Chapter 40 Part Four: Farewell to Cambridge Farewell to Cambridge

In the early summer of 2004, I graduated from Cambridge.Before I left, I received a letter signed by the head of the department, congratulating me on my achievement of Distinction, the highest achievement for a master's degree in the UK, and it was a perfect end to my postgraduate life in Cambridge. I waved goodbye to the small town of Cambridge where I had lived for a year, and boarded the plane back to China before I even had time to attend the graduation ceremony.This rule of Cambridge is also interesting. The school holds several degree conferring ceremonies every year, and it is no problem to go back to get a degree at any time within ten years after graduation.So, I said to myself, wait until a few years later when I miss Cam so much.

A friend wrote to me and asked me inexplicably: I don't believe that you are really willing to leave such a beautiful place like Cambridge; I don't believe that you are really willing to say goodbye to such a colorful life in a foreign country. With such grades, it seems that it is natural to stay abroad to study for a doctorate. I also like students, the fresh and simple atmosphere on campus, and like to bury my head in books and waste time.I got the full prize to go to the United States, and I wrote emails everywhere to tell my friends in the United States: I am coming, to see you, to hug you!All my impressions of that land are limited to the glimpse I've seen from the window of the Los Angeles airport.The sunshine of that early autumn shines in my memories of eight years ago, distant and vague.I finally had the opportunity to extend the past memories into a real life, but I hesitated.I know myself. No matter how far I go, there must be such a hole. Once I fall, I will follow it back to China.There are always things in China that involve my thoughts, not only people, but also the life of the "sensual dogs and horses".He's such a vulgar person, there's nothing he can do about it!

So, back.When I got into the taxi, the familiar accent of the driver made me believe that I was back; when I got home, the endless nagging of my mother and father made me believe that I was back; I'm sure I'm back; a steaming bowl of soy milk and a side of salty rice balls at Yonghe Soymilk shop make me sure I'm back.Life is no longer leisurely and refreshing with green waters and green mountains, and small troubles begin to appear one after another, but it is strange that the heart is so at ease.Maybe people like me are like dandelion seeds, even if they can cross the ocean and take root in another land, the heart is often out of sync with the body.Just like the English proverb: East, west, home is the best. There is also a corresponding sentence in Chinese: golden nest, silver nest, not as good as your own "dog nest".I can travel thousands of rivers and mountains, but I can't "make my home around the world".I may be like a ship that can travel far away, but this ship already has a heavy anchor—the Chinese culture that has infected me since I was a child is the anchor.With this anchor, I can set sail with confidence.

I happened to read a passage from Taiwanese female writer Long Yingtai, which resonated very much: Chinese culture, I don’t think it is a greatness that transcends the world, and I don’t think it is truly unique. In fact, our understanding of Indian, Egyptian, Greek and even Arab civilizations is too superficial and too rash.But because Chinese is my mother tongue, Chinese culture has become the source of my life, and I have to go back to the upper source when I return to the river from the sea.I treasure this well, but know very well that this well is one of many in the world.My cultural identity is a dot on a very large map of the world.

When I came back, I realized that I never really left. Everything is settled, and life has entered a kind of normalcy.I started typing on the keyboard again, organizing and recording my life in Cambridge.Writing has two meanings for me.Firstly, it is to fulfill a promise, both to myself and to my friends.When I was in Cambridge, no matter how busy I was, I had to spare some time every day to record my experiences and feelings and post them on my blog on the Internet.My words are written for connected souls. It is the way I communicate and communicate with my own soul and with the souls of my friends.I think that no matter how changeable life is, there are always some things that we insist on, which will not change with the change of time and space identity.Writing is a kind of persistence of mine; secondly, writing allows me to always maintain a keen sense of life. I love all kinds of customs in this complicated world so much, and I am fortunate to be able to integrate life into the combination of words. Every ordinary but unique detail in the book is recorded.Words are not just words themselves, they are always connected with thinking and emotion.Only those who have true feelings hope to confide, and those who have thoughts hope to express something. I believe that the words that give out feelings will be collected by feelings. This is the continuation of life as a writer and her ultimate unpretentious wealth.The Cambridge I describe is what I have seen, what I have experienced, what I have thought about, and what I love deeply, so it is unique.

In the process of writing I have thought again and again about the meaning of the days in Cambridge in my life.Old and young, deep and peaceful, elegant and casual, tense and leisurely, traditional and advanced... these seemingly contradictory qualities are almost perfectly reflected in Cambridge.And it is these "contradictions" in Cambridge that make my life more layered.For example, Cambridge people can not only live freely in the charm of tradition, but also constantly break through the shackles of tradition, and have always maintained a leading position in the academic field.In the past, we were always used to look at the future from the perspective of "innovation", and few people looked at the future from the perspective of "inheritance".It was Cambridge that made me understand that when we inherit the past to the greatest extent, we expand the future to the greatest extent.It is indeed difficult to determine what will happen next, but at least we know that the next step comes from the past, so our generation should not only be the pioneers of the future, but also be the best inheritors of human civilization, so that the future Born from the best heritage of civilization.For another example, Cambridge University is a truly international institution, and the students around me come from all over the world, with completely different educational and professional backgrounds.Although we usually have a lot of communication and integration, whether in class or in life, everyone will pay special attention to maintaining and even emphasizing their own cultural background.My roommate, Simon, is from Scotland, but he will definitely wear a brightly colored Scottish plaid skirt when he attends a formal banquet.He also gave me several picture albums introducing the scenery or history of Scotland, and repeatedly emphasized to me: Although they both belong to the Kingdom of Great Britain, there are great differences between Scottish culture and English culture.In getting along with foreign students, I have a more profound understanding of the deep-rooted influence of the motherland's culture on me.I think the so-called globalization should mean that the people of each country have the dual identities of the country and global citizens at the same time; and to be a global citizen does not require us to deny the cultural identity of the place, on the contrary, it means Make more efforts to defend and promote the diverse development of national or regional culture.

So far, I still can't express the meaning of Cambridge to me in accurate language.I just have a hunch that its influence on me will slowly unfold in the years to come, deep and long.What Cambridge has given me is not just a diploma from a prestigious school, nor is it just a period of studying in a foreign land. It is its richness that broadens my horizons and broadens my mind.Wherever I am, I will always cherish being a Cambridge student and be forever grateful. I used words to record what I saw, heard, thought, and felt while studying in Cambridge, but to bid farewell to it.Yes, I love Cambridge, but I also deeply understand that Cambridge is not my real life, it is a place to prepare for real life, so I am destined not to stay here for a long time; just as I know that after leaving here , I am destined to miss this place, and cherish and reminisce affectionately for the rest of my life.

Chilean writer Ayanti once said: "I finally understand life. It turns out that life is loss." She described it this way: You lose a baby because he becomes a child, and you lose a child because he has grown into a teenager.Is it not the case with us, in a long life, joy always fades at the first glance, and the most beautiful time is the most urgent.On the road of life, what is lost is always the most precious, so people are accustomed to nostalgia with tenderness and nostalgia for those fragments of "treading on the snow, leaving them as fingers and claws".However, a positive life will not be sad because of loss, but learn to embrace new challenges in life in the midst of loss and farewell.

Cambridge is a beautiful "ivory tower", but it is only a stop in my life. I will eventually enter the society from here, and turn the educational achievements I have received into wisdom and apply them to my life.Probably only nerds will put themselves in a learning state rather than a living state throughout their lives.I have always believed that knowledge is not the capital for self-admiration, but learning to use knowledge to solve problems in the details of life is the best life experience.I recorded the details of life in Cambridge, because I cherish it, but also because I want to say goodbye to the experience of studying in a foreign country, to say goodbye to the simple campus years, and to say goodbye to the former self.Then, in big strides, into the future.I am no longer the Cambridge me; but the scenery of Cambridge has always been integrated in my life and in my words.

I remember that I said goodbye to Cambridge in the twilight of the morning. All the emotions in the year were as vivid as before. I was still reluctant, but not sad or afraid. When parting, I should smile even more, because I saw my abundant possessions, so I smiled at her, because the distance was getting farther and farther, so as long as I didn't raise my hand to wipe it, she would not see it. my tears.