When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three,
I was hardly Me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five,
I was just alive.
But now I am Six,
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.
Ray & I had the opportunity to visit a friend we met in Shanxi, China 2 years ago. Some of you might remember V. We were teaching English to a group of high school students in Shanxi and that same week of the English Camp, he had received his acceptance letter for Tsinghua University in Beijing. It is one of the most prestigious universities in China. We were very happy for him.
Since then we have dropped by Beijing once but missed him and were really hoping to catch up with him during our trip this past week. Well we did, and it was a great visit. He is truly growing to be a very mature young man.
Talking to him we learned a lot about the lifestyle of a university student in China. Most students work very hard, are very stressed, and seek to strive ahead so they can land a good job. Especially in Tsinghua, most students are the best of the country, and in the words of V, "are Geniuses!".
But despite all of the stress and pressure of university, we were very impressed by the way V has been living his life. He manages to stay ahead of his studies, plays in basketball competitions, swims, hangs out with his friends, greets visitors to the university as a guide, joins clubs, visits his family 8-10 hours away, attends university required speeches on a weekly basis AND spends time with his girlfriend from another campus! Since we last saw him 2 years ago, he lost 14 kilos! We were also impressed by his humility and hospitality. He gave us a Tsinghua souvenir, and insisted on treating us! When we tried to fight for the bill, we sadly lost because the university cafeteria (which was very delicious and fancy btw) only accepted the university swipe card (kind of like the University of Waterloo WATcard).
The university campus was beautiful! Ray commented that it reminded him of the Stanford University campus. There were beautiful blossoms, a lake, well manicured gardens, and interesting architecture too! The air was even cleaner than the downtown area of Beijing which was full of dust from the construction and smog.
But even here, in this tranquil and scholastic environment, you see the progression of China. New facilities were being built left, right and centre. Dormitories were brand new. Cafeterias provided a large eclectic selection of cuisine, all at a very reasonable price of 1-4 RMB per dish, and in a very modern facility. The sports centres were all Olympic standards (and will in fact be used for the Beijing 2008 Olympics) and were used frequently (as V was quick to point out) by celebrity athletes as training facilities. V also highlighted importantly that the new Medical buildings that have been built will be fashioned with the latest state of the art equipment in order to attract higher calibre professors (e.g. Noble prize winners) to up the research standard of the Medical Department.
All of China is trying to spread it's wing to be the best at everything! In the minds of the billions of people living in the Centre Country (中國), the Arts, Sports, Technology, Science, and Literature are not going to be an obstacle for them. Like V, China is "growing up".
One of the main lecture halls in Tsing Hua University.
Peach blossoms in one of the oldest parts of the University.
The Olympic size swimming pool that will be used by the Chinese Olympic team for training during the 2008 Olympics.
The largest of many cafeteria facilities dotting the campus.
Our friend V, a young man now!
No comments:
Post a Comment