中人惯使筷子，西人喜用刀叉。细微之处的感性差别，较真起来追究下去，却能衍生出对国民性格这样宏大议题的理性观感。生活之中，见微知着之事，比比皆是。
这本观察手札也是如此。即便是小如校园围墙之内，朝花夕拾、趣闻逸事这样的生活花边，新鲜、感叹之余，不经意之间却领略了不同的文化。
留学观察中的种种趣事背后，莫不隐藏着管理模式的差异、处世哲学的相悖、思维方式的相左，直至传统文化的冲突。
“事”虽“趣”，但蕴含其中的“理”却如一针见血般的锐利。
哈佛大学校长写给普通学生的信
从哈佛大学毕业两年多了，但是在我的电子邮箱中，一直保存着哈佛（德鲁·福斯特）大学校长DrewG.Faust女士发给每一位哈佛大学学生的邮件。
邮件全文如下：
LetterfromPresidentFaustabouttheglobaleconomiccrisisCambridge,Mass.
November10,2008ToHarvardFaculty,Students,andStaff:
IwritetodayabouttheglobaleconomiccrisisanditsimplicationsforusatHarvard.
Weallknowoftheextraordinaryturbulencestillroilingtheworld"s？nancialmarketsandthebroadereconomy.Thedownturniswidelyseenasthemostseriousindecades,andeachday"sheadlinesremindusthatheightenedvolatilityandpersistinguncertaintyhavebecomeourneweconomicreality.
Forallthechallengessuchcircumstancespresent,wearefortunatetobepartofaninstitutionremarkableforitsresilience.Overcenturies,Harvardhasweatheredmanystormsandsustaineditsstrengththroughdif？culttimes.Wehavedonesobystayingtruetoouracademicvaluesandourlong-termambitions,bycarefullystewardingourresourcesandthoughtfullyadaptingtochange.Wewilldosoagain.
ButwemustrecognizethatHarvardisnotinvulnerabletotheseismicfinancialshocksinthelargerworld.Ourowneconomiclandscapehasbeensigni？cantlyaltered.Wewillneedtoplanandactinwaysthatre？ectthatreality,toassurethatwecontinuetoadvanceourprioritiesforteaching,research,andservice.
Ourprincipalsourcesofrevenuearealllikelytobeaffectedbytheseneweconomicforces.Consider,？rst,theendowment.Asaresultofstrongreturnsandthegenerosityofouralumniandfriends,endowmentincomehascometofundmorethanathirdoftheUniversity"sannualoperatingbudget.Ourinvestmentshaveoftenoutperformedfamiliarmarketindexes,thankstoskillfulmanagementandbroaddiversi？cationacrossassetclasses.Butgiventhebreadthandthedepthofthepresentdownturn,evenwell-diversi？edportfoliosareexperiencingmajorlosses.Moody"s,aleading？nancialresearchandratingsservice,recentlyprojecteda30percentdeclineinthevalueofcollegeanduniversityendowmentsinthecurrent？scalyear.Whilewecanhopethatmarketswillimprove,weneedtobepreparedtoabsorbunprecedentedendowmentlossesandplanforaperiodofgreater？nancialconstraint.
Theeconomicdownturnalsoputspressureonotherrevenuesthatfuelourannualbudgets.Donorsandfoundationswillbeharderpressedtosupportouractivities.Federalgrantsandcontractsforsponsoredresearchwillbesubjecttotheintensi？edstressonthefederalbudget.Tuitionremainsanimportantsourceofrevenue,butintimeslikethesewewanttokeepincreasesmoderate,mindfulthatmanystudentsandfamiliesarefacingeconomicstrain.
OverthepastseveralweeksIhavebeenmeetingindividuallyandcollectivelywiththedeansofthefaculties,aswellastheCorporation,toshareideasonhowwecanbestrespondtothischangedeconomicenvironment.Weneedtosustainourhighacademicambitionsatthesametimethatwebringgreater？nancialdisciplinetoallouractivities.Wehavetothinknotjustaboutwhatmorewemightwishtodo,butwhatwemightdoatadifferentpaceordowithout.Tradeoffsandhardchoicesthatcanbeavoidedintimesofplentycannotbeavertednow.And,giventheongoingvolatilityanduncertainty,weneedtoplanandbudgetwitharangeofcontingenciesinview,includingscenariosforreducingourspendingboththisyearandnext.
Asweplan,wemustalsoaf？rmourstrongcommitmentto？nancialaidforourstudents.InHarvardCollege,thatwillmeancarryingforwardourrecentyears"
initiativestomakeaHarvardeducationaffordableforoutstandingstudentsfromlow-andmiddle-incomefamilies.Asbefore,familieswithincomesbelow60000willpaynothingtosendachildtoHarvardCollege,andfamilieswithincomesupto180000andtypicalassetscanexpecttopaynomorethanapproximately10percentofincome.Acrossourgraduateandprofessionalschools,wewillmaintain？nancialaidbudgetsatleastattheircurrentlevels-andensurethatourstudentsstillhaveaccesstoneededloans,eventhoughmanybanksaremakingthemlessreadilyavailable.
Wehavelongbeendedicatedtoresearchandthediscoveryofnewknowledgeacrossawiderangeoffieldsofscientificandhumanisticinquiry.
InrecentyearswehavemadesignificantinvestmentstowardbreakingdownintellectualbarriersacrossdisciplinesandacrossSchoolstogeneratenewknowledgeandtodevelopnewcoursesandeducationalopportunitiesforourstudents.Thesecommitmentsmustcontinuetoguideusaswemakedecisionsandchoicesinasigni？cantlymoreconstrained？scalenvironment.
Harvardvaluesitsreputationasastableandsupportiveemployer,andweviewourworkforceasacriticalpartofallwedo.WerecognizeaswelltheresponsibilitythatcomeswithbeingoneofthelargestemployersinthecommonwealthofMassachusetts.Atthesametime,changingfinancialrealitieswillrequireustolookcarefullyatcompensationcosts,whichaccountfornearlyhalftheUniversity"sbudget.
译文如下：
福斯特校长关于全球经济危机的公开信
致全体哈佛教师、学生以及工作人员：
我今天就全球经济危机及其对哈佛大学的影响发表这封公开信。我们都知道，金融市场以及宏观经济仍然处于动荡和混乱状态中。这种低迷将在接下来的数十年中持续，现在每天的报刊头条报道都提醒着我们，我们的经济正在变得不稳定且多变。
面对现在的诸多挑战，我们庆幸处于这样一个富有弹性的组织机构中。
在过去几个世纪中，哈佛大学经受了多次考验，并坚持着渡过难关。我们的秘诀在于，坚持高尚的学术价值规范，时刻怀有长远的抱负，小心谨慎地调配资源并应对变化。我们现在将再次实践这些信条。
但是我们必须意识到，在金融危机面前，哈佛并非无坚不摧。经济形势已经发生了翻天覆地的变化，我们下一步的计划和举措必须结合现实，才能确保我们可以继续扩充哈佛在教学、科研和服务领域的资产。
我们重要的收入来源在经济危机中都受到重创。首先是捐赠。凭借着校友们的无私馈赠，校友捐赠已经占据了学校每年财政预算的三分之一以上。我们的资产投资运营也表现良好，感谢我们资深的资产管理队伍。但是考虑到现在经济危机的深度和广度，即使哈佛最良性的资产也正在不断缩水。据着名的资产评级公司Moody最近的调查研究显示，本财政年度的哈佛资产和校友捐赠已经缩水30%。我们固然可以寄希望于市场的恢复，但是我们需要为即将到来的捐款缩水和更严峻的财政局面做好准备。
