I have been back from the United States for more than two weeks already. This amazing trip has such great impact on me that words and phrases often escaped me whenever I tried to describe it. However, it is high time for me to write down something, for future CFL members, and for ourselves. Well, just follow me now, looking back, and then, forward…
A. PLEASE CHANGE YOUR LIFE AMAP AND ASAP
There’s no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life. ---Sister Mary Rose McGEADY I have been thinking about this question since the day I stepped into college: How could I make my college life amazingly different, differently amazing??? I want it to be colorful and eventful. To me, college is such a dictionary in which the word “dull” does not exist at all. And soon I came up with a perfect answer: off to see the world~~~ See the life you‟ve never experienced before, get freshest air from the outer, obtain the most advanced information and knowledge……Just imagine these! Because of this „perfect‟ answer, I went to India when I was a sophomore and finished a 2-month marketing internship there. By visiting metropolises like Bangalore, Mumbai etc., by communicating with Indian businessmen and college students, I became another person when I came back: open, friendly, perfectly fluent oral English with strong British accent, always a lot of smiles and laughs…… It was at this time when I realized how much going abroad could change me. Having experienced much in a developing country, I was determined to go to the United States and see the „real‟ world. Thank God, thank CFL Project, I got this precious opportunity: Jesus Christ, I could go to America!!! (AMAP-as much as possible ASAP-as soon as possible) B. ALL ABOUT HARVARD ASIA BUSINESS CONFERENCE (HABC) You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through. --- Rosalynn Carter a. I took off for the U.S. from Pudong International airport on March the 7th with another 15 team members. Well, what first excited me was that I had a chance of watching 4 latest blockbusters on the plane! After about 14 hours we landed in Chicago. Just the night view of the metropolis was enough to make me burst into tears. The U.S. is my ultimate dreamland and finally and precisely on March. 7th (local time), I was there!
We arrived in Boston about 4 hours later. Raining, it was a rather cold and wet day.
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However, everything was just so exciting! A world of cars, a world of highways, a world of skyscrapers, a world where Harvard and MIT are located……Oh my God, I could hardly believe it! b. Then the Big Days came—Harvard Asia Business Conference. CFL cooperated with HABC Since 2001. Rather than taking it as a conference, I‟d prefer taking it as a window, a door, through which I could see the peak of business world. Sponsored by Harvard University, MIT as well as Boston Consulting Group, Bain&Company, Simpson&Thatcher etc., this conference attracted a wholly lot of professors, managers and students (Me included…). c. There‟s another important point I want to emphasize here. It was during the conference when I got to know many college students who graduate from a rather famous university like Harvard etc. are seeking jobs in Asia. At the same time, a majority of us are trying our best to go to the US. What we‟ve neglected is a truth: Asia is the real place filled with opportunities. And multinational companies in China cherish local experiences more and more nowadays. So for many of us, it is better choice to accumulate some working experiences in China than going abroad directly after graduation. What I have learned is: international vision+ local experience=success in China. Well, how to develop an international vision then? It should be clarified that international vision doesn‟t necessarily equal going abroad quite often. It is more of the consciousness of making full use of globalization and trying to develop your business in the whole world instead of a limited region. An international vision, plus local working experiences (deep understanding of local culture, business conditions etc.) will guarantee your future career success. d. You won‟t know how significant networking is… Come on guys! Time for networking! Are there any better places than CFL where you can talk to the most successful businessmen, professors and students, take down their tel. Numbers, get advice and learn the most from them? The answer might probably be „NO‟. Imagine the time when you talk to a partner from Bain&Company (my favorite…) freely and get plenty of helpful suggestions about your future career path!!! CFL, this gratitude from myself is beyond description…… C. VISITING GREAT UNIVERSITIES To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act. ---Anatole France Who says you cannot dream now??? Please! Take a trip to the United States and you‟ll definitely become a dream girl/boy after seeing so much… At Columbia University, 3 famous Prof. Noel Capon, Prof. Ketty and Prof. Deana Kuhn gave our CFL delegates 3 excellent lectures.
I shed tears immediately when I saw the buildings in Columbia University. This is my
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dream school! I have been studying English so hard, partly due to my love of Columbia, and the New York City. Those teachers, students in there, old buildings, huge libraries, beautiful sunshine… I won‟t ask for anything better if I get the chance of living here for 1 or 2 years!!! Hey Columbia University, I will certainly come back one day! D. YOU ARE NEVER ALONE Hold a true friend with both hands. ---Nigerian Proverb Listen, you are not going to America by yourself, you‟re going with dozens of CFL team members! They are all from the most splendid universities, friendly, ambitious, hard-working…… This is the most gorgeous thing CFL can offer you. You live together, dine together, and day by day you develop profound friendship among yourselves. They are life-long wealth for you! E. THE END OR THE BEGINNING? Be true to your work, your word, and your friend. ---Henry David Thoreau I went to the U.S. in March, 2008. This has been the prettiest March. Also the trip to America has become the most beautiful memory in my college life. Many thanks for CFL, who offered me this opportunity, which showed me the „real‟ world, and for my lovely teammates, who made my trip more colorful and interesting. This is not the end, but another beginning. I know there‟s still something amazing outside waiting for me…… March 31, 2008 Shanghai International Studies University
