This is the 1181st story we told
"Brother, this is a letter I wrote. After you return to China, wait for my news. If I don't contact you in two months, you will give it to my parents."
"Brother Meng, you..."
In early 2022, I was in Russia and got infected with new crown because of a party. At this time, graduation was approaching. The pressure of many papers made my work and rest time disordered. In addition to physical discomfort and my eyes were inflamed many times, made me feel in pain and thought I would not be able to survive.
(at Moscow State University)
My name is Meng Haoyu (I was a kid, big eyes)
I went to junior high school, and my grades ranked among the top in the class and became a class representative. Since then, my mother has begun to cultivate my time management skills. She strictly plans my time and often arranges some plans for me.
For example, reading from 8:00 to 9:00 in the morning, this has made me develop the habit of planning things. Now, this habit has accompanied me through ten springs, summers, autumns and winters.
In fact, the purpose of my mother doing this is not to get high scores. My mother doesn’t care about these things. The concept she often instilled in me since she was a child is to “study hard and be a useful person to society.” I have always kept this statement in my heart, and it has become my motto in my heart.
Three years of junior high school career is fleeting, and the high school entrance examination is the first turning point in my life. My parents went to junior high school to consult about high school enrollment. At this time, my first nobleman appeared - a principal from junior high school, who gave me a wave of "noble men to guide the way".
He said: "One of our local school has a policy on studying abroad. Please see if your child can get into the exam."
(I like luxury cars very much in junior high school)
Later, my score came out, which was three points higher than the score line of that school. My dad saw that we have a friendly relationship with Russia in recent years, so he asked me if I wanted to go abroad to Russia, and that school if I wanted to go.
I thought about it for a week and thought that English is not good at all, why don’t you try learning Russian ? So he agreed.
In the Russian class, I met a teacher who often taught me some principles of dealing with people and asked me to clean up. He told me to clean the table first when helping the leader clean the sanitation, because the leader has to do the work first, which has benefited me a lot.
Because I had never done such a job before, and I couldn't even wrinkle the rag clean, that teacher cultivated my ability to get along with my superiors. Of course, not only are there good teachers here, but there are also some snobbish teachers, but those broken things are not worth mentioning.
In the second year of high school, I retained my academic qualifications and went to , St. Petersburg in Russia to study in preparatory courses. It was September 2017.
That year, I started to work hard both sides, learning language while preparing for the domestic enrollment exam. Finally, within one year I got the language level certificate and the graduation certificate of a domestic middle school, and successfully admitted to the St. Petersburg National University.
(Photo taken when I was in high school when I was about to go abroad)
When I first arrived in Russia, I was attracted by the cultural differences between the two countries.
For example, license plate number, We all like 666 or 888 in China. For Russians, this number is actually very unlucky. The most expensive license plate here is the number 7, and they think 7 is the most perfect and just number.
6 represents the devil. Even numbers like 2, 4, 6, 8 are given flowers to others during the holidays. If 2 or 6 are given, it means that the person has died, and they prefer odd numbers.
And that's it, when we enter the house, we rarely have the habit of taking off our coats. For example, when they enter a teacher's office, they have to take off their coats, which makes them look polite.
In our country, especially in schools, we are used to calling Teacher Wang and Teacher Li (subject name plus occupation, which means respect). If I say here: Hello Teacher Wang, I would like to ask a question. This is not good, and it cannot be called a profession. I feel a little despised by others, and I usually call it a name directly.
(When I first arrived in St. Petersburg in 2017)
In addition to these cultural differences, the imagined study abroad is still very different from reality. Before going abroad, I always feel that abroad is good and that it is good everywhere, but it is not that true.
Even in a friendly country like Russia, there will be racial discrimination. Once when I was taking an elevator at a subway station, a person with a Siberian face pointed at me in the opposite direction.
Not only that, I am in big cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg, some local police are relatively "black".
I was stopped to ask for a passport. I took out my passport and showed it to him, and then he wanted this and that. Anyway, the on-the-arrival visa, the entry card, and the weird certificate can always be obtained.
basically no one has these documents, and even if they have one, they won’t carry them with you. In fact, to put it bluntly, it gives people a feeling of asking for money in disguise. If you don’t have money, go to the police station. Everyone is very busy, and you can just go there if you give some money.
Because Russia's reports on China are not like Western media, people know that China is developing very fast and that Chinese students are a little money. I think this is not a good thing for international students.
(The tallest building in Europe: Lakhta, St. Petersburg)
I had been in Russia for a year in 2018. At that time, I was in my freshman year and founded an education company with a Chinese big brother, hoping to serve some students in China who want to study in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
At that time, I also made a logo for the company. Because it started mainly in the education industry, the end of the logo was an anchor, symbolizing St. Petersburg (because St. Petersburg is a city near the sea), and then the front was like waves and books. Doing this can be considered as just having just left society to train and play.
(LoGO designed by myself)
After I founded the company, I was not as relaxed as before, and I didn’t have enough time. Because there were many courses at that time, most of the day was spent in school, and the company needed to take the students through the procedures and so on, and they almost worked during the day.
At that time, I would get up at five or six o'clock every morning and take the students to the bank to exchange for rubles . Sometimes if there are many students, I would bring two or three buses alone. Sometimes, one bank may not have enough money to exchange, so you have to go to several banks.
Wait until nine o'clock and class is about to begin, and I will hand over these students to other colleagues. When school was over at 5:30 in the afternoon, I didn’t have time to eat, so I hurried to the airport to pick up the new students. After picking up, it might be around 11 o’clock in the evening.
and then took them to a hotel. After , settled down at about one o'clock in the morning and slept for four hours a day. I have maintained this routine for about four or five months.
When I first came to Russia, I also delivered takeaway, taught Chinese to Russians, and served plates in Chinese restaurants, but I was not as tired as I just started my business.
The thing that I remember most is that I took the student recruited by the company to the hospital. The student said he had a stomachache. I didn’t even attend class at that time, so I took him to the hospital for a checkup. The result was appendicitis and had surgery late that night.
I happened to have an exam the next day, but I was all on the students' side that day, so I didn't care about anything else. Fortunately, the teacher made an exception the next day and gave me no exam.
(When I first started my business, I worked and studied together)
Company has been operating for more than a year with everyone's joint efforts, and gradually stabilized in 2019.
In July of this year, I received a group of students from the summer camp of my high school alma mater. I was also in China during the summer vacation, so I flew back to St. Petersburg. As soon as I got to the ground, I took my luggage back to the apartment, changed my clothes and rushed to the airport to pick them up. After picking them up, I was busy for seven days.
Those seven days were taken to take them into summer camp, which was equivalent to being a small tour guide. These kids are pretty good and very sensible. When they finally saw them go, several students also cried.
At that time, I always heard some classmates ask me: "Why are you so tired? You just go to class every day and then relax. Don't you get tired of yourself?" But I felt that some of the people around me worked very hard because I just like those motivated people.
I also met with overseas Chinese leaders from the Belt and Road Initiative in St. Petersburg. I felt that after seeing these people, there was really an invisible force pushing me forward because I also wanted to become like them.
(Take students from alma mater in Russian summer camp)
In the same year, in addition to being busy with work, I also experienced the first fraud case in my life.
There was a liar at that time. I didn’t know how he knew all my personal information, and I usually contacted my family less.
This liar pretended to be me, added my mother's account and chatted with my mother, saying that I had recently washed my phone in the washing machine and couldn't use it. One of my teachers is about to return to China, but the reason for the air ticket is still due to the tuition fee. He said that he asked my mother to transfer 20,000 yuan to him, but he didn't answer the phone call.
Then my mother sent a message to my account to confirm, but because I was taking the exam at the time and didn't reply immediately, my mother treated this liar as me. Then the liar told my mother that I couldn't bear to leave this teacher and hoped that my mother could transfer money to help him.
Later, after the exam, I saw the message my mother sent me. She advised me that there was nothing I could bear to bear. The teacher still had a chance to see it after he left. I was very confused when I saw this news. After asking clearly, I realized that my mother had been cheated. It was very dangerous at that time, and I almost transferred the money. It was almost the end of the year, and it was probably the scammers wanted to have a good New Year too.
(at Moscow Central Shopping Center)
At the end of this year, I delivered a speech at the company. I felt that I had grown a lot along the way. While studying, I also gained a lot of valuable experience in my work. That day I thanked many people who helped me broaden my horizons, improve my cognition, and guide me to a higher platform.
As he talked on stage that day, I couldn't help but burst into tears. I was so tired all the way along the way, to be honest, and I really grew a lot. From being treacherous to being proficient in the process, I have gained a lot of courage and confidence. After all, the road to growth is not smooth sailing. The bold ambitions at the 2019 annual meeting soon disappeared in the second year.
In 2020, due to the overall epidemic situation, the company entered a cold period. That year, my junior year was a very critical year. It was mainly about studying, doing a lot of homework, and I would be expelled if I missed three subjects.
was under great pressure at that time. I sat alone in the library for an afternoon because of failure. I didn’t talk to my family or friends.
Many times when a person is too tired or sad, he will secretly shed a few tears at night, afraid of being sad, and afraid that he has been wasted all these years of study.
But if you think about it carefully, what can you do if you are afraid? Only by taking it by yourself can you "survive" smoothly. Moreover, the good brother around me is under greater pressure. I feel that I am nothing, so I stand up and continue walking wherever I fall.
I know I have the advantage of being young, so I am not afraid of falling, I have the chance to start over.
(I am fortunate to take a photo with the overseas Chinese leaders in St. Petersburg)
In 2021, I was a senior year. At that time, I was able to support myself through the company. I especially like cars and always wanted to buy luxury cars (I dreamed of buying them).After thinking about it, I felt that there was some morality that was not worthy of my position. It would be better to buy something for my family than to buy a car for myself.
I know my status. If a student buys such a good car, he will be useless. If he makes some money to buy it for his family, his parents will go out and say to his friends, "What is my son who bought it for me." At that time, I will have a face on my face.
may be a kind of growth to learn to let go of what you like.
(last photo with St. Petersburg)
February 1, 2022 is my birthday. I invited some friends to dinner. This time, I became a "Little Yang Man".
was really uncomfortable at that time, because I was a little scared when I first came into contact, and I was exhausted. In addition, I had to do my graduation thesis, and the company was managed by several good brothers.
I dragged my uncomfortable body to write a paper. I didn’t get enough rest and my eyes were inflamed several times. But I never dared to tell my family, and I haven't told them until now.
actually left a letter to my parents at that time, but it was placed with my friend. I said to him: "Contact me at the end of the second month. If I don't reply, then you can give this letter to my family."
I was very scared at that time, but fortunately I survived and my studies were completed smoothly. I also got a master's degree this year, and it should be God's favor. I took the fourth place in our group, including Moscow State University and Bristol University .
Later, due to the war, he chose the personnel management of Moscow University, moved to Moscow, and also carried out Moscow business for the company.
(Graduation ceremony attended in St. Petersburg on July 7 this year)
In April 2022, the company discussed the cooperation between Russian universities and Shandong schools. There was another cooperation in May, which was an online meeting held by Hercen University and Shandong Normal University .
We presented Herzen University with a bronze tripod, an etiquette item from ancient China, representing a desire for peace, development, stability and prosperity. After
, we held many activities, such as " Confucius and Tolstoy: Dialogue across time and space", deeply explore the common points of culture between China and Russia, enhance people's mutual understanding through academic discussions, and promote China-Russia cultural exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and Western civilizations through the collision of thoughts and wisdom.
When I first came to Moscow, because the company was in St. Petersburg, Moscow was very tired just starting out, so I started working during the day and taking classes at night (our master's majors are all evening classes). Although I was tired, I felt quite fulfilling the day.
I have never forgotten what my mother said - "Study hard, and be a useful person to society when you grow up" .
(the company presented a bronze tripod to Herzen University)
Actually, I have also calculated the cost of studying abroad over the years. I may have spent 1 million yuan, but I think Russia's changes to me over the years have increased significantly.
Once upon a time, I often asked myself why I went abroad just for a diploma? For a better life in the future? Or just to feel a different world?
is not actually. people will find it difficult for such a long time in their lives to stay away from their family and friends, explore themselves, talk to themselves, and finally shape themselves. This is often the beginning of our own, as individuals, being able to be more mature and independent.
In this process, we will meet all kinds of people. Noble people, enemies, and villains are our teachers. The longest profession in a person's life is students.
Let me tell you the most valuable truth that has taught me over the years when I went abroad is: Don’t give life too much meaning, keep learning, improve yourself, and keep going step by step, and unexpected things will always happen.
In the future, I may choose to return to China to work in a state-owned enterprise or a central enterprise.I hope to graduate successfully during the summer vacation in 2024. If there is still a chance in the future, I would like to continue to study for a doctorate.
Finally, I hope to meet a good girl. I have been too busy over the years and haven’t had time to talk about my girlfriend. It’s a pity. So I’m looking forward to one day the arrow of Cupid will hit me.
[Oral: Meng Haoyu]
[Editor: Director Pi]
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