In 2005, studying in Oklahoma

The first time I decided to study abroad was in 2005. "A new era has come, and no one is making trouble anymore." In just a few short years in the new century, China has joined the WTO, Beijing's bid for the Olympics has been successful, and a group of Internet companies from Zhongguancun have landed on Nasdaq. The Sino-US collision and SARS were just like innocuous episodes that passed by in a flash. The high wall of the Internet has not yet been erected, the "New Deal" of civilian leaders is widely expected, and "globalization" as a real way of life seems to be slowly unfolding. Traveling abroad and studying are no longer so far away. More importantly, although the economic engine of the whole country has begun to rotate at a high speed, the housing prices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are still hovering at a low level, and they have not yet become a troubling problem for young people. The so-called classmates and teenagers are not cheap. China has emerged a large number of smug young people, all freshly dressed and furious, gearing up for a big fight in the coming new era.

On the other hand, the United States at that time was still the spiritual highland that most Chinese aspired to. It was an era when even the elders had to endorse their vision and knowledge with "Which country in the West I have never been to" and "Where is Wallace in America better than you? So even though I decided to resign from an Internet company that seemed to be a very sunrise industry at the time, my colleagues and friends felt much regret, but they were still happy for me. Going to "America" should have a brighter future.

But I came to Oklahoma, USA. Until I graduated two years later, my relatives and friends still didn't understand where I was. All I could remember was that there was a goose and a horse. In any case, the rustic vibe is right. Even if you ask the average American, there are only three things about Oklahoma: tornadoes, American football, and the terrorist attack on the federal building in 1995. I came here completely confused, and was in a trance for a long time.

In all fairness, both the school and the living environment are quite good, no complaints. But I always feel that something is wrong. This is not the United States in the impression of American TV shows and Hollywood. The most lively moment is undoubtedly the local home football game. It is difficult to get a ticket for a football stadium that can accommodate 90,000 people - the total population of our town is only 100,000. Of course, many viewers are not residents of this town. The villagers from Shili Baxiang all came in pickup trucks. Since there were not so many hotels to accommodate them, most of them set up camp directly on the grass. The whole town, centered on the football field, has almost become a rock festival. On the streets after the game, in addition to the deafening music, white spectators with big stomachs and beards dangling around with beer mugs wandered around, high-fiving or hugging random people. The smell of alcohol and marijuana wafted in the air. Not to mention that drinking outdoors violates local laws. On the day of the game, drinking and driving are common, and the police will not come to check for drinking and driving.

I was also taken by American classmates to see the annual Super Battle between our school and the University of Texas at Austin. The two school teams are divisional powerhouses, almost a feud. That day will be directly named "OU-Texas Day", and the game will be played at the midpoint between the two schools - Dallas, Texas. There will be a mighty parade (plus binge drinking) on the streets of Dallas on the eve of the game, and fans on both sides will make a loud noise. With musical instruments and speakers, it is almost another game. That day I felt like I was screaming "Boomer, Sooner!" and "Texas Sucks! Texas Sucks!" in my sleep while gesturing my thumbs, forefingers, and pinkies down - up for the Texas Longhorns Bull's head, down, of course, the Longhorn is weak. On the second day, I was not impressed. I think our school probably lost.

It is also worth mentioning that even in such a closed and remote area, I still obtained a living environment that is far more diverse than that in Beijing before. My roommate is a big brother from Taiwan. He served in the Marine Corps before he came to study. He taught me about baseball and American football, talked about the blue-green battle in Taiwan, and also drove me to see casinos in the United States. My TA teacher is an eccentric Eastern European. When I asked him which country he was from, he replied quietly, "My country no longer exists." I met a classmate who used to teach English in China. He was a devout Christian from Kansas. He continued to eat pizza with me at noon every Thursday and discuss any topic related to Christianity. After graduation he went on to attend seminary and became a pastor. An American buddy who was as bad as me, stayed up late in the library with me before final exams, and then took me to those spiral fries dipped in cheese for a late-night snack. He also taught me to use Facebook and MySpace. Sadly, I didn't make any black friends. Our academy is too white. In the first year I went there, there was not a single African-American student in our graduate school, and all Asians were only me and another Korean buddy who often drank to the point of getting drunk.

In addition, the first year of study abroad experience can be described as quite boring and lackluster. I was immersed in the same boring novelty as most Chinese students: taking classes, reading reading materials, suffering from English, learning to cook, taking a driver's license test, buying a second-hand car, looking for a Chinese supermarket to buy food, roughly the same. When I was so bored that I was about to explode, I went to a local church event with other Chinese students. Many students went there for free pizza. After waiting for the end of the long lecture (due to my poor English listening ability and no knowledge of the Bible at the time, I could not understand almost anything), I could finally pick up a piece of pizza and chat happily with the elderly people who were working together. . After chatting for a while, I was so surprised that I almost dropped my jaw on my foot. This old lady, she didn't know that Beijing was the capital of China, let alone the Olympics in three years; the farthest place she'd ever been in her life was Dallas, a two-hour drive, so she told me When I came across the ocean to see her, I felt immense admiration; the highlight was that she pointed to a microwave oven in the church and asked me, "Does China have a microwave oven?"

It is conceivable that at that time, for most people in the vast Midwest region of the United States, China was still a distant, exotic and interesting backward country, far from economic size or any aspect. Not a threat to the American people. The financial crisis is far from here, the transformation of Eastern European countries seems to be beginning to bear fruit, and the United States as a whole is still immersed in the optimism of the world after the Cold War - except for "9-11" and the frustrating Iraq War.

In 2017, China's GDP was already 63% of that of the United States. But in 2005, when my grandmother asked me sympathetically if there were microwave ovens in China, the GDP of the United States was still about 5.7 times that of China. Once, when I was eating at a local Thai restaurant with three or four other Chinese students, the waiter whispered to us that a family at the next table paid us $50 at the checkout. We chased after them in amazement, and when they were already dressed and walked to the door, we thanked them and asked them why they were doing it. They just smiled shyly and said that it is not easy for you to study abroad, "Welcome to the United States!"

White Cloud Cang Dog. Thinking of these in the Trump era is like a memory from 10,000 years ago.

Oh, there weren't that many Asians in Central America in those days. My roommate and I used to drive more than an hour to Tulsa to check in to the small town where Chandler was assigned in Friends. After wandering around for a while, we took a break on a bench in the Plaza Mayor. My roommate suddenly asked me, did you feel something was wrong? I said it seemed like something was wrong, but I couldn't tell what it was. He said, haven't you noticed, there are only two of us who are not white!

In 2007, before I graduated, I found a relatively cheap local print shop through the Internet to bind my graduation thesis. The owner is an old man who looks like 60 years old, and he chatted with me very happily. Before leaving, he told me that I was the first, Asian, he had ever met in real life (not on TV).

I was at a loss for words and ran away.