书城旅游梦想与升华:十七岁 我走进非洲
9791100000137

第137章 附:给校长的信(1)

DearDrWoods,

IpraytheGodthatyouwillopenandreadthisletteryourself.It’sreallyhardtostartwritingtoyou,muchmoredifficultthananyacademicessays.“WritealettertoDr.Woods”hasbeenahugeplaninmymindforalongtime.Ithoughtmyactioncouldbecomealaughstock.Oryouprobablywon’tevenhavethetimetocareaboutthissillygirl.Butpleasetakeseveralminutestoreadmystory--AlongwaytobeaRhodesstudent.

MynameisLucy,aforeignstudentcomesallthewayfromChina.I’mdoingmysecondyearsocialsciencedegree;butfirstyearinGrahamstown.IheardaboutRhodesUniversitywhenIwasinChinalongtimeago.MyfriendwhograduatedfromRhodes(EastLondonCampus)toldmethatRhodesisanexcellentuniversitywithagreatinternationalreputationandhighqualification.IfellforthearchitecturesstyleofGrahamstowncampuswhenthefirsttimeIsawitontheinternet.Ibelieveditwouldbeagreatexperiencetospendthreeyearsstudyinthispeacefulandbeautifulcampus.Furthermore,becauseIdreamedabouttomeetMr.NelsonMandelasinceIwaslittle(it’sanotherjokeofme),soinsteadofcontinuingmyhighereducationinanyChineseUniversities,ItoldmyfamilyIwouldgotostudyatRhodesUniversityinSouthAfrica.

AfricawasawordthatrepresentspovertyandAIDSinmostofChinesepeople’smind.Soitwasatoughprocessformyentirefamilytounderstandandacceptmyidea,sinceI’mtheonlychildofmyparents,it’sevenharderandmuchbitterforthemtoletmego.ButIdidn’tknowwhythatdecisionwasfirmlysettledinmyheart.IsearchedasmuchinformationasIcouldaboutSouthAfricaandRhodes.Butunfortunately,IfoundoutthatIcouldn’tcometoRhodesstraightafterhighschoolbecauseIhavetoeitherwriteSouthAfricanmatriculationoraccomplishmyfirstyear’sstudyinChina.Obviously,Iwouldn’tabletowriteSouthAfricanmatricatthatstageandIalsomissedtheChinesenationalmatricbecauseIwaspreparingtogoaboard.Althoughitwassodisappointed,soonIwasguidedthatIcouldstudyforaone-yearfoundationcourseinEastLondonCollegefirst,thengotoeitherRhodescampus.Therefore,thatwastheonlychoiceleft.

InFebruary2004,averyfirsttimeforthis17year’slittleChinesegirltocatchaplane,toleaveherparents,herhome,andhercountry,inordertoachieveher“RhodesDream”.

Atthebeginning,everythingwasstrangeanddifficultforme,languagebarriers,strangepeopleandnewenvironment.IenrolledinaFinancialManagementfoundationcourseofRhodesUniversityforBComdegreeatEastLondonCollege.Therewasn’tevenasinglepersonwarnmeaboutthehanding-overstoryofRhodesEastLondoncampusatthebeginning.

Ihadnoaccountingstudybackgroundatall;Chinesehighschoolnevertaughtaccounting.SoIwastheonlyoneinmyclasswhoknowsnothingaboutthesubject.Iworkedextremelyhardtocatchupstudy,totrytopasseverytest.WhenIwassuffering,Iencouragedmyselfthat,ifyoumadethisthennextyearthistimeyouwillbeaRhodesstudent.

Withouteitherpublicorprivatetransport,Iwalked40minuteseverydaytogotocollegeand40minutesgohomewithheavybooksandgroceries.Therealwayswerepeoplestaredatme,whistledtome,eventrytorobmybag.Irememberonce,whenIwasonmywayhome,aguysuddenlyjumpoutfromthebushandblockedmywaytrytofightwithme,Igotsuchafrightandnearlyabouttoscreamforhelp.Butthatguylookedmeinastrangewayandfinallyasked“whydon’tyoudefendagainstmewithChineseKongFulikeJackieChandoes?”Alloftheseannoying,scaryandfunnythingshappenedtomebecauseI’mayoungorientalgirl.

Ilivedinatinygrannyflatmyselfduringthattime,sleptonthemattress,cookonthefloor,washbyhands,andreadtextbookswordbywordwiththehelpofdictionary.EverymorningwhenIwokeup,Ifeltsosadandempty,Idoubtedaboutmylife,whyImustlivefarfromhomeinthiscorneroftheothersideofworld,withnobodyhelpsorevencaresaboutme.Therearesomanyotheruniversitiesintheworld,whyonlyRhodes?Butthatstillwasn’ttheendofmydesperation.