Before going to high school, I felt that going abroad to study was a matter of the next life; going abroad for a vacation was a matter of working for many years and saving enough money to think about it; working abroad was the matter of top students; traveling around the world was a matter of retirement; immigration was a matter of rich people.
Unexpectedly, these are all things that have happened to me in the past decade.
Zurich, Switzerland
Barcelona, Spain
Three years of high school, let me know how big the world is wonderful
In high school, I was admitted to a private school in Chengdu, so I moved from a familiar small town where I had lived for more than ten years to Chengdu and began a boarding life. How small was the city where you used to live? Kindergarten students can accompany you all the way to high school graduation. About half of my junior high school classmates are elementary school students. The small here is not only the small geographical scope, but also the interpersonal communication and the small circle of life.
In the second year of junior high school, my parents were transferred to Chengdu. After graduating from junior high school, my parents asked me to choose between the provincial key high school in the small city and the private school in Chengdu. I still did not hesitate to choose the latter. 1. I don't want to be separated from my parents. For most of the second and third years of junior high school, I could only see my parents who came back from Chengdu once every one or two weeks. 2. I believe that in the high school of the small city, almost half of the students also know each other. I want to go to a different environment to see.
I didn't know at the time that private schools were fully enclosed boarding schools, and I could only go home once a week.
In my freshman year of high school, on my way back to the classroom after recess exercises, I passed the school hall, where there was a whole wall covered with colorful posters. Step inside and see all the summer camps: Rainbow Diamond Tour in South Africa; Journey to the British Industrial Revolution; Gold Coast in Australia; Adventures in the American West... Finally, in the most inconspicuous corner, I saw a poster: Hong Kong Disney! I immediately grabbed my roommate in excitement and said, "I want to go to this!" The roommate took a look at it and said naturally, "Hong Kong Disneyland is super small and not fun at all." Collie (my English name in high school) You're going to go to The World's Biggest Disney, Orlando Disney! There are adult Disney, children Disney, and Universal Studios next to it. I was just lying where I was, my little eyes filled with great confusion.
During the summer vacation of my freshman year of high school, I went to Beijing with my best friend.
In the second year of high school, as soon as the school started, many students returned from the summer camp country. Bring back lots of snacks, small gifts, photos, postcards to share with everyone. My table mate went to the United States, and I asked her how she was, and she said, "I live in an American family. Their home is in the mountains, Collie, can you imagine? We sat in the courtyard and ate dinner while watching Disney's night fireworks show. ”
My roommate also went to the United States, and in the dormitory, I took a stack of photos she had brought with me and read them many times in my hand. In the vast desert, they sat in the SUV and laughed happily, and there were a few camels next to them; at Universal Studios, she and I had loved toys since childhood.
Go back to the dormitory after studying in the evening and cut fruit with your roommate. When I accidentally saw her watch, I couldn't help but say, "Your watch is so beautiful!" She said calmly, "This is the last time my father went to Hong Kong to buy me a new one, and I accidentally lost the previous one." After many years, I learned that the original watch was called Rolex.
In my sophomore year of high school, I can feel a very big change. There are more than 200 students in the first year of high school, and only half of them are left in the second year of high school. Many students went abroad to study in high school, some prepared for foreign university exams, and some felt that they did not like the current school, so they transferred. In fact, it is not very accurate to say that you are studying abroad. Because some of the students were not originally Chinese nationals, now that I think about it, it should be said that they returned to China to study.
During the winter vacation, my table mate asked me: "Do you think it would be better to go to Singapore for university, or Australia?" After winter break, I asked her if she had decided where to go. She said with certainty that she was going to Australia. Because I went to school with my mother during the winter vacation, I still thought Australia was more suitable.
In my sophomore year of high school, everyone had a lot of books on their desks. IELTS TOEFL SAT GRE. Some classmates will also "disappear" for a few days. They go to Hong Kong, Singapore to take exams, interviews. Back again began to be busy applying for schools, scholarships.
At that time, I gradually understood and realized. It turned out that going abroad to study was to be prepared in this way. Chatting with everyone, they'll say, "XXX, this school you can't go to, it's Pheasant University, and the diploma is not worth much; it's best to apply for the top 50 in the United States, and my goal is to win half the prize; do you know the difference between Unity and College?" I'm not going to go to the U.S., I'm not going to live with my brother for a while during the winter break; Chicago University and the University of Chicago are two completely different schools... ”
Every day in such an environment, I gradually began to wonder, if I went abroad to study at university, where would I go?
In the third year of high school, there were only more than 20 students left in the class. Some classes are even more intimidating, with only 3-4 classmates left. Listen to your classmates that they can play badminton in the classroom. So I had to merge several classes, and there were barely more than 20 people.
After graduating from high school, my classmate asked me out for dinner, saying that she had gone to work this summer and received a salary and wanted to share it with me. She took me to a western restaurant on Chunxi Road. We sat there eating steak. The skinny girl on the other side was super excited, and talked to me about her experience and feelings of working part-time. She went to work at a construction site, where she moved cement, carried bricks, and did all kinds of rough work every day. My jaw was about to fall. Admire her, worry about her, can't believe it. She laughed the whole time and thought it was extremely funny. Her family is a multinational company, and part of Africa's minerals belong to her family.
Summer in Leiden, the Netherlands
Five and a half years in the Netherlands, let me see how wonderful the world is
In high school, I took the IELTS exam, and after graduating from high school, IELTS successfully applied to a University in Europe.
Coming to the completely unfamiliar Netherlands, little by little, I am building my university life in Europe, and I am also building my own worldview.
Studying is not an easy task. Writing papers in the library and looking up materials is a daily routine. Exam answers have nothing to do with rote memorization, the teacher does not want standard answers, but the ability to explain things in an orderly and logical way. Gradually, I also became accustomed to and became familiar with the rhythm and culture of Life in Europe. Know how to take care of yourself. Understand that not everyone will like me, no matter how hard I try.
Scenery on the way home by bike after school
Most importantly: I found that I could take care of myself, both in school, traveling, and taking care of myself.
In my days in holland, I was truly independent.
In life, I can take a week of classes, exams, group meetings are completed on time and efficiently. After class on Thursday, I quickly finished writing my paper in the library and distributing it to my teacher. Rushing home to pack his bags, he dragged his suitcase and good friends to the beaches of Spain to bask in the sun.
At Christmas, when heavy snow in the Netherlands brought the tram to a halt, I drank Sprite in a camisole on the deck of a Mediterranean cruise ship.
Carefully clean up the house on the weekend and hang out in The Hague alone in the afternoon. Find a coffee shop for an afternoon. In the evening, take a bottle of red wine to a good friend's house to cook together, everyone sits around together, gossip and gossip, nothing to say.
Mallorca, Spain
In March 2014, I was ready to give myself a special birthday gift - a ride trip. Good friends took a ride to more than 20 countries in Europe in the summer of 2013. After listening to the experience, I longed and was afraid. So I asked my friends if they could take me on a ride.
Departing from the center of The Hague at around 10:30 a.m. that morning, we took 3 cars all the way to Bonn, Germany, at around 7 p.m. (There are too many interesting and interesting things along the way, and then write a special article, which will not take up much space here)
We went up to the gas station with a sign and asked when we saw a car coming, and we waited for almost five hours at a gas station on the border between the Netherlands and Germany.
When we arrived in Bonn, I still vividly remember the excitement and disbelief I couldn't believe in: I could get from holland to Germany without spending a penny. There are really so many enthusiastic people willing to carry the two of us. What I didn't dare to think about or dare to do before could be completed so smoothly.
If I were to name the 10 most memorable and happiest days of the first 30 years of my life, the day of the ride would definitely be in the top three, even when I was in my 80s, it would be unforgettable and vivid.
Rome, Italy
Christmas of my junior year, my first trip to Africa. The two girls didn't know a word of French and ran to Tunisia. Take a taxi to the famous local blue and white town, the driver drove quickly, and did not see a few traffic lights along the way. I wanted to fasten my seat belt for my own safety, but I found that there was no seat belt in the car. Passing by an intersection, I saw a large jeep parked in the middle of the road, surrounded by several people dressed in black, shining submachine guns hanging on their chests. We looked at each other in the back seat of the car, scared to death, and quickly clasped our hands and prayed that we would return alive.
While studying, I took advantage of the holidays and went to more than 20 countries. I have always longed for the Canary Islands. But several times I couldn't get together with my friends. There is time to go together, and it is scary to see the expensive tickets, so I have not had the opportunity to go. Towards the end of university, I interned at a company in Rotterdam. On the first day of work on Monday, when I was leaving work on Wednesday, my boss told me to go to the office with another colleague and let us go home to pack our bags and leave late for a business trip to Tenerife, the capital of Canaria. Half an hour later, colleagues helped us buy a ticket, and the boss felt that to talk about business should reflect the company's confidence, so he opened the home page of booking and directly chose a five-star hotel with the highest rating.
Lisbon, Portugal
Santorini, Greece
After graduating from college, I became an international strategist
Dislike of the rainy weather in the Netherlands, coupled with Pisces' personality of seeing freshness as oxygen, he has no intention of staying in the Netherlands after graduating from college.
When I returned to the Netherlands after my graduation trip in February 2015, I began a short but fun job search. Get up every morning and start reading job postings, change your resume, and send your resume. In the afternoon go for walks and runs near the forest and lake near home. At the end of February, I got a job offer from a Maldivian company. In mid-March, the company helped me get a work visa and book a ticket. I left for the Maldives at the end of March.
Unlike the rainy Netherlands, the Maldives is sunny every day, with coconut palm beaches and sea breezes. In this isolated wonderland on earth, I started my first job after graduating from college.
In March 2016, I flew to the remote and mysterious African continent and began a new job on a small African island. Get used to and love this kind of vacation travel style work. Watch the sea every day, chat with guests, help guests solve problems, talk and laugh with colleagues, go to the sunset of the Indian Ocean after work, and go to different islands to play together on rest days. At that time, I told myself: "Before the age of 30, let's change the work and life of another country every year." ”
While working in Africa, I met a female guest. There are very few Chinese guests in our hotel, and I will generally greet Chinese guests. At night's shift, my colleague said to me, "There is a Chinese guest from Switzerland. I walked over to the beach bar where my colleague told me and saw an aunt drinking a cocktail. We had a pleasant conversation. It just so happened that we were all From Sichuan, so it was very kind. Later, my aunt said, I will introduce my son to you. I said with a happy face, "Good! ”。 Later this aunt became my mother-in-law, and his son became my husband.
In January 2018, I moved to Switzerland to live with my husband. Now our baby is about to be 100 days old.
Many friends said that I fought back all the way; lived a lifetime of others; too brave, too powerful, etc., in fact, last night began to write this ten-year article, I looked at the photos, flipped through the memories of this decade, and felt that I had been particularly lucky over the years.
It was hard to study, but I gained a hard-won graduation certificate and confidence in myself.
Life is difficult, but you can have fun in your hardships and live a full and wonderful life studying abroad.
After graduation, I didn't think too much about career and life planning, but just took advantage of my early 20s to have a good experience. So a person flew to a small island in the Indian Ocean, and lived every day happily and contentedly in a place that could not be seen on the map.
After marriage, the ideal of life is no longer to change the country every year to work and live, but to enjoy every minute and second with her husband and children. Happiness is no longer where to travel or work, but to wake up in the morning to see my son squinting at me grinning; my husband always takes time to call me every day to ask if I have breakfast or lunch; my wife I am now off work. The daily life makes me very satisfied.
Talking to his husband about the next decade of life, he said: "It must be getting happier and happier." ”
Lake Zurich