Let me take a bit of time to recount some of my experiences here at Tsinghua University when I first arrived.
让我现在描写一下我刚来到清华的印象。

I received my admission notices back in the States from Tsinghua. The admission packet was well-prepared and had all the documents needed to understand what most of the costs would be, how to arrive at the correct location, and some other useful information.  Armed with my documents, that packet of information and what I could fit in 2 mid-size suitcases, I was on my way to Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
我在美国收到的接纳文件很齐全。多少费用，怎么到达，等等都列得很清楚。我装了两个手提箱，带着我的文件就去了北京的清华大学。

Arriving in the Haidian District of which Tsinghua was located in, I was taken towards the popular Wu Dao Kou area which I’ll soon become familiar with as the days go on, and then headed north to the Tsinghua Northeast Gate. This gate was a new gate for Tsinghua and it was located right beside the foreign student dormitories. These dormitories are called Zijing Dormitory, after a flower called the Chinese redbud (according to the dictionary). Entering campus from the gate, I quickly located the Enrollment Registration Building 22. I headed up to the 1st floor of the building and began the registration procedure at their offices. There was a line, but there were plenty of Tsinghua representatives that assisted in filling out applications. They were all very warm, friendly, and well-practiced in how to help out foreign students despite the language differences.
到了清华大学所在的北京海淀区，我往五道口的方向走。在将来的日子里我会对五道口越来越熟悉。我们到了五道口就往北走到达了清华大学的东北们。这座门是清华最新的门在留学生公寓的旁边。这些公寓名叫紫荆公寓。紫荆好像是清华的校花。我们进了东北门之后就找到了注册的22号楼。我们到了第一层就开始注册的过程。虽然有很长的队，但是清华的人员给了我们很多的帮助。他们对我们很照顾也很友善虽然我们的语言不同。

After the school enrollment registration was over in building 22, I then headed over to the 1st floor offices of building 19 to select dormitories. Apparently I mixed up the order of the processes, and by the time I got there, the options were extremely limited since everyone else went to building 19 first to select dormitories before going to 22. I ended up with an AB room and a friend of mine ended up with a single room in the Enrollment Registration building on that same floor, but opposite sides, which they warned could get pretty noisy.
注册完了，我们就到了19号楼的第一层去选我们的宿舍。但是因为我们早就应该先选宿舍然后再注册，所以当我们在选的时候，已经都满了。我只好拿一个AB房间。我的朋友拿了一个单人房在注册楼里的第一层。服务员跟我们说他的房间会特别吵因跟注册办公室在同一层。

My friend and I went to visit my room first. Upon opening the door to my AB suite we saw two doors leading to each of the bedrooms, and a kitchen on one side with a bathroom on the other. The kitchen was furnished with a microwave, drawers, countertop and a little sink. It looked very cozy. The bathroom was clean looking and fully furnished with towel rack, accessory holders, detachable showerhead and etc. Upon unlocking the door to my room and entering, I was greeted with a sunny room, a nice view of Beijing, and a desk with a good sized hutch atop, a bookshelf, wardrobe, single bed, chair, telephone, hot water boiler, a TV w/remote, TV stand w/drawers, and a welcome notice with sort of an FAQ on student life. The dorm was pretty clean and I could tell my next 6 months here would be comfortable.
我和我的朋友先参观了我的房间。打开我的AB宿舍的大门时看到了有两个门。这两个门是通到我和我未来的同屋个人的房间。一边有厨房，另一边有浴室。厨房里有一台微波炉。当我打开我房间的门，我看到了一间又清爽又明亮的小房间。从我的窗户可以看到北京。房间里有一张桌子，上面有书架，旁边也有书架，还有衣柜，椅子，床，电话，热水器，电视机，和一张欢迎的通告。房间很干净。当时我想未来的六个月在这房间里应该会很舒服。

Afterwards we visited my friends Single Room and we were greeted with a similar layout, but with a bathroom inside his room since it wasn’t a suite. He had a little countertop with a makeshift cupboard near the door and a larger wardrobe beside it. His wardrobe was about twice the size of mine. His room was furnished with the same things only he didn’t have the bookshelf mine did and did not have a microwave, but it was made up for with his larger wardrobe. His single room was quite a bit larger than my AB, but because it was on a lower floor it didn’t feel as bright and welcoming. My friend was quite satisfied though and had no qualms.
看完了我的房间，我们就去我朋友的房间。他的房间跟我的很相似。他房间里有一间浴室。他有个工作台也有比较大的衣柜。他的衣柜比我的大双倍。他比我的少了一个书架也没有微波炉。他的房间比我的AB大，但是因为在第一层所以比较暗。剩下的跟我的房间一样。他挺喜欢他自己的房间。

 This was our first day on our new campus and we were feeling quite excited. Our first impressions were of the willow trees lining alongside of the stream that runs through campus. We were amazed at the greenness of the campus and saw many people riding bikes everywhere. It was a very lively place and we could feel the energy of the local students. After entering further, we started to notice the imperfections of the University even compared to the very basic community colleges in the States with its manicured lawns. There were a lot of big dirt lots and worn down streets. The foreign student dormitory buildings however, struck us as very new and very tall. We were later to learn that out of a few popular language schools, that Tsinghua had the best living conditions for foreign students, despite the hot water schedule.

这是我们第一天在新大学感觉很兴奋。我们开始的印象觉得清华很绿，也有很多树沿着河边。我们对满校骑着自行车的学生们感觉很惊奇。我们感到清华的活力。当我们越看越多就开始看到清华比美国最普通的大学缺乏之处。我们看到了很多空空的土地和破旧的街道。在美国，最普通大学的草坪都是好好的维持。留学生的公寓感觉很新也很高大。我们后来听到清华大学的留学生宿舍是北京几所大学之间最好最舒服的宿舍虽然我们没有24小时的热水。

Despite the imperfections of this campus compared to the ones back home, we still felt an overwhelming sense of excitement, eagerness and curiousity. Compared to U.S. universities this campus may appear lacking, however perfectly groomed campuses does not necessarily reflect perfection in areas yet to be seen. Though this campus had very noticeable shortcomings on the surface, we felt those shortcomings really communicated the realities of not only this school, but the country as well. Imperfect walkways, blemished buildings, old abandoned bikes all add to a sense of where this country and its people are headed. That it doesn't all have to look flawless to be effective. A good book might not necessarily have a beautiful cover...

我们终结的感觉是又兴奋又好奇。虽然清华有表面上缺乏之处，但是它的缺乏之处对我们来说饱含着真实和实在。虽然美国大学的外表上很难找到缺乏之处，但是也还是有它的另一边。我们觉得这所大学不之代表自己也代表中国和中国人民。不一定要天衣无缝也可以很有效。一本好书不一定会有好的书面。。。。。。

Many thanks to Ms. Zuo for correcting the Simplified Chinese version of this essay. 这篇文章的中文部分要感谢左老师 的校对。

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