Generosity

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This is my last week in the US. I have lived in this country for 8 years. I felt being compelled to write some thing, something short.

The most important impression I had about this country is its generosity. When I first came to this country, my english was horrible. I cannot even speak a complete sentence. I know very little about my own major. But I got tuition waiver and scholarship to complete my master degree. After that, I got in a PhD program, also with tuition waiver and scholarship.

I never felt like being slaved in graduate school. Professors told me that I was a student first then a teaching assistant. They never counted the hours that I worked as a TA. They tried all the ways to reduce my work and hoped that I could have enough time to study.

Here is the conversation between me and a professor who I will remember forever:

' Professor C, I heard that you are rich and you have a lot of funding. I have no scholarship for summer semester. Can you support me for summer?'

'I am not rich. But I will check my grant balance to see if I have money to cover you.'

Three days later, this professor told me that he will cover my summer tuition and stipend.

Whenever, I recall this conversation, I blush for my naiveness and bluntness. Now, I worked as a professor. I know how difficult it is to get funding. It must have been a huge sacrifase for professor C to hire me, since what I did for him in that summer was just to get myself paid. The mysterious thing was he did the same thing for the next summer. With the supports of all these professors, I managed to complete my degree. It is really an amazing thing, considering how little I know and how limited I am in learning.

People I met here are also very generous. We may have different opinions. But whenever I asked for helps, I always got more than what I asked for. People are so ready to help. They often found ways to help me. I often wonder why I deserved to be helped?

I came to this country with only one ambition, which is to complete a master degree. Now I got much more than I asked for. Despite of my limited ability to learn and understand, I was carefully trained by my professors. Despite of my limited ability to establish friendship, I was given a lot of friendship. I am very grateful.


I consider this country my second home.





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Bye Bye Professorhood

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I never imagined that I would work as a professor, since such occupation sounded truly intimidating. In my heart, professors are intelligent and serious. Most importantly, they should be experienced (sugar coated OLD) enough to intimidate students.

Mysteriously I became a professor in 2007. When the first time a student called me a professor, I was astonished and scared. I was so afraid that my students will find out how little I know. In the past two years, I have been called Professor numerous times and most of the time, I was scared. Am I truly a professor? I mean, I am not serious and I was never intimidating, instead I am always intimidated.

The first time I realized that I am truly a professor was six months ago, when a student was crying in my office to beg for a D. That was also the moment that I realized all the nasty things that I did in graduate school had backfired.

...First of all, I did push a number of professors to give me As. Beside my diligence, that was one of the reasons why my GPA was always close to 4.

...Second, I did fall asleep in class a number of times. Actually, I can sleep with my eyes opened.

...Third, I did miss paper deadlines before. But I always managed to get professors to accept my papers.

...Finally, I did complain about certain professors before. They did nothing wrong. I was just frustrated with my own progress in their classes.


OK. To end my professerhood, I formerly apologize to my professors in graduate school....Sorry..I didn't know it was this hard....


* Maybe I should apologize to my students too. Why I never compromised when they were negotiating for a better grade?




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