Universities

Here comes October and Autumn, my favorite month and season. It is also the time to say "Happy Birthday" to many friends and for myself, prepare for growing older. Maybe I should save the "speech" about my growing older till my birthday.

Today we interviewed a professor in our department (this is an assignment of one of our classes). And when we asked her about her graduate education in Florida, she mentioned how bad she felt about the department there at that time, her closer relationship with other research institutions in the school and finally used an expression like "it was the school kept me there, but not department". I could not stop nodding during her talking about her experience, which kind of reminding me of my undergraduate experience. This is more or less the same feeling, that the department sucks, but I love the university. Until now, even though, admittedly, some of the classes I took in the department and certain professors I met there (esp. Prof. Song!) left lasting effects on me and my perspective towards many academic issues, I still cannot find any "affection" with that place. No emotional connection and no sense of identity. But on the other hand, the university provided me many things, all the chances and possibilities, the freedom to choose which way I want to take and whom I want to be, and of course, the incredible resources, books, lectures, student associations and activities. To some extent, it was the university kept me there, and in fact it is still keeping "me" there.

Today I also received a postcard from a friend at HKU, the special postcard for its centenary. This is so interesting because I was thinking my relationship with the department and university of my undergraduate studies earlier today, then later the postcard, like a souvenir, reminded me of my relationship with the department and university of my graduate studies. Comparing with the situation in my undergraduate, this part is a little bit complex. For one thing, I can hardly feel being connected with the university (maybe except receiving my studentship from it), partly due to the reason that I studied as graduate student there and did not have time to participate in many activities like undergraduates did, and partly due to the cultural differences. Although HK definitely is playing a part in Chinese culture, the language issue and the differences in living environment kept me from being integrated in this city, and also the university. In fact, I did not think that I needed to be part of the university, emotionally, not only physically, so I never tried. For the other thing, my connection with the department, though closer, did not contain any "emotional" elements. The relationship was more like a employer-employee thing: I finished my job, got my money and enjoyed 14 days annual vacation every year, no "legal" summer or winter breaks. And the only emotional thing is the friendship with all the fellow students there, which played quite an important role in supporting me to finish my studies there. I don't know what kept me there, maybe the resources of the library, the learning opportunities from my supervisor, or the friendship. In fact, this is not important, 'cause I never thought about leaving, it was not a option. But I've hardly missed that place after leaving, no matter the school or the department, though occasionally I do miss my friends. Sometimes I just feel like leaving a company, which in fact not ending well.

Speaking of the changing season and the universities, I'm missing the campus of Peking University so much now. I always think the best season of the campus is Autumn that the sun is shinning through those beautiful red or yellow leaves and the weather is neither too hot nor too cold, which makes it is perfect to take a walk around the campus in the afternoon. Oh my, wish I could be there tomorrow. You know, every time when I enter the campus, it is like, returning home.