笔辞蝉迟罢颈尘别：8/29/2017
Since we released the contributions-wanted notice, we have recieved a lot of students' feedbacks. The following is the story of Liu Minwei, a student from 2017 Chemical Engineering:
Right back to June 23rd, 2017, when the results of Gaokao in Hubei province were released, I struggled to stay awake at 4 a.m. I logged in system to check my grades. This time, what showed on the screen was not "No Results" but a few numbers. These numbers dispelled my excitement and filled my heart with infinite nervousness and sorrow, even confusion. Integrated test in science, the subjects that I was so confident about, gave me a heavy blow. I couldn't believe in my eyes, nor the results. The subjects that I was so proud of turned out to drag me behind others. I felt dizzy and fell into sleep. With universities releasing their estimated cutting-off lines in the next few days, my dream broke bit by bit. I was flipping through pages of magazines full of enrollment information, at a loss, I thought I should just randomly apply to one university and give myself up.
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Suddenly, "7668 Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology", right at the column of fist-batch of key universities, cast into my eyes.? All at once, I was curious about it. On the one hand, I never heard of it; on the other hand, Technion was world-renowned, but how about GTIIT? I began to search on the internet and phoned to the admission office with these question marks in my head. I saw the hope – Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is co-founded by Shantou University and world-renowned Technion, and graduates of GTIIT will receive Technion degree certificate, which is a strong support for students to apply foreign universities for further study. Moreover, since 60% of the faculty of GTIIT are sent by Technion, GTIIT must have great strengths in hardware and software. Yet many didn't know about it, for this is the first year of enrollment. With such hope and the expectation of enrollment, I applied to GTIIT.
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One month later, I felt that I had grasped the opportunity when I was confirmed to be admitted. I became one of the ten students admitted by GTIIT in Hubei province. I was so proud of being the first cohort of students in GTIIT. I was determined to fulfill my dream there.
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On August 13th, 2017, I was on the campus of GTIIT. Dragging my luggage, I moved into students' dorm.
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the welcoming slogan of GTIIT
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GTIIT students' dorm
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I sit on the bed after putting stuff in their places. Strangeness, even confusion and nostalgia came over me – this is the first time I was far away from home and my classmates in high school. My resolution and dream disappeared without traces, I began to doubt whether I could uphold my dreams.
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Troubles never come alone. I suffered from diarrhea on the second day in GTIIT -? I had no idea whether it was because I was not fully recovered from sickness in Wuhan, or failed to adapt the environment here, or I caught a cold the night before. I nearly lost all my strengths and felt chilly. I held myself and went to hospital after the Opening Ceremony. Sickness struck me in the first few days, which made me have less confidence in the coming courses and even doubtful about the next four years.
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I regained my strength after taking some medicine. But I fell to sickness again in one day. This time, I felt even worse. One-after-another sicknesses tortured me both physically and mentally. I was on the verge of collapse. I felt I wouldn't be able to cope with the coming semesters. At that time, my roommates gave me a hand – they cared about my sickness, asked me to take care of myself, and provided me with medicine, which made me realize that some people beside were supporting me. These helped me to regain confidence in preparation period and set off my dreams again.
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August 16th, 2017, my regained confidence was crashed on the first day of preparation period because courses were all delivered in English. I could hardly understand the math class and the physics class. I felt I learnt little in the morning. I was at a loss. In high school, I would go to teachers’ offices after classes until problems were solved. While in GTIIT, I lost that familiarity and I even doubted my choice. I thought, I should draw back, go back to high school and take Gaokao again.
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Yet Persistence, a song sung by Wuyuetian, recalled my wits – "Again and again, you swallow your tears. Again and again, you struggle to pick up the broken self". I thought, I shouldn't be conquered by difficulties and I should have a strong heart to pursue my dream. I am the only student admitted by GTIIT in my high school, Shuiguohu High School in Hubei province. I am the representative of my high school in GTIIT. And I should mind its reputation.
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Therefore, just like the lyrics, I struggled to pick up the broken self. I tried my best to grasp the points in classes and came over to teachers after classes to seek out solutions. When I was at dorm, I asked questions by emails or directly asked my roommates for help. Little by little, I caught up with the classes. The strong motivation and familiarity in high school came back to me. I became familiar with doing homework on Moodle.
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doing homework on moodle
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discussing homework with classmates
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Our professors are very kind, responsible and hard-working. I highly appreciated them as well as their seriousness and profession. Their humorous styles released me from anxiety and set me free in thinking and asking questions. Our physics teacher, Mr.David Agmon, particularly, helped me solve my problems patiently after classes. He never thinks little of me when I asked simple questions. He praised my habit of thinking and asking questions. With such encouragement, I study harder. Now I dare to accept the challenges everyday. I become more confident in finding my ways and chasing my dream. Dr. Gloria Sheintuch, my English teacher, answered my questions at lunch break in the office.
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With the help of these professors, I am clear and resolved to become a chemist in the future. The confusion dispelled. I need to be resistant to pressure and become a hero here! In GTIIT, I regained my dreams, starting to explore and grow.
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in David Agmon's class
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in Rom Pinchasi's class
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I believe, every GTIIT student has his own dream to fight for. People supporting our dreams are not just ourselves, but also our teachers and working staff there. Workers in canteen take care of our food, ensuring our nutrition and health. At the gate of GTIIT, safeguards, always with kind smiles, stand by all the time for the security of us and the campus. At dorms, dorm administrators clean the dorms every day and make our dorms secure. These obscure workers might always be neglected by us, yet they play an important role in supporting us to pursue our dreams.
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It is a great honor to be the first cohort of students in GTIIT, and we shoulder the responsibility for the success of GTIIT. Just like the lyrics in I Believe I Can Fly, "I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky", we should be bold and have our dreams. In GTIIT, my dream and the power to chase my dream revive!
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GTIIT is the place where I regain my confidence and power, and the place where my dreams set off.
Text/Photo by Liu Minwei, 2017 Chemical Engineering
Translated by Lan Haiting, News and Public Affairs Department
