My Age of Investment

  Chapter 2 Entrance to School

  Xia Jingxing carried a bag, and after getting off the plane, he went to the checked luggage area to pick up a large suitcase.

  Looking at the familiar black suitcase, I recalled many things.

  It is filled with mother's love for children.

  Especially the food from his hometown, let him spend the first semester when he was not used to local food after he first arrived in the United States.

  Parents are almost the same for children who travel far, for fear of being hungry or freezing.

  Out of the airport, Qiu Zhiyi saw the relatives who came to pick him up at a glance.

  The other party is a man estimated to be in his forties, holding a small banner with the words "Qiu Zhiyi" written on it, which is very conspicuous.

  Qiu Zhiyi said a few goodbyes to Xia Jingxing, and walked straight over.

  Xia Jingxing waved with him, and continued to walk outside the taxi area.

  Looking at the shining sun above her head and the blue sky, Xia Jingxing was full of emotion.

  There is no wildfire, no smoke billowing the sky, this is California in 2002!

   After getting into the taxi casually, and then reporting the place name to the driver, Xia Jingxing leaned back on the seat and began to close her eyes and rest.

  The driver is a white man. Seeing Xia Jingxing sleeping, he turned down the dynamic music.

   About five minutes after lying with her eyes closed, Xia Jingxing opened her eyes.

  At this time, the taxi has left the airport and is driving on Highway 101.

  Xia Jingxing looked at the scenery passing by outside the window, lost in thought about the future.

   "Sir, are you a Stanford student?"

  The white driver saw that Xia Jingxing had opened his eyes, so he asked.

  Brothers all over the world are like this. It is the passengers who come and go to deal with, and there are very few who don't like to chat with passengers.

   "Yes, I am a freshman."

  Xia Jingxing retracted his thoughts and replied casually.

"what?"

  The driver's "black question mark face" seemed to have encountered something incredible.

   "I think your English has a California accent? Are you a new immigrant?"

  Xia Jingxing smiled and shook his head. He spent eight years in California in his previous life. It is normal to have a local accent. It seems that he has "inherited" this accent in this life.

  The driver was very talkative, and asked which country Xia Jingxing was from and which city he came from.

   "Oh, Rongcheng, I heard that there are so many pandas in your place that you have to fight!"

   This time it was Xia Jingxing’s turn to the black question mark face.

  Too many fights? Is that still called a rare animal?

  Most Americans don’t understand China, and the information they understand is very one-sided.

  Even after eighteen years, the situation remains the same.

  Stanford is located in Palo Alto City in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, almost 60 kilometers away from San Francisco International Airport.

  The road is not very congested. After driving for almost an hour, the taxi arrived at the gate of Stanford University smoothly.

  Look at the taxi meter record, 82 dollars.

  Xia Jingxing didn't care too much, but took out his wallet and saw that there were only 10 Franklins with a face value of 100 in it, and realized that he seemed to be lavish once.

  San Francisco has very well-developed means of transportation. In fact, he can choose to take the subway and then transfer to the train, which only costs $10.

   Forget it, pay attention next time.

  He kept reminding himself that this was eighteen years ago. He was still a poor student. Before he was alive without self-reliance, he spent all the hard-earned money of his parents.

  After paying the fare, getting out of the car, Xia Jingxing looked up at the tall and majestic campus gate.

  After watching for ten minutes, he finally woke up.

  He smiled confidently, picked up his schoolbag, pushed the suitcase, and walked toward the campus with his head up and chest up. He is ready to welcome a new life.

  Stanford University is very large, covering a full 33 square kilometers, just like a garden town.

How big is 33 square kilometers? It is about the size of Macau's land area, equivalent to 5,000 football fields.

  In addition to being big, the campus scenery is also beautiful.

  Entering from the gate is a huge semi-elliptical lawn, which is very neatly manicured.

  Xia Jing walked across the lawn and got on a campus bus.

  It was the summer vacation. Students were either doing internships or traveling. There were very few students on the bus. Except for Xia Jingxing, there were two female students sitting in the back row and chatting.

  Xia Jingxing gave them a glance, and they were all plain.

  Generally speaking, Xueba is a rare group of people, among which the beautiful ones are even rarer.

  But nothing is absolute, Stanford still has beautiful women, various skin tones, multi-national style...

  Returning her gaze, Xia Jingxing chose a seat at random to sit down, and quietly admired the scenery passing by the window.

   Tall palm trees are planted on both sides of the road, forming a palm avenue, with interlacing lawns and shady trees...

   Another major feature of the campus is its stable rectangular stone building.

  Earth-yellow stone walls surround the red-roofed building, connected by arcades and semi-circular arches.

  These buildings are highly uniform in color and shape, but they have their own unique structure and Roman architectural elements.

  The iconic red-tiled roof and the bright blue sky of California complement each other, forming the picturesque and beautiful scenery of the Stanford campus.

  On the bus, Xia Jingxing also saw students riding bicycles on both sides of the road, passing by in twos and threes. Everyone had a confident smile on their faces.

  It can be seen that their campus life is very enjoyable.

  These students basically wear red T-shirts with the Stanford Logo, plus a pair of jeans, simple and full of vigor.

  Except for winter, California is sunny all year round and the temperature is between 15-24 degrees Celsius, making it very livable.

Xia Jingxing came to the campus office and found a white teacher. He took out various documents including ID cards, passports, visas, I-20 and I-94 forms, admission letters, medical examination forms, etc., and began to apply for freshman registration. .

   After completing various forms and completing registration, Xia Jingxing was called to a small meeting room.

  A black staff member began to explain to him the various rules and regulations of the school, as well as the most important insurance.

  To study in the United States, every student needs to buy his own insurance, and most schools will have a designated insurance company.

  The cost of seeing a doctor in the United States is staggeringly expensive. With this insurance, you can save a lot of money.

  If there is no insurance, calling an ambulance will cost thousands or even thousands of dollars. International students with a poor family background simply cannot afford it.

  Stanford's medical insurance for studying abroad is 400 US dollars per semester. The coverage does not include dentistry and ophthalmology, which are advanced programs.

  Medical insurance only covers more than a dozen major items such as outpatient clinics, hospitalization, first aid, and body transportation.

  These guarantees are basically sufficient, taking into account the various situations that may occur during the study period of international students.

  Whether it is a minor illness or a serious illness, hospitalization or rehabilitation, or even death, all arrangements are clear and in place.

  It is worth mentioning that Xia Jingxing has applied for a Stanford scholarship.

   is not a full prize that includes tuition, living expenses, and even travel expenses.

   is only half prize.

  Four-year tuition fee is waived, but the individual’s meals, accommodation, books and other miscellaneous expenses during the school period need to be borne by oneself.

  Compared with the tuition fee of more than 20,000 U.S. dollars a year, these fees are considered small, and they usually add up to a little over 10,000 a year.

  Even if the tuition fee is waived, it will still cost US$50,000 or 60,000 after studying abroad for four years.

  This amount was not a small amount of money in 2002.

  The original Xia Jingxing was not very keen on studying abroad. The TOEFL and SAT tests were arranged by his mother.

  From the bottom of his heart, he even wants to go to Tsinghua University.

  Because studying in China can relieve the parents of financial pressure.

  His parents work well, but the income is average, and it is not easy for him to study abroad.

  Fortunately, he won a half prize, otherwise he would really not be able to learn.

  In addition, he actually received an offer from Berkeley, California, next door.

  This university has been in love with Stanford for many years. It is a public university, which is more than half cheaper than the private Stanford tuition, but his scholarship has not been applied for.

  So I can only give up, family conditions do not allow it.

  American university tuition fees are also notoriously expensive, increasing every year.

   More than ten years later, Stanford tuition fees are all 50,000 to 60,000 US dollars a year.

   Native Americans protested variously, saying that they could not go to college, but it was useless. The increase should still be increased.

  Even Oguan Maritime University applied for a campus loan, and it took 21 years to repay the loan, and then it took 4 years to finally become the leader.

  So, reading still changes your destiny!

  Assuming that Oguanhai did not go to college, which nightclub is wearing a big gold chain, inlaid with a mouthful of gold teeth, playing rap music is not necessarily...

  Since then, there has been one less leader in the world, and one more black rapper "Ao Ye", or "Ba Ye", "Ma Ye"...

  Xia Jingxing had a spit in his heart. Compared with these private universities abroad, it is better than the domestic 985/211. The tuition fee will not increase in N years.

  In fact, behind this is the country’s continuous financial allocation to these universities every year.

  It is absolutely impossible to rely on the meager tuition fees collected to support the development of colleges and universities.

  It can be seen that the socialist road is still good!

  Meal plan and dormitory After receiving the admission notice three months ago, Xia Jingxing was accompanied by his parents and applied online. Now he only needs to pay for it.

  Xia Jingxing had no objection and directly took out the Visa card and swiped it.

  It is worth mentioning that in the first year of Stanford University, undergraduates are required to live on campus compulsorily.

  This is also afraid of students who have just arrived in the United States, not familiar with the environment, and it is not safe to live off campus.

  In addition, more than 90% of Stanford undergraduates live on campus. The school’s various supporting facilities are quite good. It is inconvenient to live off campus unless there are special reasons.

  Tossing for a long time, Xia Jingxing finally finished all the processes.

  At the same time, he also paid all the insurance, dormitory, meals, etc. for the first semester, which cost more than three thousand dollars in total.

  Stanford has 3 semesters a year, and these fees are paid once a semester.

  Xia Jingxing received a bunch of dormitory keys and at the same time a guidebook for freshmen admission.

  He flipped through the book while walking towards the dormitory.

  After walking for about 10 minutes, Xia Jingxing came to a row of buildings with red tile roofs different from the regular campus.

  Looking at these seven three-storey familiar buildings, Xia Jingxing has a lot of memories. He spent four years undergraduate here in his previous life.

  Stanford University has 10 residential communities for undergraduates. Each community consists of seven or eight two-story or three-story buildings, each with 80-100 students.

  There are only 6,000 or 7,000 undergraduate students in the whole school, and the number of postgraduate students is almost the same. Compared with domestic universities, the number is indeed too scarce.

  The number of dormitory floors and the number of buildings are randomly assigned, and Xia Jingxing assigned it to the first floor of the middle building.

  He pushed his luggage into the building, and based on his memory, he quickly found his dormitory.

   took out the key, and when he was about to open the door, a woman's head suddenly appeared in the opposite room.

  Xia Jingxing heard the movement and turned around to see that a woman with burgundy hair was looking at herself.

  The woman's eye sockets are deep and blue, wearing pajamas, her hair is messy, and she looks like she just woke up.

  "Hello, this is Christina, a second-year economics student."

  The other party opened the door, waved to Xia Jingxing, and greeted enthusiastically.

  Xia Jingxing is not surprised at all. Stanford University is this tune, allowing and supporting coexistence of men and women on the same floor.

  Some colleges and universities in the United States started doing this as early as the 1970s.

  In China, it will take ten years before this kind of mixed living gradually becomes popular. It has been criticized by various public opinions, but students are overjoyed.

  The United States is relatively open in this regard. George Washington University will announce in twelve years that it will allow male and female students to live in the same dormitory.

  After the news was announced, most students expressed their support and understanding.

"Hello!"

  Xia Jingxing smiled politely at the girl, and had a vague impression of the girl, but he couldn't remember it clearly.

  He introduced himself, "I am a first-year computer science student from China, you can call me Darren."

   pointed to the girl’s pink pajamas again, and praised, "The pajamas are beautiful, and you are also very beautiful."

  No girl is immune to praise.

  Kristina is no exception. She smiled slightly, "Thank you, I wish you a happy life at Stanford, like your name, become a potential person in Chengda's career."

   After a few small chats, Xia Jingxing opened the door of the dormitory and entered the house.

Stepping on the soft carpet, Xia Jingxing glanced at the room at will.

  There are three empty beds, as well as basic furniture such as desks and chairs, bookcases and wardrobes, all of which are neatly arranged.

  He opened the window and let the wind blow through. He hasn't been inhabited for two months, and the air doesn't smell very well.

   Then I took another basin of water, wiped my own bed, table, chair, and closet, and started to make the bed.

  Each dormitory in Stanford is connected to high-speed Internet, telephone line, cable TV, etc., but bedding and daily necessities have to be provided by themselves.

  He opened the suitcase and took out a quilt, which was bought in China, brand new. The bed sheet was also embroidered with dense peonies, and the quilt was a white silk quilt.

  In future generations, this behavior will definitely be ridiculed as a native dog. If you are studying abroad, you will bring your own quilt, not to mention the weight of the consignment, and you can’t save a lot of money.

  But Xia Jingxing understands his parents very well. After all, the family is not rich, and it is already very difficult to study abroad. If you can save it, you will save it.

  American beds have many specifications, which are very different from those in China. Xia Jingxing’s mother stuffed him with this set of peony sheets in the suitcase.

  He leaned against the wall and stuffed the bed for a long time, but couldn’t put it down, so he had to fold it into two layers, which barely solved the problem.

   Then he began to empty the suitcase.

  Identity card, passport, bank card and other documents.

  Clothing, shoes...

  Mobile phone charger, laptop, U disk...

  Stomach power, berberine, cold granules, amoxicillin, Yunnan Baiyao spray, golden throat lozenges, band-aids...

  Lao Ganma, hot pot base, twist...

  Xia Jingxing looked at her suitcase, which was like a Doraemon pocket, and her heart was warm.

  If it weren’t for a friend to ask, sausages, bacon, rabbit head and other preserved foods can’t enter the United States, I guess his mother would have to fill him with a suitcase.

  (End of this chapter)