The ABCs of Life on Pukou Campus

—Seen through a Freshman’s Eyes

Alien: We came from all over China to gather in Nanjing: a strange city in a stranger’s eyes. To make matters worse, we are not situated within the city to whose pace we can better adapt ourselves to. We are hustled to Pukou: an even stranger place in a stranger’s eyes. We are in the middle of nowhere surrounded by shabby buildings. We are cut off from the world: when a piece of news reaches us, the usual case is that it is already a piece of “olds”.

Beautiful: Although the teaching building and some facilities are shabby, they are nevertheless quite a vision with shady green trees, colorful flowers of all sorts, rushing streams, and chirping birds in the background.

Crowded: What else can you expect living in China? Wherever you go you have to wait for your turn: waiting in the dining hall for lunch, or waiting at the ATM machine to draw money, or waiting for a table to play table tennis in the gym, or waiting in the public bath for the shower head—PS: these are LOOOOOONG waits too.

 Dormitory: You share a dormitory with three other classmates (do not expect the dormitory to be the western “suite style”), and a balcony with another dorm. If you are all friendly, tidy, and diligent good little kids, the dormitory can be a homelike place with a natural sense of warmth to it. If, unfortunately, you have one or two not-so-friendly, not-so-tidy, or not-so-diligent sorts among you, the dormitory will be a hell of a place with a natural smell of stink to it.

 Eavesdrop: The walls between the dorms are as thin as it can be. If you are a pessimist, you can see that as a bar to a sound night’s sleep. If you are an optimist who is good at discovering every sparkle of good in life, you can see that as a great offer from God for you to do a little eavesdropping. Believe me, the things you will overhear can make a New York Times Best-seller!

 Food: There are four canteens on campus(called the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth. We have been wondering for a long time where on earth are the First, Second, Third, and Fourth then? In Gulou?) There are a great many varieties of food. But generally speaking, there is only one taste: extremely salty. Yet we are happy to inform that our cooks seem to have realized this defect recently, and the food quality is on its way to improvement.

 Gallantry: This is something rarely practiced on campus. Boys do not show it. Girls do not expect it. We hold this truth to be self-evident that all human beings, be they male or female, are created equal.

Humorous: As one of the best universities in China (In fact, the best in our opinion!), NJU has naturally gathered some of the first wits of country. From teachers to your classmates, their rich sense of humor can make you laugh until tears come into your eyes.

Illness: Getting ill is a department-scale affair. All of a sudden, every one in your department seems to be coughing, sniveling, having a fever, healing in the dorm, or getting infusion in the hospital. But as all things would turn out a blessing in disguise, you can skip classes without feeling guilty, and feel the warmth of friendship when classmates come to visit you.

January: This is one of the months that you—if a good dutiful student—will be kept extremely busy, the others being February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.

Keys: Take extra good care of these. Or you will be unable to get into the dorm or open the closet and drawers. If you do not mind these inconveniences, consider your roommates. Breaking down the door will make too much noise.

Library: A university would not be the hall of knowledge it is supposed to be without a big nice library. We are happy to announce that NJU has one of the most extensive and systematic libraries among all universities in China—the only drawback is that that library is on Gulou Campus. But we are also happy to announce that we now have a new library on Pukou Campus. It’s big, it’s new, its modern, and it’s full of books of course. In the evening, when all the lights are on, the library even looks a trifle like the Library of Congress. Cool, isn’t it?

Mischief: Never attempt to play practical jokes on your friends and classmates unless you are a hundred percent sure of yourself. University students are not dull-witted exam machines. Nanjing University students are even less so. As it turns out, usually quite unexpectedly, that you will never be leniently dealt with, but cruelly revenged, and turned into a poor victim yourself.

Nemesis: A lot of things may turn out your nemesis of life on Pukou Campus if you are not careful. Procrastination might turn out one. Not practicing economy might turn out one. And skipping classes without proper excuse certainly will turn out one, even if the good-natured teacher seems not to mind it in the least.

 Opportunity: University is opening a lot of doors to you. Chances to receive scholarships, chances to become exchange students to world-famous universities abroad, chances to listen to lectures given by great masters, and chances to get your puzzles and questions answered by great masters. But the keys are in your own hands. Again, as we have mentioned in Keys, take extra good care of them.

 Phys. Ed.: Universally acknowledged as the most trying of all courses. Beats the hell out of Math, Physics, Chemistry, English, French, and even German.

 Quaint: Most people would think that quaint is hardly the word to describe Pukou Campus. But if you open your eyes, you might discover the quaintness of the campus hidden in little winding footpaths, woody green hills, old-fashioned pavilions, and elegant ladies walking through the campus with a thick volume of Shakespeare in hand.

 Remote: See Alien. PS: It usually takes more than an hour to get to the city. Pukou Campus is connected to, or rather separated from, downtown by the nationally-famous Yangtze River Bridge. Once a mark of convenience, this bridge is now the synonym of traffic jams.

 Skepticism: While you are taught to accept facts in primary and secondary schools, in university you are encouraged to think independently, creatively, and innovatively. Skepticism is welcomed by professors.

 Temptation: It has always been said that university is a miniature society. As our society is fraught with temptations, so is our life on Pukou Campus. Temptation is everywhere and of every form. It might take the shape of a delicious ice cream cone in front of you when you should be on a diet, or the wallet poking out of another person’s pockets when you are in desperate need of money, or the top-student’s examination paper next to you when you get stuck on your own. Do not give in to them by quoting Oscar Wilde’s “I can resist anything but temptation”. Resist them with all your might, or you will not only ruin your own life, but harm others as well.

 Ubiquitous: Couples PDAing (Public Display of Affection) seem to be ubiquitous on our lovely campus. You will be shocked by them on your first arrival on the campus. You will be extremely irritated and uncomfortable at the sight of them for the following one month or two. You will have much ado to get used to walking past them in school. But you will get used to them, we guarantee it. Just do not go to the other extreme and decide to join them for a change. “One can seldom be in love and be wise,” as George Bernard Shaw stated. You will have to be wise in order to survive your courses. So think twice about falling in love before you leap.

 Vivacious: That is about the best word we can think of to sum up all the virtues of our lively, friendly, humorous, talented, attractive, and exciting classmates. It’s also because of them that the campus has a bright touch of vivacity to it.

 Warbling: For students used to, or even possibly tired of, the hustle and bustle of the city life, Pukou Campus really is a good change for you to get closer to nature. There are a variety of birds living with you on this campus. Try to get up early once in a while and take a stroll around the campus when most people are still in their slumber. You will hear the delightful warbling of birds, and maybe catch a glimpse of a flash of bright colors dashing through the leaves, leaving behind a trail of wonderful songs.

 Xerox: Xeroxes are available on campus. The price of making copies using them is quite acceptable: 0.1 yuan per page. But again it usually a looooooong wait before your turn, especially during examination seasons.

 Yard Sales: We always have some sort of yard sales on weekends when sophomores and juniors try to dispose of their old books and make a small fortune. But do not be fooled around to open your purse in a hurry. Most books they sell are textbooks that you are going to get anyway.

 Zest: Despite the faults you might find with it, we bet that you will be full of zest for the life on Pukou Campus!