My Age of Investment

Xia Jingxing carried a bag on his back, and after getting off the plane, he went to the checked baggage area to pick up a large suitcase.

Looking at the familiar black suitcase, I recalled many things.

It's all about the love of a mother for her child.

Especially the food in his hometown made him spend the first semester when he was not used to local food after he first arrived in the United States.

Parents are almost always like this for their children who travel far, for fear of being hungry or freezing.

After leaving the airport, Qiu Zhiyi saw the relatives who came to pick him up at a glance.

The other party was a man who was estimated to be in his forties. He held a small banner with the three characters "Qiu Zhiyi" written on it, which was very conspicuous.

Qiu Zhiyi said a few words of goodbye to Xia Jingxing, and then walked over.

Xia Jingxing waved to him and continued to walk to the taxi area outside.

Looking at the sunny weather above and the blue sky, Xia Jingxing felt a lot of emotion.

There are no wildfires, no smoke that covers the sky, this is California in 2002!

After getting into the taxi casually, and reporting the place name to the driver, Xia Jingxing leaned back on the seat and began to close his eyes and rest.

The driver was a white man. Seeing that Xia Jingxing was sleeping, he lowered the dynamic music.

After lying down with his eyes closed for about five minutes, Xia Jingxing opened his eyes.

At this time, the taxi had already left the airport and was driving on the 101 highway.

Xia Jingxing looked at the flashing scenery outside the window and fell into contemplation of the future.

"Sir, are you a Stanford student?"

When the white driver saw Xia Jingxing open his eyes, he asked.

Brothers from all over the world are like this. They are all passengers who come and go, and there are very few who do not like to chat with passengers.

"Yes, I am a freshman."

Xia Jingxing retracted his thoughts and replied casually.

"what?"

The driver had a "black question mark face" and seemed to have encountered something unbelievable.

"I think your English has a California accent? Are you a new immigrant?"

Xia Jingxing shook his head with a smile. He lived in California for eight years in his previous life, and it is normal to have a local accent. It seems that he has "inherited" this accent in this life.

The driver was very talkative, and asked which country Xia Jingxing was from and which city he came from.

"Oh, Rongcheng, I heard that there are so many giant pandas in your place that they are about to fight!"

This time, it was Xia Jingxing's turn with the black question mark face.

Too many fights? Is that a rare animal?

Most Americans do not understand China, and the information they understand is very one-sided.

Even eighteen years later, this is still the case.

Stanford is located in Palo Alto, in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, about 60 kilometers away from San Francisco International Airport.

The road was not very congested, and the taxi took about an hour to reach the gate of Stanford University smoothly.

Take a look at the taxi meter, $82.

Xia Jingxing didn't care too much, but when he took out his wallet and saw that there were only 10 Franklins with a face value of 100 in it, he realized that he seemed to be extravagant.

The transportation in San Francisco is very developed. In fact, he can choose to take the subway and then transfer to the train, which only costs 10 US dollars.

Forget it, pay attention next time.

He kept reminding himself in his heart that this was eighteen years ago, when he was still a poor student, and before he was not self-reliant, he spent all his parents' hard-earned money.

After paying the fare and getting out of the car, Xia Jingxing looked up at the tall and majestic campus gate.

After watching it for ten minutes, I finally woke up.

With a confident smile, he picked up his schoolbag, pushed his suitcase, and walked towards the campus with his head held high. He was ready for a new life.

Stanford University is very large, with a full 33 square kilometers, like a garden town.

How big is 33 square kilometers? It is about the size of the land area of ​​Macau, equivalent to 5,000 football fields.

In addition to being large, the campus scenery is also beautiful.

Entering from the gate is a huge semi-elliptical lawn, very neatly manicured.

Xia Jing walked across the lawn and boarded a campus bus.

During the summer vacation, students were either doing internships or traveling. There were very few students on the bus. Except for Xia Jingxing, there were only two female students, one black and one white, sitting in the back row and chatting.

Xia Jingxing glanced at them, and they all looked flat.

Generally speaking, Xueba is a rare group of people. Among them, the beautiful ones are even rarer, and the rare ones are rare.

But there are no absolutes, Stanford still has beautiful women, all kinds of skin colors, multi-national style...

Looking back, Xia Jingxing chose a seat at random and sat down, quietly admiring the scenery outside the window that kept passing behind him.

Tall palm trees are planted on both sides of the road, forming a palm avenue, with staggered lawns and shady trees...

Another major feature of the campus is its stable rectangular stone building.

Earth-colored stone walls surround the red-roofed building, connected by arcades and semicircular arches.

The buildings are highly uniform in color and shape, but each has its own unique structure and Roman architectural elements.

The iconic red tile roof and the bright blue sky of California complement each other, forming a picturesque scenery of Stanford campus.

On the bus, Xia Jingxing also saw students riding bicycles on both sides of the road, passing by in twos and threes, and everyone had a confident smile on their faces.

It can be seen that their campus life is very happy.

These students are basically wearing red T-shirts printed with the Stanford Logo, plus a pair of jeans, simple and energetic.

In addition to winter, California is sunny all year round and the temperature is between 15-24 degrees Celsius, which is very livable.

Xia Jingxing came to the campus office, found a white teacher, took out all kinds of documents including ID card, passport, visa, I-20 and I-94 forms, admission letter, medical examination form, etc., and started the registration process for new students. .

After filling out the various forms and completing the registration, Xia Jingxing was called to a small conference room.

A black staff member began to explain to him the various rules and regulations of the school, and the most important insurance.

To study in the United States, each student needs to purchase their own insurance, and most schools will have designated insurance companies.

The cost of seeing a doctor in the United States is staggeringly expensive. With this insurance, you can save a lot of money.

Otherwise, calling an ambulance will cost tens of thousands of dollars, and international students from poor families cannot afford it.

The price of medical insurance for studying abroad launched by Stanford is 400 US dollars per semester, and the coverage does not include dentistry and ophthalmology, which are advanced programs.

Medical insurance only covers more than a dozen major items such as outpatient, hospitalization, first aid, and body transportation.

These guarantees are basically enough, taking into account all kinds of situations that may happen to international students during their studies.

Whether it's a minor illness or a serious illness, hospitalization or rehabilitation, or even a death, all arrangements are clearly arranged and in place.

It is worth mentioning that Xia Jingxing has applied for a scholarship to Stanford.

It is not a full award that covers tuition, living expenses, and even travel expenses.

Only half prize.

Four-year tuition fee waiver, but personal meals, accommodation, books and other miscellaneous expenses during the school period need to be borne by themselves.

Compared with the tuition fees of more than 20,000 US dollars a year, these fees are small, and they generally add up to a little over 10,000 dollars a year.

But even after the tuition fee is waived, after four years of studying abroad, it will still cost 50,000 to 60,000 US dollars.

This amount was not a small sum of money in 2002.

The original Xia Jingxing was not very keen on studying abroad. The TOEFL and SAT were arranged by his mother.

From the heart, he wants to go to Tsinghua University.

Because studying in China can relieve some financial pressure on parents.

His parents work well, but the income is average, so it is not easy for him to study abroad.

Luckily, he got half the prize, otherwise this study would be really worth it.

In addition, he actually received an offer from Berkeley, California next door.

This university and Stanford have fallen in love with each other for many years. It is a public university, and its tuition is more than half cheaper than that of the private Stanford, but he did not apply for the scholarship.

So I can only give up, family conditions do not allow it.

American college tuition is also notoriously expensive, rising every year.

More than ten years later, Stanford tuition is $50,000 to $60,000 a year.

Native Americans protested in various ways, saying that they could not afford to go to college, but it was useless, and the increase should still be increased.

Even Aoguan Marine University applied for a campus loan, and it took 21 years to repay the loan, and then after 4 years, he finally became the commander.

So, reading or changing fate!

Assuming Ao Guanhai didn't go to college, which nightclub is he wearing a big gold chain, a gold tooth, and playing rap music?

Since then, the world has lost a great leader, and there has been a black rapper "Ao Ye", or "Eight Master", "Ma Ye"...

Xia Jingxing complained for a while, compared to these foreign private universities, the domestic 985/211 is better, and tuition fees will not increase for N years.

In fact, the reason behind this is that the state continues to make financial allocations to these universities every year.

Just expecting the meager tuition fees to support the development of colleges and universities will definitely not work.

It can be seen that the socialist road is still the best!

After receiving the admission letter for the meal plan and dormitory three months ago, Xia Jingxing, accompanied by his parents, applied online. Now he only needs to pay.

Xia Jingxing had no objection and directly took out his Visa card and swiped it.

It is worth mentioning that in the first year of Stanford University, undergraduates are required to live on campus.

This is also because students have just arrived in the United States, they are not familiar with the environment, and it is not safe to live off-campus.

In addition, more than 90% of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus, and the school's various supporting facilities are very good, but it is inconvenient to live off-campus, unless there are special reasons.

After tossing for a long time, Xia Jingxing finally finished all the processes.

At the same time, he also paid all the insurance, dormitory, meals, etc. for the first semester, which cost more than 3,000 US dollars.

Stanford has 3 semesters a year, and these fees are paid per semester.

Xia Jingxing received a set of dormitory keys, and at the same time a guidebook for new students.

While flipping through the book, he walked towards the dormitory.

After walking for about 10 minutes, Xia Jingxing came to a row of buildings with red tile roofs that were completely different from the regular campus.

Looking at these 7 three-storey familiar buildings, Xia Jingxing had a lot of memories. He spent the last four years of his undergraduate studies here.

Stanford University has a total of 10 residential communities for undergraduates. Each community consists of seven or eight two- or three-story buildings, and each building houses 80-100 students.

There are only six or seven thousand undergraduate students in the whole school, and the number of graduate students is almost the same. Compared with domestic universities, the number is indeed too small.

The dormitory floor and the number of buildings were randomly assigned, and Xia Jingxing was assigned the first floor of the middle building.

He pushed his luggage into the building, and based on his memory, he quickly found his own dormitory.

He took out the key and was about to open the door when a woman's head suddenly appeared in the opposite room.

Hearing the movement, Xia Jingxing turned around and saw that it was a woman with burgundy hair looking at him.

The woman's eyes were deep and blue, wearing pajamas, her hair was messy, and she looked like she had just woken up.

"Hello, I'm Christina, a second-year economics student."

The other party opened the door, waved at Xia Jingxing, and greeted warmly.

Xia Jingxing was not surprised at all, Stanford University is the tune that allows and supports mixed living on the same floor for men and women.

And some colleges and universities in the United States started doing this as early as the 1970s.

Domestically, it will take ten years for this kind of mixed living to gradually become popular, and it has been criticized by various public opinions. Only the students are overjoyed.

The United States is still relatively open in this regard. George Washington University will announce in 12 years that it will allow male and female students to live in the same dormitory.

After the announcement, most students expressed support and understanding.

"Hello!"

Xia Jingxing smiled politely at the girl and had a vague impression of the girl, but he couldn't remember it clearly.

He introduced himself, "I'm a first-year computer science student from China, you can call me Darren."

He pointed to the girl's pink pajamas again, and praised, "The pajamas are beautiful, and you are beautiful too."

No girl is immune to praise.

Kristina is no exception, she smiled, "Thank you, I wish you a happy life at Stanford, and become a person with the potential to become a big career like your name."

After chatting for a while, Xia Jingxing pushed open the dormitory door and entered the room.

Stepping on the soft carpet, Xia Jingxing casually surveyed the room.

There are three vacant beds, as well as basic furniture such as desk chairs, bookcases and wardrobes, all neatly arranged.

He opened the window and ventilated it. No one has lived in it for two months, and the air is not very good.

Then he poured another basin of water, wiped his own bed, table and chairs, and wardrobe, and began to make the bed.

Every dorm at Stanford has access to high-speed internet, phone lines, cable TV, etc., but bedding and necessities have to be provided by themselves.

He opened the suitcase and took out a quilt, bought in China, brand new, with densely embroidered peonies on the sheets, and a white silk quilt.

In future generations, this kind of behavior will definitely be ridiculed as a local dog. When you go to study abroad, you will bring your own quilt, which will save you a lot of money, not to mention the weight limit of the checked baggage.

But Xia Jingxing understood his parents very well. After all, the family was not rich and it was already very difficult for him to study abroad.

There are many types of American beds, which are very different from those in China. The set of peony sheets that Xia Jingxing's mother put him in the suitcase is bigger.

He stuck it against the wall for a long time and couldn't get it out, so he had to fold it into two layers, which barely solved the problem.

Then he started emptying the suitcase.

ID cards, passports, bank cards and other documents.

clothing, shoes...

Mobile phone chargers, laptops, U disks...

Stomach power, Berberine, Ganmao Granule, Amoxicillin, Yunnan Baiyao Spray, Golden Throat Lozenges, Band-Aid...

Laoganma, hot pot base, twist...

Xia Jingxing felt warm when he looked at his suitcase that looked like a Doraemon pocket.

If he hadn't asked a friend to ask that preserved foods such as sausages, bacon, and rabbit heads could not enter the United States, he would have packed a suitcase for him.