刚回来的一个星期了，生活日夜颠倒。总是夜里两三点就突然醒来，而且精神亢奋，然后早上七八点的时候开始犯困----于是买了运动服球鞋，每天坚持舒展一下筋骨，总算回到了东八区。

潮阳也搞美食节了！人很多，什么东西都有，鹿肉，麻雀肉，鸵鸟肉，鳄鱼肉---很奇怪什么时候潮汕有这等美食。

学车，切身体会到传说中车教练的脾气，想想每天在尘土飞扬的车场绕，很难脾气不会变暴躁。

每天还是会看凤凰卫视，二三十个电视台当中，也就觉得只有这个可以看看了。凤凰早班车，杨锦麟的有报天天读，鲁豫有约等好几个节目办得还是很不错的。不得不佩服刘长乐！ 从军队到金融，再到媒体，都游刃有余。

对于其他很多电视台，大部分时间都在播一些很无聊的东西。什么领导开会啦（who cares）, 药品广告啦（那些“砖家”的来头都很大），还有很多很没创意播了很多很多年还在播的广告。看了之后觉得媒体行业在中国还是有很大空间的。以后有一天不当科学家了，真的应该考虑搞传媒！

天涯也是一个很有意思的地方。虽然上面杂七杂八什么东西都有，但不可否认的是作为国内最大的论坛之一，他具有不可比拟的真实性，无论是好是坏。在那里，可以切身感受到中国民间正在发生的事。这些在中央电视台或是其他电视台或网站是看不到的。这不得不说是中国媒体的一个悲哀。

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很多年没在家过冬至了，看老爸老妈忙着办节料，拜公祖，感到一种久违的亲切。这在潮汕风俗里算一个大节了吧。老妈还是自己做“肉丸仔”，煮“冬至丸”，炸素菜，还有鸭啊，鱼啊，肉啊 ----很是丰盛。想起小时候最喜欢的就是这种过节的感觉！！老妈说这次难得我回来，一定要去跟老祖公，老祖婆，老公公，老婆婆，公婆上炷香，保佑平平安安。摆香炉，插香的顺序都是很有讲究的。

想想，潮汕的地方习俗还是很有意思的。特别是在外面混了这么多年之后，更是觉得地方风俗对一个人的意义。这里一年下来过的节还是很多的，除了春节到正月十五那段日子每天要过的节之外，二十四节气里有不少也是要过的。像春分，秋分，冬至拜公祖，清明上坟，夏至，七月初七，七月十五开鬼门关，七月二十“插秧”，中秋，佛诞，十二月初四老爷上天------

还有拜天公（最隆重的祭拜仪式），“赛桌”（直译），拜伯公，城皇公，“庶民公”（纯粹音译），地主爷，“床脚婆”-----很多都已经记不清了。

以前学校里说这些是封建迷信，现在觉得这些是值得保留的民风民俗。为什么既然我们过别人的Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas 过得那么“有滋味”（虽然不一定知道或能体会到到过那些节日的含义）, 却要摒弃自己的节日呢？很久之前在《联合早报》看到龙应台的一篇文章 《在紫藤庐和 Starbucks 之间──对「国际化」的思索》，感触颇深。其中有几段话讲的很好，

不是移值别人的节庆，不是移植别人的语言，那么「国际化」是什么？
    
    它是一种知己知彼。知己，所以要决定什么是自己安身立命、生死不渝的价值。知彼，所以有能力用别人听得懂的语言、看得懂的文字、讲得通的逻辑词汇，去呈现自己的语言、自己的观点、自己的典章礼乐。它不是把我变得跟别人一样，而是用别人能理解的方式告诉别人我的不一样。所以「国际化」是要找到那个「别人能理解的方式」，是手段，不是目的。

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 欧洲的现代与传统之间也有一种紧张的拉锯，但是他们至少认识到，传统的「气质氛围」，并不是一种肤浅的怀旧情怀。当人的成就像氢气球一样向不可知的无限的高空飞展，传统就是绑着氢气球的那根粗绳，紧连着土地。它使你仍旧朴实地面对生老病死，它使你仍旧与春花秋月冬雪共同呼吸，使你的脚仍旧踩得到泥土，你的手摸得到树干，你的眼睛可以为一首古诗流泪，你的心灵可以和两千年前的作者对话 

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最近电视里听到最多的就是改革开放30年的辉煌成就。改革开放，改革了很多，开放了很多，自己原来的东西有留住了多少呢？

I have been thinking about this entry for quite a while, but the busy schedule has always put me off.

Finally I got a free weekend and here I am sitting in this cosy reading room of the college, with some unknown classical music in the background, pondering about the title.

My new neighbour Bahig, is a medical student from Egypt. In our first chat, I learnt that his journey into cambridge wasn't really that smooth-sailing, or indeed rather bumpy.

He knew from the beginning that he wanted to do medicine. After finishing A-level in 2004, he started applying for medicine in UK. However, none of the schools that he applied for gave him an interview, despite his straight-As results. He took a gap year and applied again, the outcome was the same. After the failure, he went back to Egypt and started a medical course at the Hospital of Alexander. Undeterred by the failure, he applied for medicine again two years later and finally Cambridge gave him an interview as well as a place.

Mike is an old gentleman that I have always met in the reading room. Every morning at around 7 to 8 o'clock, he will be there studying, doing example sheets. One will be surprised to know that at the age of 60, he is actually a second year mathematics undergraduate student. After working in Philip and many other MNC for nearly 40 years, he decided that there was something more important in life. So he enrolled in a regional college in Cambridge to redo his A-level.

He said he has always wanted to do mathematics and physics since young. However, a scholarship offered by Philip changed his mind after A-level at 18. He went on to study “triple E” in Imperial college. Over the years, many things happened to and around him made him to reflect on things that are important in life. Hence after retirement, he chose to go back to school and sit with the teenagers in the class to do something that he has always wanted to do. Since he is really passionate about math and physics, he passed all the exams with flying colour and here he is, a Cambridge undergraduate mathematic student.

There are a few more, all matured students and all have some very interesting story to tell.

Being in a matured college allows me to look at education in a wider and more profound perspective.

It is always inspiring to hear about such stories, especially when they are around you.

Bahig tells a story of how determination could help one get to his dream.

Mike makes me think that studying is probably not JUST a means to an end.