個(gè)人簡(jiǎn)介：
Name :?Umberto
姓名：孔若水
Country of Origin :?Italy
國(guó)籍：意大利
Occupation :?Student
職業(yè)：學(xué)生
Years in China :?3?years
在華居住時(shí)間：3年
The first time I had a Chinese friend was at the age of 6. I had two Chinese classmates who could barely speak Italian, but at that time language wasn’t as important as it is now.
我在 6 歲時(shí)交到了第一個(gè)中國(guó)朋友。那時(shí)候班上有兩個(gè)幾乎不會(huì)說(shuō)意大利語(yǔ)的中國(guó)同學(xué)，不過(guò)那時(shí)候語(yǔ)言也沒(méi)現(xiàn)在這么重要。
During my high school period around 16 years old, I started to work in a Chinese restaurant in the heart of Genova (my hometown) as a delivery guy, and that was funny because most of my friends were doing the same job but delivering pizza, when I was delivering fresh sushi, so I was the “Special” one.
在我讀高中的時(shí)候，大約 16 歲，我為熱那亞市中心（我的家鄉(xiāng)）的一家中國(guó)餐館送貨。說(shuō)起來(lái)好笑，那時(shí)候我大部分朋友也送餐，只不過(guò)他們都是送披薩，只有我是送壽司。我反而是最特殊的那一個(gè)。
2012 was when “Sushi fever” hit Italy and many Chinese restaurants (mostly people from Wenzhou) started to offer “all-you-can-eat” sushi, but that’s another story. Working with Chinese people taught me how to effectively manage my time, and also, the value of money as that was my first job.
2012年是“壽司熱”席卷意大利的時(shí)候，很多中餐館(大多是溫州人開(kāi)的)開(kāi)始提供壽司自助，但那是后話(huà)。和中國(guó)人一起工作教會(huì)了我如何有效地管理時(shí)間，也教會(huì)了我金錢(qián)的價(jià)值，因?yàn)檫@是我的第一份工作。
After graduating high school, I decided to study Chinese language at university and in the final year, I worked as a salesman in a Sunglasses shop in Venice. That was a turning point in my life and a key passage that brought me to Xiamen.
高中畢業(yè)后，我決定在大學(xué)里學(xué)習(xí)中文。大四那一年，我在威尼斯一家太陽(yáng)鏡商店當(dāng)售貨員。那算得上是我人生的一個(gè)轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)，并且把我?guī)У搅藦B門(mén)。
Once, a rich couple from Taiwan walked into our Shop in Venice and we started to have a conversation in Chinese. In some way we ended up talking about Chinese traditional culture while I convinced them to buy 9 pairs of branded glasses. Later this lovely couple invited me out for a dinner where they offered me a job, in Xiamen, as an interpreter, for the 98 洽談會(huì) (the Xiamen Exposition). That was just a dream for me, because I was already thinking about coming in China to study, and for an extreme coincidence I had already applied for Xiamen University!
有一次，一對(duì)來(lái)自臺(tái)灣的富有夫婦走進(jìn)我們?cè)谕崴沟纳痰?，我們用中文愉快地交流。我們甚至還聊到了中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)文化，最后他們一口氣買(mǎi)了九副品牌眼鏡。之后，這對(duì)夫婦邀請(qǐng)我共進(jìn)晚餐，并且給我介紹了一份在中國(guó)國(guó)際投資貿(mào)易洽談會(huì)（簡(jiǎn)稱(chēng) 98 洽談會(huì)）做翻譯的工作。一切對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)都像夢(mèng)一樣，因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)我就打算來(lái)中國(guó)進(jìn)修。而且更巧的是，我已經(jīng)申請(qǐng)了廈門(mén)大學(xué)！
I remember when I first got here was no doubt the most exciting time of my life. I traveled from hotel to hotel in Fujian visiting many companies improving my Chinese bringing it from book level to conversation level.
我還記得我剛到廈門(mén)的時(shí)候，無(wú)疑是我人生中最有趣的時(shí)光。我輾轉(zhuǎn)福建各大酒店，觀(guān)摩了許多公司，大大提升了我的中文水平。我的中文不再僅僅局限于書(shū)本，而是可以與人交流的程度。
Now I’m studying Journalism at Xiamen University and sometimes it is quite hard, but I’m living with Chinese people, sharing their passion and their stories, I start to believe in this country and I’ll be part of it in some way.
現(xiàn)在我在廈門(mén)大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)新聞學(xué)專(zhuān)業(yè)，有時(shí)候也覺(jué)得挺困難的。不過(guò)現(xiàn)在我和中國(guó)人生活在一起，共享喜怒哀樂(lè)，我開(kāi)始覺(jué)得或許某種程度上，我也能成為中國(guó)的一份子。
A little background on his hometown：
介紹一下 Umberto 的家鄉(xiāng)
My hometown is Genova (Genoa), situated in the north-west of Italian peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea. It is said to be the home of famous people such as Columbus, Paganini and more.
我的家鄉(xiāng)是熱那亞，位于意大利半島西北部，面對(duì)地中海。據(jù)說(shuō)是哥倫布、帕格尼尼等名人的故鄉(xiāng)。
作者：孔若水 翻譯：余欣陽(yáng)
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Email: luz@mts-tech.com
Home away from home?is a collection of the unique stories written by foreigners in China and compiled by MTS. Join us on this journey of exploring 100 different stories showcasing what it truly means to live in China!《家外之家》是一本外國(guó)人在中國(guó)的獨(dú)特故事集，由外國(guó)人撰寫(xiě)，精藝達(dá)公司征集匯編。歡迎外國(guó)朋友積極參與，和我們一起探尋100個(gè)不同的故事，展示生活在中國(guó)的真正意義！
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It has been?5 months?already since the “Home Away from Home” essay contest began! We appreciate all the foreign friends who have participated writing?55 unique stories?about their experience as expats in China.?On October 31st, the voting system closed, and after thorough counting of likes, reads and votes, today is the time to announce the?5 winners! Drumroll please...感謝大家?5 個(gè)月以來(lái)對(duì)《家外之家》征文比賽的關(guān)注！開(kāi)賽至今，我們一共征集到了?55 篇外國(guó)人在華故事，我們非常感謝此次積極參與征文活動(dòng)的外國(guó)朋友。2021 年 10 月 31 日，網(wǎng)站投票通道也已關(guān)閉。通過(guò)計(jì)算社交媒體點(diǎn)贊數(shù)、閱讀數(shù)、以及網(wǎng)站投票數(shù)，經(jīng)過(guò)激烈角逐,?5 名參賽者最終脫穎而出
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