时间的拾荒者 Make me the lyre

我正在人工搬家@@ 施工期间，工地混乱，大家见谅哈

另，求助求助~谁知道为什么即使链接本身速度很快，MiNipOd播放起来总是那么卡

My attempt to log on Facebook failed once again when I was about to write something for the memorable summer.  Fortunately, thanks to MSN and Googletalk, I can still keep contact with all the foreign friends I got acquainted to at Yale.  I’ll miss them, everyone of them, just as I’ll miss the way a leaf casts a shadow on a tree trunk, or the way a manuscript smells.  All those beautiful specific details. 

Not everything lasts forever.  Wood decays, iron rusts, and concrete is worn away by wind and rain.  But pieces of precious memory at Yale, along with the over 2,000 photos taken in New Haven, NYC, Boston and Washington D.C, the package of reading materials copied by ourselves in order to save money, the souvenirs bought in the Yale Bookstore on clearance sale, the “Graduation” napkin Siggy gave us as a farewell gift, the tickets of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway Street, and the friendship germinated and blossomed in the six weeks, I believe, will last forever.

I remember sitting in the Sterling Memorial Library, where sunlight filtered through trellis windows, where ladders to the heaven of knowledge leaned on the bookshelves, where people’s footsteps echoed in the reading room, scattered a little between the shelves, and when they finally landed in my ears, became even more musical.

I remember lying on the hammock at dusk in the courtyard of Branford.  Fluttering in the breeze were the leaves of elm trees, and Harkness Tower were looking at me.  “Sorrow is hushed into peace in my heart like the evening among the silent trees.”  I read to myself a poem that fit.  Time plodded by slowly. Each minute seemed to be seperated from another by an eternity.  I was alone, but by no means lonely.

I remember standing in the lobby of the United Nations, watching the display of photos taken in Africa.  “Since I was a child, I’ve spent most of my life searching for and fetching water—water that often makes us very sick.  To have a borehole well in or near the village will make my dreams come true.  It is a dream everyone in the village shares.” Reading the quotation of an anonymous Nigerien girl’s appeal, it suddenly occurred to me that as long as one child is hungry or thirsty, our heart, shall be filled with guilty.  What all these victims need above all was to know that they were not alone; that we were not forgetting.

I also remember the first time I got lost in the maze-like basement of Saybrook College, the first time I played squash in the Payne Whitney Gym, and the first time I made 30 dollars in the Untied States—by participating in a psychological research.

But I remember more clearly, the people I met, who were enthusiastic, adorable and spontaneous.  Even though the image of their faces might be washed out by the waves of time, their smiles will always linger.

On the second day of my arrival, I was browsing in the Yale bookstore to select an American-English dictionary.  Yet there were piles of them displayed on the shelves, all carrying the stick“recommended”.  It was bewildering!  Then there came a senior citizen wearing old-fashioned spectacles, who told me that I could pick out a couple of dictionaries, put them on the desk side by side, and look up the same word to find out which one had the most detailed and straightforward explanation, which one was the most suitable choice for me.  He even took out his handkerchief to clean the desk for me.“I don’t want you to get sick, honey. ”

On a weekend trip to MIT, Lillian and I were looking for Sloan School of Management.  A really warm-hearted janitor passing by noticed the helpless look on our faces and volunteered to show us around the campus, introducing the seemingly weird architecture and Boston’s fascinating history.  After spending one amazing hour together, he insisted on accompanying us to the nearest subway station.  I still keep the note he wrote to us when we bid him farewell.  It reads,“Thank you for allowing me to give you a small tour of MIT. Joe”  

       I was also impressed by the buskers I encountered on the streets, one of whom dyed his hair with rainbow colours, sitting on the steps opposite the Statue of Liberty, composing a song that combined 15 languages to say “hello”.  In the traditonal Chinese culture, if your behaviour is considered eccentric, you are most likely to be ostracized.  But in America, where people do cherish the value of individualism, things are just different.

       My teachers and classmates at Yale are even more fabulous.  Sada is an Iraqi girl who has weathered the war, Daniel is a member of the Austrian National Volleyball Team, Sakamoto, the Japanese boy who has such an easy-to-remember name, has brought us so much fun, and Irene is an extroverted Spanish beauty who is passionate to learn Chinese.  My writing class teacher Lisa knows a lot about Chinese culture, including Yi Jing as well as the origin and philosophy of the Fudan University——“Dan Fu Dan Xi”.  My speaking class teacher Siggy is phenomenally vigorous and talented in acting.  Once she established a clinic, taking care of people with psychopathic problems; once she lived in the jungle, keeping two monkeys as her pets.  Her  charisma is that appealing, and she is like the rock star in all her classes.   

       Nevertheless, scary memories were also part of the summer story.  When we were walking along the Freedom Trail in Boston, we saw a strong black man tailing us and staring.  He was definitely over 6 feet tall, wearing bulky trousers and T-shirts on which a skull was printed.  We were scared, because the week before YSSBers from our school had just witnessed a street robbery in New York City, so we accelerated our paces and cast back worried glances.  After finally getting rid of him, we felt so relieved that we couldn’t help wiping sweat and panting.

       Another breath-taking moment was when we heard about Lilian’s bicycle accident.  Poor  Lilian could only drink liquid in the following week, so we took turns to take care of her.  The faculty of Trumbull Dining Hall prepared special porridge every day, and Di & Jay, two of ELIers from Medical Department, was really professional and considerate.  It was our last but one week at Yale, and it was when we did realize that, unconsciously, we had already become a family.

       We together, stayed up late in the Saybrook Library, struggling with the time-consuming essays and presentations; we together, shared packages of instant noodles and Chinese snacks, which became rather precious for its home-like flavour; we together, explored the Elm City—Yale Art Gallery, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Timble Islands, Center Church and the Crypt, the Lighthouse Park, the Superior Court, and the Mayor’s Office.

       I didn’t realize that it was near the end until we dressed up for the farewell party.  Cameras were flashing everywhere; people were hugging each other; “Goodbye” was the last word we were willing to blurt out. With the summer symphony entering its last chapter, I had to say goodbye to the squirrels popping out of nowhere and the pigeons that are totally not afraid of human beings.  I didn’t realize that I would be dragging my carry-ons in the JFK in several hours, but time, like a steaming locomotive, just rushed forward.  I left Yale, but in my heart I never will.   

I wish I could take you with me, all the way to New York City.

                                                                          ——Rosie Thomas《These friends of mine》

一门门专业课倾泻而下的时候，根本没有空去意识到自己就要飞过海洋。

把各种零碎的物什都收拾妥当，空了书柜，满了行李箱。

不该一个人躲在寝室看Friends的告别季，不该哭得像个肆意的孩子一样。

也想陪在爸爸妈妈身旁，穿着碎花的小睡衣，煮玉米，喝绿豆汤；也想陪在鱼身旁，背着大大的登山包，踏云南，履西藏；也想陪在玄身边，去山东支教，晚上坐在没有城市灯火的小镇里，说着话，数星光。

时而会嫉妒那些八面玲珑的小姑娘，去仍然不愿学着小心应付，人与人之间那些微妙的磁场。总觉得痛彻地笑和哭，才应该紧紧攥住。不闪烁其词，不说弦外之音，你喜欢像我一样的我，我喜欢像你一样的你。

幸而我不怕耶鲁高强度的课业，不怕一个人打理一切，不怕走很长的路。

SO I'll drag those heavy chains of doubt and fear；

I‘'ll haul those souvenirs of misery;

I'll travel light 

but I'll miss you all.

签证归来。排了5个小时队。水过。算是和所有的表格，文件，电汇暂时拗断。

也曾以为自己是生长在北纬31度的树，可以欣荣，可以枯败，可以曳风，可以匀霭，但就是不能离开。

可是终于还是要出这样的远门的，要一个人打点行李，拾掇什物，既遥想骷髅会和耶鲁法学院前的密荫而喜不得待，也在梦里为前身为军火走私港口的纽黑文治安而惊醒到哭。Maybe we are nothing but prisoners of the thoughts that dominate our own society, so it's crucial to embrace a different world, to have a taste of a different culture, to achieve the 'prison break'.

李登辉、颜福庆校长都为耶鲁校友，复旦于诸细微处仿效耶鲁，却在“允许质疑”上做得尤其差强人意。苏格拉底曾说雅典就像一匹钝马，而他就是一只不断叮它，让它充满活力的牛蝇。任何知名学府，都需要牛蝇式的人来提出质疑，才不至落得万马齐喑，而复旦做得，还远远不够。

我想如实记录在Yale的每个日子，我仍在思索ELI应该代表什么意思（我喜欢去年的YSSB说那是You will Surely Stand as my Backup），所有的未知。即使种下去的是风，收获的却是台风，也会是磨砺吧。就像自从看绘本起，就一直喜欢希望井，配图的文字说：

掉落深井，我大声呼喊，等待救援天黑了，黯然低头，才发现水面满是闪烁的星光。我总在最深的绝望里，遇见最美丽的惊喜。