#美国留学##非洲工作##非洲##美国生活#
This is the 4,224th real story we have told
I am a Harbin girl born in 1987.
When I applied for a master's degree at Columbia University in the United States, I wrote in my essay, "I want to go all over the world!" "Unexpectedly, my idealism is no return point, and I have been gone for more than ten years.
I quit my job as a news anchor for a Chinese-language television station in New York and went deep into mysterious Tanzania, interviewing Chinese people there and making their stories into a seven-part documentary.
Then I went to Israel, which I had longed for, and spent more than a year interviewing Chinese construction workers and Jews born in Harbin. Later, he returned to Israel with a group of Chinese students and filmed and produced a documentary about Israel.
The road was exciting, but it wasn't smooth. Ideals and reality are constantly colliding, and although I have fallen to the ground, I still cherish every scenery in this world and everyone in this landscape.
(Independent interview and shooting)
When I was a child, someone asked me, where do you want to travel? I blurted out directly: "Egypt." ”
I don't know where I learned about Egypt at that time. But in the dark, this small detail of that year foreshadowed where I would go when I grew up.
I was born in an ordinary family in Harbin, all the way from public primary school to public middle school, if nothing else, I will go to a better university in China. But an incident happened half a year before the college entrance examination that completely changed the trajectory of my life.
At that time, Purdue University at Galemer in the United States recruited students from our school, and eligible students could go directly to college in the United States, and scholarships were also provided.
My grades at that time were enough to go to the National People's Congress and Fudan University in China, and I thought that I could try to go to college in the United States. I don't remember why I thought that way at the time.
At that time, I was thinking about going abroad, but my parents strongly opposed it. Because that branch is a community college, in their concept, if they can go to Fudan in China, why should they go to a community college?
(Celebrate in a cheongsam at Boston College graduation)
But I was determined to go out, and I was told that I could transfer to another school after I went, and I swore that "I will transfer after a year of study." ”
My parents started to think I was joking, but when I had made up my mind, they stopped saying anything, and although they felt very sorry, they still expressed their support.
Then my parents asked people everywhere to inquire, and finally heard that the accounting job is stable, the income is high, and there is no need to worry about finding a good job after graduation. So, I followed their advice and chose to major in accounting.
In this way, when my family was not optimistic, I insisted on my opinion and went to Purdue University.
After arriving in the U.S., I studied as hard as I did in China, and in one year, I got A's in all subjects.
In my spare time, I worked part-time as an assistant in the vice-principal's office, participated in the school choir, and served as a councillor in the student council. That year was really a year of self-confidence, and I could do whatever I wanted.
Although it was smooth sailing in Pudu, it was not convenient to go anywhere because the university was in a small town. Growing up in a city, I still longed to go to a bigger city, and my parents were not very happy with the community college, so I vowed to transfer the previous year before I went abroad.
(Group photo with classmates at Columbia University)
So I took the TOEFL and SAT, and my hard work paid off, and I transferred to Boston College Business School with straight A's. After arriving in Boston, I was brainwashed every day by the professors and classmates to "choose your beloved, in order to live a better life".
I began to think about whether accounting was my favorite major, especially after being exposed to some communication courses, and found that I might not be able to do accounting, and communication was my passion.
So I applied to major in mass communication, and everyone around me thought I must have been stupid, because Boston College Business School was ranked in the top 10 in the country, but the mass communication major was not well-known. Everyone is trying their best to transfer to the business school, if it is not stupid, who will transfer out?
In the astonishment of everyone, I switched to my beloved major in mass communication, and in the first year I was abused to the point that my self-confidence was severely damaged.
When I was at Purdue, I could do anything, but when I got to Boston, I couldn't do anything.
(Group photo with classmates at Columbia University)
To go to the student union, you need to run for office, and you don't have the money; Participated in auditions for seven or eight small choirs, all of which were unsuccessful; Seven or eight volunteer trips were applied, and none of them were approved.
When I called my parents at the end of the year, I couldn't help but cry, feeling that I was nothing when I arrived at this school.
My parents patiently comforted me and said, "Since the school has admitted you, it must prove that you can make a difference in this school, otherwise, they will definitely not want you." ”
I thought about it, and felt that my parents were reasonable, and the strength to not admit defeat came up again. So I gritted my teeth and continued to work hard. After another half a year, I gradually got used to it.
I worked hard to study, worked part-time after class, worked three jobs at the most, and opened a Chinese program on campus to interview Chinese friends around me.
Later, he passed the audition and became one of the pianists in the small chamber orchestra of Boston College, performing with the string players every semester. Finally, I passed the selection and participated in two volunteer trips, going to Mississippi with teachers and classmates to repair houses destroyed by hurricanes, and going to the Dominican Republic to take care of disabled orphans.
Just like my parents said, since the school accepted me, it means that I can make a difference here.
(Group photo with classmates at Columbia University)
The teachers saw that I was motivated to study and encouraged me and supported me. Since I couldn't find a suitable internship, I started to apply for graduate school again.
At that time, I wanted to go to Columbia University the most, and the professors at Boston College wrote me letters of recommendation. I also wrote about my change of major in my application essay, and I also wrote about my love for travel.
I said that the best job I can think of is to be able to combine travel and video, because I think video is very creative.
So I wanted to study radio and television journalism and then become an international journalist, and being able to run around was the perfect job I could think of in the future. Eventually, I got my wish and got my acceptance letter from Columbia University.
I thought I would embark on the journey to become an international journalist, but I didn't expect that as soon as I arrived at Columbia, new problems were placed in front of me.
At that time, some of my classmates had work experience, and some even reported on the front line in Syria, and went to Columbia University for further study.
Compared to them, I was like a little fool, I didn't speak any work experience, I didn't speak English, and I couldn't even tell the difference between some church denominations at that time. When I express my opinion in class, it often feels strange that I don't even know it.
(Group photo with classmates at Columbia University)
In the face of the huge gap, I can't even eat and sleep, and in order to narrow the gap, I can only catch up day and night.
There are also cultural differences, which also make me suffer a lot of losses.
I remember one time, my choice was robbed by a classmate, but I was embarrassed to confront her in class. After the professor found out, he said that it was my problem, saying that people stole your topic, why are you embarrassed to confront others? You are the one who lost this opportunity.
At that time, I really couldn't react, the Chinese pay attention to not tearing their faces, and there is something to discuss and solve in private. If you come here, if you don't dare to fight for it, you will lose the opportunity.
Another time, I was partnered with a classmate and needed to finish a news shoot. She was on camera, I was shooting and editing, and it was going to be broadcast in the evening. The two of us got up before six o'clock that day, went all the way to the subway to a taxi, and traveled a long way to another district to cover the news.
When I got back to school, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon, and I had to be busy editing. I ate some peanuts bought at the subway station all day, and I felt hungry.
(Group photo with classmates at Columbia University)
As a result, when the show aired, the professor said to me, "Are you here today?" Why haven't I seen you for a day? "That's when I learned that I don't have to work hard about anything.
Later, I pushed myself to actively participate in discussions in class and take the initiative to fight for opportunities.
After a Chinese New Year's Eve catching up day and day, by the time we graduated, one of my most respected professors who taught us evening news took me by the hand and said that I was the most special student she had ever taught. At that moment, I felt that all the hardships I had endured this year were worth it.
I thought that after graduating from Columbia University with a master's degree, there should be no problem finding a job. But because I didn't have a green card, I hit a wall everywhere in my job search, and I submitted more than 100 resumes, but there was no response. Finally, at the recommendation of the professor, I went to a TV station in New York to carry the machine.
Every time I went out for an interview, I had to carry a huge camera on one shoulder and an equally bulky tripod in the other, and with every step I took, the camera would hit my hipbone.
In this way, after walking through several blocks, my hip bones were bruised and purple, often with new wounds stacked on top of old ones.
(on Zanzibar Island)
However, after graduating, I only had the right to work for one year, and seeing that the one-year deadline was approaching and the employer did not grant me a work visa, I had to start looking for a new job.
Later, Chinese TV could apply for a work visa for me, so I went to Chinese TV. After a while, all the work is mastered.
That's when I found out that I was the only employee in the company who graduated from a prestigious university majoring in journalism, and my salary was the lowest in the company.
My parents told me according to the way of thinking in China: "Don't care about the salary, go ahead and do it first, and if you do a good job, your salary will increase!" ”
Later, I learned that in the United States, what the boss told you during the interview was only the minimum wage, and you had to negotiate on that basis, and negotiate the salary you expected from the boss at the beginning.
The low salary is not what I am most worried about, but what frustrates me the most is that there is no mentor who can lead me to do a good job. I was bent on quality, but my boss wanted to win by quantity, and the differences were getting bigger and bigger.
At that time, I started a talk show by myself, and interviewed celebrities like director Jia Zhangke and teacher Yu Qiuyu who came to the United States from China.
(in Africa)
But the environment in the station is too bad, and I can't invite guests to the stage, after all, everyone is a figure with a face in China.
I had to find a place to interview outside, and then edit it myself when I went back, and the boss didn't equip me with a photographer, so I had to ask my friends to help me and invite them to dinner again.
The boss thinks it's all self-inflicted, he said that he can directly invite the guests back to the stage and do a live broadcast?
He verbally supported us newcomers to start the show, but he didn't even give basic support. After two years of work, I gradually started to quit.
At this time, a classmate from Columbia University came to the school for a sharing session, he registered a non-profit organization in Africa, and after talking to me, he strongly invited me to go to Africa.
He said that when it comes to Africa, I can interview Chinese, and he also said that in Africa, I am the only and most unique journalist. Moreover, in Africa, the status of the Chinese is much higher than in New York.
His words hit me in the nick in the face. With his introduction, I went to Tanzania, a newspaper created by a private owner.
(in Africa)
When I arrived in Africa, my wages were higher than in New York, and I had food and shelter, and the only thing I had to worry about was safety. Many Chinese have been robbed, and one of them is a man I know, who has a big business there, but his wife was unfortunately killed.
Even so, many people choose to stay in Africa after being robbed, injured, and losing loved ones. At the time, I couldn't figure out why. Africa is so insecure, why don't these people return home?
Later, I learned that many people have been in Africa for many years and have come to call Africa their second home. In addition, as long as you are willing to endure hardship, you can still make money, and the Chinese are the least afraid of hardship.
After working for more than a year, I was ready to return to China due to health reasons. I renewed my visa for three months before returning home. I was deeply touched by those hard-working, strong and unyielding Chinese, and I wanted to use these three months to shoot something and leave a little memorial for my trip to Africa.
(in Africa)
At first, I hired a local driver to help me drive, carry a tripod or something, after all, it's not safe to go out alone. Unexpectedly, on the first day, I found that most of the fuel tank was less than half of the tank, and then I changed to a driver, and I was really worried that one person would be robbed.
When my friends are resting, they will also go to help. Because there is no full-time photographer, documentaries are not the same as newsreels, I have no experience in making documentaries, and in three months, I shot more than 4,000 gigabytes of material, and I was completely confused.
After returning to China, I found a few teachers to help me look at the materials I filmed, and someone said directly to my face: "You don't make money with this thing, don't do it!" ”
Someone said: "Others are shooting in a team, and they must be better than you shooting alone, and it makes no sense for you to do this." "At the time, I thought that maybe it was in vain, and I was a little frustrated.
Later, I met a teacher from Harbin TV station, and after watching the material with me for a whole week, he helped me sort out the draft of five episodes. I found someone to help edit it, and made a five-episode documentary, which was broadcast on the station.
(In 2017, I took middle school students to the Maasai tribe in Kenya)
It took me almost a full year to make this documentary. The results confirmed what the teachers said at the beginning, this is not profitable.
Later, my classmate, who started a business in Africa, suggested that I go on a study tour. So I took 17 domestic high school students to Africa to do research, and made a sequel to two episodes of "Walk Africa".
When the matter in Africa finally came to an end, my parents wanted me to find a job in China in a down-to-earth manner, and I even applied for a job on the English channel of the TV station.
But before that, I had applied for a Middle Eastern studies program at Tel Aviv University in Israel, mainly trying to get a student visa. Because I wanted to interview the Jews who were born there in Harbin, and I wanted to know their stories and family experiences.
After arriving in Israel, I found more interesting groups, such as Chinese construction workers in Israel, and later in the process of interviewing, I found that there are tens of thousands of African refugees, and the Druze people are also quite interesting.
(Interview with a Chinese construction worker in Israel)
I went to school in Israel alone, did research, and stayed for a year. During the year, I found my direction and identified my area of interest, which was minorities in specific contexts.
After the preliminary research was completed, I returned to Shanghai and jointly recruited students with several domestic institutions to join our small crew, and used the group fee paid by the students as the filming fund for our crew.
In the end, we took a group of college students to Israel to shoot and did two episodes in succession, and the effect was very good, and we completed ten episodes of the documentary.
Unexpectedly, after the outbreak of the epidemic and various lockdowns, the fledgling study tour program was forced to be suspended.
Therefore, I cooperated with some educational institutions in Shanghai, mainly taking students from international schools to make videos, short films, short films, and portfolios.
What I am looking forward to is that after the country opens, I will be able to continue to do study tours. Because I am very happy with the students, and the things I do are recognized by the students, and we think it is a very meaningful thing.
(Study tour with students)
After the epidemic, it is difficult to return to the previous state for a while. Because of making videos, making documentaries is relatively niche. Many domestic parents are still more concerned about what useful certificates students can get through study tours.
Compared with broadening your horizons and increasing your knowledge, it seems more useful to improve your English, get a certificate from an international competition, or even get a foreign driver's license.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with such an idea, and there is always a certain gap between the ideal and the reality.
Just like me, over the years, I have always insisted on following my own idealistic path, and I still walk alone at an age when my peers have all married and had children, promotions and salary increases.
A classmate once asked me: "How much money did you make for this study tour project, which took so much time to research in the early stage, so hard?" $5 an hour, do you think it makes sense? I was speechless for a moment.
I have always felt that what I do is very cool, and I think it is a very meaningful thing to travel abroad with students, interview and shoot, see different landscapes, understand the living conditions of those minorities, and feel a different life.
(2023 Bringing Students to Indonesia)
But when my mother told me, someone asked her, "Does your daughter have a job?" "I still feel indebted to my parents.
Over the years, they have also tried to let me live a stable life like other people, but when they found that they couldn't change me at all, they silently supported and accompanied me, so that I could live my life according to my own wishes.
I also hope to reassure them, but the gap between ideals and reality often backfires. I only hope that I can find a balance between ideals and reality, so that they don't worry about me less.
I've had a lot of head-breaking losses along the way, but if I had to do it all over again, I would still make the same choice. Because I am so fascinated by the scenery along the way, and everyone I meet along the way.
(Welcome to follow)
[Dictation: Step by step]
[Author: Weiyang]
[Editor: Drunk Hongyan]
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