Hugo Haoyu,Li
Professor Lauren Holt
English-221RW
October 23, 2014
Memoir
The first high school I attended was a normal Chinese high school where I spent a semester before transferring to an international high school However, when I was enrolled at the normal Chinese high school, I always spoke Chinese to my friends and teachers and studied rigorously just for the yearly "GaoKao" in hopes of being admitted to a top Chinese university. However, everything changed after I transferred to an international high school. I started mainly speaking English in my daily school life, because so many of my peers and teachers spoke English. I found myself studying hard for the SAT, TOFEL, and A-level tests instead of the "GaoKao," but surprisingly I felt as if I had more free time at my new school to participate in activities I was really passionate about.
The first time I stepped onto my new school’s campus, I felt disappointed because of how small the campus was. There was just one small teaching building and a simple crude garden that seemed as if no one had ever bothered to take care of it. I was really nervous when I had my first class because half of my classmates were not Asian, let alone Chinese. The first conversation I had after I transferred was really awkward and weird. “What is your name, my friend?” one of my classmates said. “Hmmm...My name is…Haoyu…no, that is my Chinese name, and I…hmmm…also have an English name…I mean Hugo.”I felt really embarrassed when I spoke English to my friends when we talked outside of class. My friends concluded that I didn’t want to speak in English, and turned to my other classmates to hang out with. But after a couple of days, I started to get used to my new environment and new friends. I felt comfortable and confident when I talked to them in English in an informal setting as well as during class.
“What are you up to after the school?”
“I will go to work out in the gym…or play basketball maybe?”
“Do you mind if I go with you, because this is my first time come to China, I have no idea where to go in my free time?”
“Yeah, man! Of course!”
We became more close and familiar with each other by hanging out after school and during holidays. There was one time that we played basketball in a public gym with some local people. Our school uniforms had our school’s name on it, and specifically mentioned that it was an international school. The people we were playing with saw our school uniforms and heard that us speaking English to each other while we were playing basketball. One of them said:”I didn’t know that there was an international school near our home.”The other one said:”neither did I.”“I think those two Asian kids are Korean…hmmm…maybe Japanese.”Because they talked to each other in Chinese, I completely understood them. I turned to face one of them and told them, “He is Korean, but I am from China. Why do you guys think that I am Korean?”One of them looked shocked and kept his eyes on me. After almost a minute he said “I thought everyone in the international school wasn’t Chinese, so all the Asians there are either Korean or Japanese.” To be honest, I met a lot of people like him who thought that I was Korean when I was wearing my school uniform.
The learning environment in the international school is totally different from my previous high school. Professors there were more focused on our thinking model and the way we achieve the result instead of the result itself. They always encouraged us to think more, even beyond the questions. My classmates usually advised me to always ask questions about anything I didn’t understand. Thus, every class was full of discussion between professors and students, because we always felt free to ask whatever we were curious about in the class. Sometimes, professors would also call on some students during class and ask for questions from them. I was always worried that my professor would call on me when I didn’t have any questions to ask.
“Hugo, feel free to tell us what you do not understand in the class and then we can work on it together.”Professor said.
“Hmmm…sorry professor, I do not have any questions.”
“Oh, you mean that you totally understand everything I said today? Can you make sure that you are able to answer all my questions correctly?”
“Sorry…I do not think I can do it…I mean I definitely feel confused about something today in the class…I mean I cannot make sure to answer all of your questions together.”When I answered the questions my body was already in a sweat.
“You see, none of us are able to make sure that we are perfect with anything, so we need to learn how to question in order to learn as much as we can. On the other hand, by questioning something we do not know, we will also learn something new.” My Professor said with a smile before letting me sit down.
Besides asking questions and looking for truths, people here also encouraged us to cultivate our curiosity. Everyone here believed that curiosity was the source of creativity, and was motivated people to take action. Prompted by curiosity, human beings never stop pursuing new goals and ideas, making great strides in conquering different areas in the process.
Analysis:
The process of transferring from a Chinese normal high school to an international high school is a process of shifting between two places. Each moment I met during those two places can be considered as a space. For example, the playground in my previous high school, or the study room in the international school. The differences between the new environment in the international school and my previous high school shaped me as a different student, even a different person. Because of the differences, people automatically put their thoughts into it, thus, spaces are connected and combined with each other in order to form a place. Therefore, each of the places itself is constituted of many spaces.
Comparing the campus in my previous Chinese normal high school, the campus space of the international school is smaller. Thus, when I transferred to the international school, I first felt really bored because the campus was too small, and I could not even play basketball there. On the other hand, since the class schedule in the international school was based on the classes I chose, I had more free time every day.
Because of the small campus, and free time table, I stopped playing basketball every day, and I started to do some volunteer services outside of the campus during my free time. The essential differences between two schools decide my learning and living environment. Therefore, the new environment of the international high school changed my habits and normal schedule. I talked to my friends in a philosophy club about how is the environment change shapes our new identities. Finally, we got an idea that human is a kind of adaptive animal and will always be prepared to adapt to the change surrounds us. So, as long as we step into a new world, our instinct pushes us to change ourselves from different ways aim for adapting the new environment.
According to the first conversation I had with a native English speaker, and then I got used to speak English wherever I need. The new language environment also pushed me to study English harder. However, the change of the language environment and people surrounded me did not just change my speaking habit, but also changed my thinking model. For example, both of the professors or students there always encouraged me to never stop questioning anything I was confused. They also explained me what is the western dialectical thinking, which is a main area of Marxist philosophy, and guided me how to consider a question rationally and objectively. I learned how to use critical thinking to judge every single thing instead of just think based on one side because of the transfer. I talked to my friend, who majors in sociology and psychology, about my idea that different places shape people as different individuals. However, he does not agree with my idea that either my speaking improvement or my mental improvements are coming from the shifting between two places. He thinks that all these mental changes or improvements are based on our satisfaction of instinct. As human beings, we are always willing to explore unknown. Thus, those changes are mostly coming from our subconscious desire, rather than the influence caused by the shift between two different places. Therefore, we would also be changed even if we stay in a same place. However, I insist my idea because based on the previous idea, that we, human beings, are adaptive animals, so we would try our best to get used to something we are not familiar with, but once we get used to it we would not change anymore. Therefore, if I have not transferred to an international school; I will never have any opportunities to satisfy my subconscious desires. So, the shifting between two different places is like a blasting fuse to fire my curious, otherwise those subconscious desires will never come out. Because our subconscious desires are stimulated by the differences between two places, we are pushed and motivated to pursue something new.
Transferring to an international school also shaped as a special individual from the perspective of another, because the international school stands with different meanings from other Chinese normal schools. For example, when my middle school friends knew that I left my previous high school and transferred to an international high school, they all assumed that I transferred either because I did not study well in my previous normal high school, or because my family want to move to America. Just like when I was dressed in my international high school uniform to played basketball with other local people, they all automatically considered me as a Korean or Chinese. People have categorical behaviors, because of my international school uniform I was labeled as an international student. Actually, if we respectively think about those two schools as an individual, it could be considered as a space, which is stable and fix. But, if we put those two spaces in a same boat, the differences between them lead people to think about it. Because our thinking is changing all the time, the variableness of our thinking could make the space meaningful and transformed them into places. Based on this idea, we could also explain the previous example, which is talking about I was changed by the new language environment. If we consider anything individually, for instance like a student, a professor, or even a classroom, each of them could be viewed as a space. But, I lived in the international school, I had a lot of communications with my friends and professors here, and I had down a lot of stuffs here. Our actions and thoughts from our curious existed among those spaces and build the connections between them. Therefore they are no longer spaces but a place.
Some people think that what happened to me does not matter with where I transferred from; all changes are about people around me. What if my previous high school is also an international high school instead of a Chinese normal high school? I made an experiment with two of my friends in order to prove my idea logically and clearly. I told one of my friends that I transferred from an international high school to another international high school, and I told other one that I transferred from a Chinese normal high school to an international high school. Even though people around me would be same wherever I transferred from, there are two different impacts on my two friends. My friend, who was told that my previous high school was also an international high school, said that he honestly did not care about my transferring. He subconsciously considered that there are no differences between those two international high schools. However, the other one is much more curious about why did I transfer and what happened in my previous Chinese high school. Therefore, after I talked to my philosophy professor about this interesting phenomenon, I realized that my friend, who was told that my previous high school was also an international high school, was standing in a passive thinking. The passive thinking is a rejection on the phenomenon of thinking at the moment. Although he might talked about my transferring with other people in the future, he would be still limited within passive thinking because his original thinking is to reject to consider my transferring as a transferring, because those two international high schools have same meaning for him. But, for the other one, the differences between those two places awaked his curious, and motive him to think about it or asked me for more details. Thus, the first person considered those two international high schools as spaces, but the second one thought those two different schools as places; it also proves that all the spaces for people are fixed and similar, but places are dynamic.
After I transferred to an international high school from a Chinese normal high school, the differences between two places and the spaces shaped me as a new person, both in myself and in other people’ eyes. By evaluating the way that how I was being shaped as well as what shaped me, I realize that all the places are spaces, but not all of the spaces are places. The two schools are generally places because they are standing for different meanings, but their common points are still considered as spaces.
Professor Lauren Holt
English-221RW
October 23, 2014
Memoir
The first high school I attended was a normal Chinese high school where I spent a semester before transferring to an international high school However, when I was enrolled at the normal Chinese high school, I always spoke Chinese to my friends and teachers and studied rigorously just for the yearly "GaoKao" in hopes of being admitted to a top Chinese university. However, everything changed after I transferred to an international high school. I started mainly speaking English in my daily school life, because so many of my peers and teachers spoke English. I found myself studying hard for the SAT, TOFEL, and A-level tests instead of the "GaoKao," but surprisingly I felt as if I had more free time at my new school to participate in activities I was really passionate about.
The first time I stepped onto my new school’s campus, I felt disappointed because of how small the campus was. There was just one small teaching building and a simple crude garden that seemed as if no one had ever bothered to take care of it. I was really nervous when I had my first class because half of my classmates were not Asian, let alone Chinese. The first conversation I had after I transferred was really awkward and weird. “What is your name, my friend?” one of my classmates said. “Hmmm...My name is…Haoyu…no, that is my Chinese name, and I…hmmm…also have an English name…I mean Hugo.”I felt really embarrassed when I spoke English to my friends when we talked outside of class. My friends concluded that I didn’t want to speak in English, and turned to my other classmates to hang out with. But after a couple of days, I started to get used to my new environment and new friends. I felt comfortable and confident when I talked to them in English in an informal setting as well as during class.
“What are you up to after the school?”
“I will go to work out in the gym…or play basketball maybe?”
“Do you mind if I go with you, because this is my first time come to China, I have no idea where to go in my free time?”
“Yeah, man! Of course!”
We became more close and familiar with each other by hanging out after school and during holidays. There was one time that we played basketball in a public gym with some local people. Our school uniforms had our school’s name on it, and specifically mentioned that it was an international school. The people we were playing with saw our school uniforms and heard that us speaking English to each other while we were playing basketball. One of them said:”I didn’t know that there was an international school near our home.”The other one said:”neither did I.”“I think those two Asian kids are Korean…hmmm…maybe Japanese.”Because they talked to each other in Chinese, I completely understood them. I turned to face one of them and told them, “He is Korean, but I am from China. Why do you guys think that I am Korean?”One of them looked shocked and kept his eyes on me. After almost a minute he said “I thought everyone in the international school wasn’t Chinese, so all the Asians there are either Korean or Japanese.” To be honest, I met a lot of people like him who thought that I was Korean when I was wearing my school uniform.
The learning environment in the international school is totally different from my previous high school. Professors there were more focused on our thinking model and the way we achieve the result instead of the result itself. They always encouraged us to think more, even beyond the questions. My classmates usually advised me to always ask questions about anything I didn’t understand. Thus, every class was full of discussion between professors and students, because we always felt free to ask whatever we were curious about in the class. Sometimes, professors would also call on some students during class and ask for questions from them. I was always worried that my professor would call on me when I didn’t have any questions to ask.
“Hugo, feel free to tell us what you do not understand in the class and then we can work on it together.”Professor said.
“Hmmm…sorry professor, I do not have any questions.”
“Oh, you mean that you totally understand everything I said today? Can you make sure that you are able to answer all my questions correctly?”
“Sorry…I do not think I can do it…I mean I definitely feel confused about something today in the class…I mean I cannot make sure to answer all of your questions together.”When I answered the questions my body was already in a sweat.
“You see, none of us are able to make sure that we are perfect with anything, so we need to learn how to question in order to learn as much as we can. On the other hand, by questioning something we do not know, we will also learn something new.” My Professor said with a smile before letting me sit down.
Besides asking questions and looking for truths, people here also encouraged us to cultivate our curiosity. Everyone here believed that curiosity was the source of creativity, and was motivated people to take action. Prompted by curiosity, human beings never stop pursuing new goals and ideas, making great strides in conquering different areas in the process.
Analysis:
The process of transferring from a Chinese normal high school to an international high school is a process of shifting between two places. Each moment I met during those two places can be considered as a space. For example, the playground in my previous high school, or the study room in the international school. The differences between the new environment in the international school and my previous high school shaped me as a different student, even a different person. Because of the differences, people automatically put their thoughts into it, thus, spaces are connected and combined with each other in order to form a place. Therefore, each of the places itself is constituted of many spaces.
Comparing the campus in my previous Chinese normal high school, the campus space of the international school is smaller. Thus, when I transferred to the international school, I first felt really bored because the campus was too small, and I could not even play basketball there. On the other hand, since the class schedule in the international school was based on the classes I chose, I had more free time every day.
Because of the small campus, and free time table, I stopped playing basketball every day, and I started to do some volunteer services outside of the campus during my free time. The essential differences between two schools decide my learning and living environment. Therefore, the new environment of the international high school changed my habits and normal schedule. I talked to my friends in a philosophy club about how is the environment change shapes our new identities. Finally, we got an idea that human is a kind of adaptive animal and will always be prepared to adapt to the change surrounds us. So, as long as we step into a new world, our instinct pushes us to change ourselves from different ways aim for adapting the new environment.
According to the first conversation I had with a native English speaker, and then I got used to speak English wherever I need. The new language environment also pushed me to study English harder. However, the change of the language environment and people surrounded me did not just change my speaking habit, but also changed my thinking model. For example, both of the professors or students there always encouraged me to never stop questioning anything I was confused. They also explained me what is the western dialectical thinking, which is a main area of Marxist philosophy, and guided me how to consider a question rationally and objectively. I learned how to use critical thinking to judge every single thing instead of just think based on one side because of the transfer. I talked to my friend, who majors in sociology and psychology, about my idea that different places shape people as different individuals. However, he does not agree with my idea that either my speaking improvement or my mental improvements are coming from the shifting between two places. He thinks that all these mental changes or improvements are based on our satisfaction of instinct. As human beings, we are always willing to explore unknown. Thus, those changes are mostly coming from our subconscious desire, rather than the influence caused by the shift between two different places. Therefore, we would also be changed even if we stay in a same place. However, I insist my idea because based on the previous idea, that we, human beings, are adaptive animals, so we would try our best to get used to something we are not familiar with, but once we get used to it we would not change anymore. Therefore, if I have not transferred to an international school; I will never have any opportunities to satisfy my subconscious desires. So, the shifting between two different places is like a blasting fuse to fire my curious, otherwise those subconscious desires will never come out. Because our subconscious desires are stimulated by the differences between two places, we are pushed and motivated to pursue something new.
Transferring to an international school also shaped as a special individual from the perspective of another, because the international school stands with different meanings from other Chinese normal schools. For example, when my middle school friends knew that I left my previous high school and transferred to an international high school, they all assumed that I transferred either because I did not study well in my previous normal high school, or because my family want to move to America. Just like when I was dressed in my international high school uniform to played basketball with other local people, they all automatically considered me as a Korean or Chinese. People have categorical behaviors, because of my international school uniform I was labeled as an international student. Actually, if we respectively think about those two schools as an individual, it could be considered as a space, which is stable and fix. But, if we put those two spaces in a same boat, the differences between them lead people to think about it. Because our thinking is changing all the time, the variableness of our thinking could make the space meaningful and transformed them into places. Based on this idea, we could also explain the previous example, which is talking about I was changed by the new language environment. If we consider anything individually, for instance like a student, a professor, or even a classroom, each of them could be viewed as a space. But, I lived in the international school, I had a lot of communications with my friends and professors here, and I had down a lot of stuffs here. Our actions and thoughts from our curious existed among those spaces and build the connections between them. Therefore they are no longer spaces but a place.
Some people think that what happened to me does not matter with where I transferred from; all changes are about people around me. What if my previous high school is also an international high school instead of a Chinese normal high school? I made an experiment with two of my friends in order to prove my idea logically and clearly. I told one of my friends that I transferred from an international high school to another international high school, and I told other one that I transferred from a Chinese normal high school to an international high school. Even though people around me would be same wherever I transferred from, there are two different impacts on my two friends. My friend, who was told that my previous high school was also an international high school, said that he honestly did not care about my transferring. He subconsciously considered that there are no differences between those two international high schools. However, the other one is much more curious about why did I transfer and what happened in my previous Chinese high school. Therefore, after I talked to my philosophy professor about this interesting phenomenon, I realized that my friend, who was told that my previous high school was also an international high school, was standing in a passive thinking. The passive thinking is a rejection on the phenomenon of thinking at the moment. Although he might talked about my transferring with other people in the future, he would be still limited within passive thinking because his original thinking is to reject to consider my transferring as a transferring, because those two international high schools have same meaning for him. But, for the other one, the differences between those two places awaked his curious, and motive him to think about it or asked me for more details. Thus, the first person considered those two international high schools as spaces, but the second one thought those two different schools as places; it also proves that all the spaces for people are fixed and similar, but places are dynamic.
After I transferred to an international high school from a Chinese normal high school, the differences between two places and the spaces shaped me as a new person, both in myself and in other people’ eyes. By evaluating the way that how I was being shaped as well as what shaped me, I realize that all the places are spaces, but not all of the spaces are places. The two schools are generally places because they are standing for different meanings, but their common points are still considered as spaces.