DearDrWoods,
IpraytheGodthatyouwillopenandreadthisletteryourself.It’sreallyhardtostartwritingtoyou,muchmoredifficultthananyacademicessays.“WritealettertoDr.Woods”hasbeenahugeplaninmymindforalongtime.Ithoughtmyactioncouldbecomealaughstock.Oryouprobablywon’tevenhavethetimetocareaboutthissillygirl.Butpleasetakeseveralminutestoreadmystory--AlongwaytobeaRhodesstudent.
MynameisLucy,aforeignstudentcomesallthewayfromChina.I’mdoingmysecondyearsocialsciencedegree;butfirstyearinGrahamstown.IheardaboutRhodesUniversitywhenIwasinChinalongtimeago.MyfriendwhograduatedfromRhodes（EastLondonCampus）toldmethatRhodesisanexcellentuniversitywithagreatinternationalreputationandhighqualification.IfellforthearchitecturesstyleofGrahamstowncampuswhenthefirsttimeIsawitontheinternet.Ibelieveditwouldbeagreatexperiencetospendthreeyearsstudyinthispeacefulandbeautifulcampus.Furthermore,becauseIdreamedabouttomeetMr.NelsonMandelasinceIwaslittle（it’sanotherjokeofme）,soinsteadofcontinuingmyhighereducationinanyChineseUniversities,ItoldmyfamilyIwouldgotostudyatRhodesUniversityinSouthAfrica.
AfricawasawordthatrepresentspovertyandAIDSinmostofChinesepeople’smind.Soitwasatoughprocessformyentirefamilytounderstandandacceptmyidea,sinceI’mtheonlychildofmyparents,it’sevenharderandmuchbitterforthemtoletmego.ButIdidn’tknowwhythatdecisionwasfirmlysettledinmyheart.IsearchedasmuchinformationasIcouldaboutSouthAfricaandRhodes.Butunfortunately,IfoundoutthatIcouldn’tcometoRhodesstraightafterhighschoolbecauseIhavetoeitherwriteSouthAfricanmatriculationoraccomplishmyfirstyear’sstudyinChina.Obviously,Iwouldn’tabletowriteSouthAfricanmatricatthatstageandIalsomissedtheChinesenationalmatricbecauseIwaspreparingtogoaboard.Althoughitwassodisappointed,soonIwasguidedthatIcouldstudyforaone-yearfoundationcourseinEastLondonCollegefirst,thengotoeitherRhodescampus.Therefore,thatwastheonlychoiceleft.
InFebruary2004,averyfirsttimeforthis17year’slittleChinesegirltocatchaplane,toleaveherparents,herhome,andhercountry,inordertoachieveher“RhodesDream”.
Atthebeginning,everythingwasstrangeanddifficultforme,languagebarriers,strangepeopleandnewenvironment.IenrolledinaFinancialManagementfoundationcourseofRhodesUniversityforBComdegreeatEastLondonCollege.Therewasn’tevenasinglepersonwarnmeaboutthehanding-overstoryofRhodesEastLondoncampusatthebeginning.
Ihadnoaccountingstudybackgroundatall;Chinesehighschoolnevertaughtaccounting.SoIwastheonlyoneinmyclasswhoknowsnothingaboutthesubject.Iworkedextremelyhardtocatchupstudy,totrytopasseverytest.WhenIwassuffering,Iencouragedmyselfthat,ifyoumadethisthennextyearthistimeyouwillbeaRhodesstudent.
Withouteitherpublicorprivatetransport,Iwalked40minuteseverydaytogotocollegeand40minutesgohomewithheavybooksandgroceries.Therealwayswerepeoplestaredatme,whistledtome,eventrytorobmybag.Irememberonce,whenIwasonmywayhome,aguysuddenlyjumpoutfromthebushandblockedmywaytrytofightwithme,Igotsuchafrightandnearlyabouttoscreamforhelp.Butthatguylookedmeinastrangewayandfinallyasked“whydon’tyoudefendagainstmewithChineseKongFulikeJackieChandoes?”Alloftheseannoying,scaryandfunnythingshappenedtomebecauseI’mayoungorientalgirl.
Ilivedinatinygrannyflatmyselfduringthattime,sleptonthemattress,cookonthefloor,washbyhands,andreadtextbookswordbywordwiththehelpofdictionary.EverymorningwhenIwokeup,Ifeltsosadandempty,Idoubtedaboutmylife,whyImustlivefarfromhomeinthiscorneroftheothersideofworld,withnobodyhelpsorevencaresaboutme.Therearesomanyotheruniversitiesintheworld,whyonlyRhodes?Butthatstillwasn’ttheendofmydesperation.