalwaysbeyourteachersfavorite,andyouwillhavetoserveothersinthefuture.whaticandoistoperfectmyselfandleavenoroomforreproach.iamquiteproudofthisjobevennow.

thistermiwasconfrontedwithadramaticchangebecauseimadeanewfriend.well,youmaylaugh,whatsthebigdealaboutanewfriend?howcanheorshechangemylifedramatically?maybeitisbecauseshetipsthebalanceofmylife,orrather,shebringssomethingbrandnewintomylife.sheisagermangirl.

wemeteachotherthrougha"mutual-help"program.myoriginalintentwastoimprovemyoralenglish,herstolearnchinese--bothverypracticalandinstrumentalpurposes.itsoundsfunnythatishouldfindanon-nativespeakerforanenglishlanguagepartner.andifeltthiswaymyselfsincemyenglishspeakingabilitygoeslikeaparabola:atfirsticouldspeakenglishmorefluently,andthenifoundihadacquiredaslightgermanaccent.whatathing!however,ascompensation,webothhavemadegoodnewfriends.idontknowhowwemanagedtobecomesoclose,butirememberwedidnttrytoohard(sheoftensaysthatweare"fated").isometimesthinktheresanunbridgeablegapbetweenanytwocultures.thatmaybetrue.butitshouldntbeaseriousobstaclefortwopeoplestobetrueandgoodfriends.wetalkjustaswetalkwithourrespectivenativegirlfriends.wetelleachotheralotofinterestingthings.soweareoftenshockedbytheoneanothersexperienceandthenburstintolaughter.howculturesdiffer!whatiscommoningermanycannothelpbutbeextraordinaryinchina,andviceversa.

ialsometlotsofothergermanstudentsthroughmyfriend.theyweremostlyfriendlyandtalkative,andenthusiasticaboutchineseculture,whichsatisfiesmeandmakesmeandalittlebitproud.whattheyaskaboutchineselanguageandcultureoftenleavesmecontemplative.neverhadithoughtaboutsuchquestionsbefore.norhaveirealizedthatchineseissofantastic,anddifficulttolearn!wereallyshouldbehappythatwewerebornchinesesothatwedontneedtolearnlanguagesfromoutside.

ofcoursetherearetimeswhenmyfriendandihaveadifferenceinopinions.wedivergeespeciallywithregardtolife-style.generallychinesestudentsspendmoretimestudying,whilegerman(orwestern)studentsspendless.theformerstayinthelibrary,whilethelatteraredrinkingandhavingfuninclubs.theformerthinkthattheyshouldworkhardinordertowinaplaceinacompetitivesociety,whilethelatterthinkthattheyshouldhavearestaftersomeintenseworkandenjoylife.iamarelativelytraditionalchineseperson,whichmeansifavortheformerattitude;butmyfriendisdoubtlesslyleadingthelatterlife.anyway,wewontimposeourownopinionsontheotherbecauseweknowthatchinaandgermanyaretwototallydifferentsocieties.interestingly,oneofthegermanboysoncesaid,"wecanexpectthatchinawillbecomethesuperpowerintheworldwhilegermanywilldecayaftersometime.why?becauseyouarestudyingwhenwearedrinking!"itisjustajokeandheapparentlyhasnointenttoworkharderinordertosavegermanyfromthissupposed"decadence".