A Conversation About School

(This is my dream journal dated 11 February 2004)

My cousin Hugo, grandpa and I are having dinner together at Grandpa’s old tiny flat. Over dinner Hugo and I have some discussions about the schools and colleges in the United States. I am flicking through a thick catalogue of the Colleges and Universities in the United States (I must be looking for a school to go to and wishing Hugo could help me on this).

'How come I can’t find a single school that would suit me to go to, amongst hundreds of schools, Hugo?' I ask.

Hugo looks at me with a modest and a student-like smile in his face (that typical smile of his) and replies after giving a thought to my question:

'Why are you still worried about academic achievements, Xiaobo (my Chinese name)? Didn’t you graduate from one of the most privileged Universities in China?'

I am quite confused and puzzled. But I guess he is right.

'To be frank, Xiaobo, I don’t think you will find any school in this book that offers what you want to learn.' He goes on saying.