windy city rainy season

In January of this year, the first black president in American history was sworn in.At this time, the global financial tsunami triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis was still continuing. The United States fell into the most serious economic crisis since the 30s and [-]s, and the unemployment rate continued to rise.

Tao Yu’s brother had been an intern in a company for half a year, and had already negotiated with the employer to apply for a work visa. As a result, the company laid off one-third of the employees due to financial problems on the eve of graduation, and the brother lost his job. At that time, he wanted to apply for an extension There is no time for him to graduate or find another job. International students don’t need to be locals. If they can’t find a job two months after graduation, they have to go back and forth.

The dinner ended hastily in a melancholy atmosphere, and Tao Yu sent the half-drunk senior brother back to the apartment. All the furniture in the room had been sold, except for two lonely suitcases in the corner.Tao Yu couldn't help but feel emotional when he saw it. When the two boxes came, and now the two boxes go back, where should we put all the years of hard work in the middle?The senior brother refused to let Tao Yu go, there were still a few bottles of beer in the refrigerator, so he must be dragged to drink them up.

"Seven years!" The brother said excitedly, holding up the wine bottle, "Counting the first year of language school, I have stayed here for seven years and worked hard for seven years. I thought I could stay, but the result was still almost, almost a little!"

Tao Yu can understand the feeling of getting water from a bamboo basket in vain. It's okay if you can't see hope, but it's even more disappointing to see hope broken.

"Senior brother, let's be more careful, it's not because of lack of strength, it's because of the economic crisis..."

"The American dream sounds good. You don't need to know your background. As long as you work hard, you can achieve everything?!" The brother slammed the bottle on the carpet and said, "The stupid Americans in the company don't even understand the balance of materials. Can stay. No matter how well the foreign students do, we are the first to be dismissed!"

Tao Yu lifted the wine bottle up and stood it against the corner, persuading him, "This is a foreign country. The economy is not good now. In order to increase the employment rate in this country, companies that hire foreigners cannot get government subsidies."

"You don't understand..." The senior brother waved his hands with a dejected look on his face, "Foreign students have no foundation. Our high education is not as valuable as those old black and old ink in the labor market? Why is the policy for international students not as good as for them? Because they are the voters of the Democratic Party, the voters of the Republican Party are big capitalists, and the foreign students are not involved in either side, and they are not even eligible to vote, so no one is fighting for us, and there is no good policy!"

Tao Yu never raised this issue to a political level, and he had no way to refute the other party's words and he didn't know how to persuade him, so he could only drink with him in silence.

"I'm almost thirty, and I don't even have a girlfriend. I have a degree for nothing. Now it's not easy to study scriptures with a foreign diploma in China. I have to start all over again when I go back!"

"Brother, don't be too pessimistic. After all, you are in your own country when you go back. You have work experience here, and you are more at home in China."

"It's like a fish in water..." The other party smiled wryly, looked at him and asked, "What are your plans after graduation? Stay or go back?"

"I have to stay." Tao Yu said after taking a sip of his wine.

"Look, after persuading me for a long time, you are not chic."

"I can't be unrestrained." Tao Yu said helplessly, "I'm just like Old Pa, dragging my family along."

Old Panai is an Indian senior in the department. He has been studying for a Ph.D. here for eight years. His children are all in primary school, and he has not yet graduated.

"I forgot that there is still a family in your family." The brother nodded understandingly, "You'd better stay here, it's too troublesome to go back to the secular world. How is your project going?

"It has been two years. At this stage, we will mainly conduct experiments to analyze the main parameters that affect the discharge of pollutants in the process of sewage treatment."

The brother thought for a while and said: "This should be able to publish a few articles. Hurry up and write more and contribute more. In the future, the chances of going to Niu School after doing a Ph.D. will be greater."

"Post-doc?!" Tao Yu almost spit out his drink, "I'm the only post-doc? Don't be ridiculous!" He never thought that he was a research material. The United States came to study for a Ph.D., published articles, and gave reports at academic conferences. Not to mention that his former friends did not believe it, even he himself found it incredible.In his mind, he was able to achieve this step entirely because he followed the right supervisor, picked up a good project, and he would be very proud of being able to get a doctorate. He is still a postdoctoral fellow?It's a fantasy!

The brother looked at him strangely: "Why can't you be a postdoctoral fellow? You are recognized as the most suitable for research among these people in the department. We all guess that old Andrew will definitely recommend a good place for you in the future, maybe even associate professor It's all in one package."

Tao Yu stared at the other party dumbfounded, thinking that the eyes of the people in the department were all out of anger, and that he had sneaked into the revolutionary team and rolled shit balls like this, and no one noticed!

"Stop being humble, classmate." The senior brother patted him on the shoulder, "Hurry up and become a professor, and let my son study with you for a Ph.D. in the future!"

After coming out of his senior brother’s house, Tao Yu felt his footsteps were a little unsteady, and he dared not drive any more. He called Chang Zheng and asked him to come pick him up. " question, until Dr. Chang got off the taxi in front of him, he didn't think of a reason.The opponent stretched out a hand and waved it in front of him, and he grabbed it and stood up with the strength of the opponent.

"Doctor Chang?"

"Ok?"

"Do you think I can be an associate professor?" Tao Yu asked seriously, grabbing the other's arm.

"Ah."

"Don't deal with it, take a good look!"

Chang Zheng looked at him for five seconds and said, "Like."

"What do you look like?" Tao Yu asked unwillingly.

"Dizzy is the most similar to your tutor, you can be a full professor, how much wine have you drank?"

Tao Yu: "..."

In July, old Andrew was jointly invited by several universities in Shanghai to participate in a two-week academic exchange. At the same time, he was invited by professors from several other American universities.The old man was getting old, and he was worried that he was not used to traveling across the sea, so he asked the other party to pay for the travel expenses of an assistant. This assistant was naturally Tao Yu, who could also work as a translator.

The night before leaving, Tao Yu packed his luggage in the bedroom.

"Have you bought your ticket back to Beijing?" Chang Zheng asked in the living room.

"No, there are many planes from Shanghai to Beijing, so I can settle the old man first, and I can buy a ticket now." He needs to get a new visa when he returns to China this time, because his household registration is in Beijing, so he has to go to the American embassy in Beijing.

"After signing, go home and see your parents?"

Tao Yu didn't answer the call, he didn't tell his family that he was going back to China, every time the mother and son met, the atmosphere was not very good, and last time they broke up because of their injuries.As for his father, he didn't want to see him at all anyway.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Chang Zheng walked to the bedroom door and advised, "It's rare for you to go back to China, so it's good to have a meal with them."

Tao Yu closed the lid of the suitcase, lifted the luggage to the wall, hesitated and said, "No, they may not be in Beijing..."

The male teacher in charge of the reception in Shanghai is in his 30s, named Chen Li, who worked as a postdoctoral fellow with the old man eight years ago, so he can be counted as Tao Yu's senior brother.911 happened that year, and the whole of the United States panicked. It was even harder for foreigners to find a job than it is now.At that time, Chen Li received invitations from several domestic universities, and finally chose to come to Shanghai.

During dinner, Chen Li and the old man talked about the day after the collapse of the Twin Towers, the old man took Chen Li and two other students to New York and was invited to study the impact of the building collapse and the pollution caused by the fire on the surrounding commercial tenants.

"WewenttoanofficehalfamileawayfromtheWorldTradeCenter." Chen Li explained to everyone, "Thedustwassothickandtheroomlookedlikeithadbeenvacentforahundredyears."

The old man added: "The dust was accumulated in just one day. Wedida short-term exposure analysis and found all kinds of components in the dust, glass fibers, concrete, anhydrate, metal, and even as bestos." ingredients, glass fiber, cement (powder), dehydrated calcium sulfate (the main ingredient in American building walls), metal (powder), and even asbestos.)

"ThoughtasbestoshadbeenbannedfordecadesintheUS." Tao Yu said, "Itisthemostcommoncauseoflungcancer.Whenwerethetwintowersbuilt?" When was it built?)

"Asbestos was banned in the U.S.In1979. The twintowers were built a couple years before so I'm not surprised." A professor specializing in indoor air explained, turning to Chen Lidao, "Nooffence, but I believe as bestosis still wildly used in China. ts, insulators, and other building materials." (Translation: The United States banned the use of Asbestos. The Twin Towers were built a few years earlier than that, so not surprising. No offense, but asbestos is still widely used in China as far as I know. Asbestos has been found in thermal floors and other construction materials.)

The old man said: "I'veseenstudies showingifyouleaveinanasbestoscontaininghousebutyoudon'tsmoke,ortheoppositeway,theriskofgettinglungcancerwouldn'tbealothigherthannormal. Butifyousmokeandliveinanasbestoscontaininghouseatthesametime,themosterwouldcometoyou." Cancer risk if you smoke but don't live in a house with asbestos, or vice versa Not much higher than normal. But if you both smoke and live in a home with asbestos, the monster will find you.)

Tao Yu smiled and said, "Your house is new. I bet you out old Carol the story so she allows you to smoke at home."

The old man laughed: "Boy, you know me. This'swhy you are my favorite student!" (Translation: You know me too well. That's why you are my favorite student!)

After dinner, Chen Li sent the old man back to his room to rest. Chen Li asked Tao Yu if he wanted to have a drink together.Tao Yu readily agreed, since he couldn't sleep because of the jet lag, he happened to have a chat with his new senior brother, so the two found a quiet bar nearby.

"Hearing American professors talk about China's environmental protection, how do you feel?" Chen Li started talking.

"There are still many gaps in domestic environmental protection regulations." Tao Yu said, "This is also normal. There are so many things that are more important than asbestos houses. But some things can't be left alone because the impact was not seen at the time. Wait until you realize the consequences. Remedy, I am afraid it will take longer time and cost to recover."

Chen Li nodded and asked, "How many years have you been in America?"

"Three years."

"Always in Chicago?"

"Correct."

"Windy City..." Chen Li recalled, "I stayed in that city for a year, and I only remember that the winter is too hard, but other seasons are not bad."

Tao Yu felt quite the same: "Half of the year is winter, and even I, a northerner, feel it is too cold. If you live in the south, you must be even more uncomfortable."

Chen Li smiled and noticed that he was wearing a ring on his left hand holding the wine bottle: "Married? Your wife also goes to school there?"

"Engaged, he is a doctor at Northwest Hospital."

"Then you want to stay there after graduation?" Chen Li asked.

Tao Yu nodded: "That's the plan, but now the economy is in a downturn and it's very difficult to get a job."

"Compared with a company, a position in a school is safer. During the study period, I publish more articles and participate in academic conferences to strive for the opportunity to give reports." Chen Li said, "Most Chinese international students do not like to stand out and just work behind closed doors. This is not good. International students are not Basic outsiders, if you want others to recognize your research, you have to increase your own exposure.”

This is the second time Tao Yu has heard people say that "foreign students have no roots", but Chen Li's attitude is obviously more positive than that of the previous senior brother. If you have no roots, you can build your own roots. You can't just expect the outside world to find you, you must take the initiative to win attention. .Tao Yu felt that what Chen Li said was reasonable, but he also had concerns: "Andrew doesn't seem to be in favor of students submitting papers for conferences. He thinks that conferences have a lower threshold than journals, which will lower the level of papers."

"You have a good balance." Chen Li said, "Journal papers are the main measure of research level, but participating in conferences can allow you to meet more peers and let others know what you are doing. Let me tell you a trick, you can propose it at the conference. Thesis and preliminary experiments, and then publish the complete data analysis and final conclusions in journals. Some people think that this approach is utilitarian, but engineering itself is different from pure theory. Our research is not to be written into textbooks, but to be transformed into applications as soon as possible. The greatest possible marketization, don't you think?"

Tao Yu couldn't help but nodded. Chen Li's point of view gave him some inspiration and changed his perspective on research.

"Brother, why did you choose to come back in the first place? I heard from Andrew that he actually wanted to keep you as a postdoctoral fellow for a few more years. After the 911 storm has passed, you can definitely find an associate professor position there."

"It's similar to your nature." Chen Li said, "You want to stay, and I have no choice but to come back."

Tao Yu understood, clinked glasses of wine with the other party and said: "The treatment in domestic colleges and universities is not bad, and it may be better than staying there to develop."

Chen Li smiled, noncommittal, slowly drank the wine in the glass, and the two went back to rest.

Tao Yu always thought that this was a purely academic exchange. When Chen Li mentioned that there would be leaders attending the opening ceremony, he thought it was just the school leaders.Before the event started, the professors from both sides were chatting in the conference hall. Tao Yu was concentrating on interpreting for old Andrew. Suddenly, a group of people came in from outside. He glanced casually. When he saw the person accompanied by the principal, he seemed to be struck by lightning. He stayed where he was, and met the other party's equally surprised eyes.

The corner of Tao Yu's mouth twitched, and he yelled inaudibly: "Dad?!"