Chapter 4 The Campus of Qinse
"I have never believed in any lazy freedom, the freedom I aspire to is a broader life achieved through diligence and hard work, and that kind of freedom is precious and valuable. Be a free and self-disciplined person, and live conscientiously with the determination to achieve it. ”
- Famous Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto
In 1956, Yang Zhenning cooperated with Tsung-Dao Lee to propose the "Theory of Non-conservation of Symmetry in Weak Interactions", and jointly won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics.
At Diocesan College, I have always had a strong interest in physics, and I have always been eager to have a deeper understanding of the structure of matter and its motion. At that time, there was an Iranian-born substitute physics teacher nicknamed "Shrimp Dumpling". In class, he talked about centrifugal force, and I didn't understand some questions, so I raised my hand in class to ask questions, hoping that the teacher would answer them. As a result, the teacher was asked, hesitated for a moment, and only told me to speak later. Until after class, the teacher did not answer, and he walked out of the classroom directly. This doesn't work, the teacher hasn't answered my question yet, why did he leave, I didn't hesitate, chased out of the classroom, pestering the "shrimp dumpling" for answers. He pretended not to hear and quickened his pace, but I still chased after him, and at last the teacher stopped and panted and said, "You are quite annoying!" "Actually, we have a good relationship, he is a celebrity in the school, although he is not a physical education teacher, but he has vigorously promoted physical education in schools, and his achievements have been remarkable, and he is well-known in the school circles in Hong Kong. I was the captain of the swimming team at Goodban House, who had broken a record for secondary schools in Hong Kong, and he admired me so much that he asked me to be his assistant in athletics.
"Shrimp Dumpling Old" later became the principal of Diocesan. Many years later, he retired to Hong Kong to live in a villa in Clear Water Bay, and I invited my old classmates to visit him. This excellent educator, when he mentioned the past, he also jokingly complained: "I was just a substitute teacher at the time, how can I understand such a profound question you asked!" I'm embarrassed to say I don't know, I avoided you, and I wanted to let me go, but you chased after me! The students laughed.
In 1960, when I was 19 years old, I came to the United States on a business visa and took a ship to participate in international textile exhibitions in Seattle and Chicago, bringing Han's sweater products abroad. After the fair, I applied for a student visa and successfully applied to Seattle University to officially start studying in the United States. A year later, my mother and several of my younger brothers got immigrant visas and came to the U.S. as well.
Founded in 1891, Seattle University is one of the 28 universities established by the Catholic Church in the United States, located in Washington State, USA, and is also the largest independent university in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
When it comes to Seattle, most Chinese may first think of "Sleepless in Seattle" starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
The movie is famous, and the plot is very romantic.
When it came time to choose a major, my parents suggested that I study medicine. In the United States, doctors, lawyers, and other professions are very respected, and after studying these majors, they have a secure job and a good income. When I graduated from high school at Diocesan Boys' College, there were more than 120 graduates in the same class, and at least 9 of them ended up becoming doctors.
But I'm free by nature and don't be swayed by my parents' opinions. Because I love painting and sculpture, I initially wanted to study commercial art, and after graduation, I became a commercial artist, but there was no related major in school. At that time, I thought that it would be good if I could study physics, and I would become a physicist in the future and benefit mankind.
Life is often faced with many choices, and in the end, I listened to my heart and chose physics.
At Seattle University, I grew up overnight and found that learning is fun. If a student has a heartfelt interest in reading, he will burst out with amazing energy, and I will go from a scumbag to a top student in an instant.
In the first class comprehensive exam at school, I took the first place in the class. After that, almost every subject was the "champion" of the academic year. After becoming a top student at the school, I was approached by the heads of the mathematics and chemistry departments and asked if I would be interested in changing their majors. When the head of the physics department found out, he hurriedly talked to me to stabilize the morale of the military.
It turns out that it feels good to be a top student.
I think that I was able to quickly find my interest in learning, which was related to the university's individualized teaching. The teachers here are conscientious, responsible, and passionate, and when I raise questions and challenge the teacher's point of view in class, the teacher not only does not get angry, but also praises and encourages me. These encouragements were like stimulants and boosters for me, and they stimulated my enthusiasm for learning.
When I was in high school in Hong Kong, although I was promoted from Class C to Class B, I always had a lingering inferiority complex in my heart. In Seattle, my studies improved by leaps and bounds, which allowed me to find confidence for the first time in my life. When the grades were good, I was not proud, but kept telling myself to be self-disciplined and more diligent.
In addition to studying hard, you must also work diligently.
According to the Western concept, after the age of eighteen, you basically need to be self-reliant, and your parents are no longer obliged to support you. Most international students, like me, rarely rely on their parents' financial support after going to university, and work-study is a compulsory course. In order to make a living, I used my spare time to work outside the school to earn living expenses. In Seattle, there is one of the largest Chinese restaurants, "Hong Kong Hotel", and my first job was as a part-time waitress there. Because of my good service attitude, good spoken English, I can chat with customers, so I got a lot of tips, but also won the appreciation of the boss, when I didn't have time to work after the start of school, he warmly invited me to come over to help during the holidays.
During my time at university, I met my lifelong friend, Peter Lee from Hong Kong, who was an orphan who had no financial support and had a hard time studying. For a long time, he could only buy one loaf of bread a day, divide it into three portions, and eat three meals.
Since he was also a Christian, we quickly became good friends. I was near the campus and got a job helping a wealthy American house boy clean up the garden, taking care of a lunch, usually a sandwich. As the saying goes, we share blessings and hardships, so every time I go to my employer's house, I take a large amount of sandwiches and pack them back to share with Mr. Li. Actually, both of me and I had a lot of meals, and one lunch was divided into two portions, and as a result, neither of us had enough to eat, and we were often hungry and had stomach aches.
One day, I was cleaning up the weeds in the garden, and when it was time for lunch, the hostess of the rich family confronted me: "There is something strange about something, I have to confirm with you, how do you seem to be eating more and more lately?" Take away such a large portion of sandwiches! I was able to justify myself as I was growing and eating heavily, but I didn't want to lie, so I told the truth and shared it with my friends. The hostess didn't blame me too much and didn't sympathize with me for my honesty, but just fired me.
Although there is less of a part-time job, but gained a sincere friendship, because of the off-campus residence, unregulated, easy to do odd jobs, I and Li after discussion, choose to rent a small house off-campus, we eat and live together, this hut is relatively simple, very cold in winter, and very hot in summer, but we take bitterness as pleasure, work-study.
△Invite Dr. Li to talk about friendship in February 2024 Daxing Annual Meeting Dinner