Name :?Dr. Nic Tam
姓名:譚志忠
Hometown :?Johannesburg/Cape Town, South Africa
家鄉(xiāng):南非約翰內斯堡 / 開普敦
Occupation :?Sports Science Researcher
職業(yè):體育科學研究員
Years in China :?Almost 3 years
在華居住時間:將近 3 年
How did your journey in China begin?
你的中國之旅是怎樣開始的?
I always had a curiosity about living in China since my family is originally from The Guangdong Province, although it was not a priority of mine. My family left China in the early 1900s and only visited periodically so what I knew about the country were really old-fashioned and idealized stories that uncles, aunties and neighbors shared with me during family reunions and mahjong evenings. I studied in Cape Town and before coming to China I spent some time in Canada and Spain where I lead different research projects. My previous boss took up a contract to head up an innovation team in China. He spoke to me previously and I was offered a position to come work here while I was working as a visiting professor at the University of the Basque Country, in Bilbao. I came to visit Xiamen when I was offered the job and was deeply impressed. The city seemed pretty relaxed and laid back and it beat my expectations about a busy Chinese city.
在中國生活是怎樣的,我一直充滿好奇。我的家人來自廣東省,但這并不是最重要的。我的家人在上世紀90年代初離開中國,之后偶爾才回國,所以我對中國的了解還停留在過去,而且非常理想化,家庭團聚和打麻將的時候,叔叔、阿姨和鄰居才會跟我講起中國。我在開普敦學習,來中國之前,我曾在加拿大和西班牙度過了一段時間,在那里我主導各種研究項目。我以前的老板簽了一份合同,負責領導中國的一支創(chuàng)新團隊。我在畢爾巴鄂的巴斯克大學擔任客座教授時,他找我談話,給我一份在廈門的工作機會。所以我就來到了廈門,這里給我留下了深刻的印象。這座城市似乎非常愜意悠閑,與我想象中中國都市繁忙的景象完全不同。
What do you like most about China (or Xiamen)?
你最喜歡中國(或者廈門)的什么?
Safety is amazing and I take that for granted now. Additionally, there is a lot of convenience with services such as Taobao, WaiMai, Alipay, which can be done with your phone here, it is amazing. Something that impressed me, as a sports researcher, was the fact that the Chinese population is very active, regardless their age, everyone from the ayis (aunties) dancing in the square or the elderly practicing taichi in the park to how sports practice is imbued in the education system from a very young age to university levels. It impressed me that students have to pass a certain level sports courses to continue in their educational career, even if their major is not sports-related. The sports focus here is completely diverse and more focus is on basketball, badminton, ping-pong, etc. and not the disciplines I was exposed to back home such as cricket or cycling that are popular in South Africa. Interestingly enough, I have done dragon-boat races in South Africa in the past, but I have not had the chance to try it in China yet, although the Jimei Dragon Boat races are well-known! I hope I have the chance to join next time.
生活在中國十分安全,令人震驚,但我現在認為這是理所當然的。另外,淘寶、外賣、支付寶等也很方便,用手機就可以輕松搞定,真是太棒了。作為一名體育研究人員,讓我印象深刻的是,中國人非?;钴S,從廣場上跳舞的阿姨到公園里練太極的老人,從孩童時期到大學階段,無論年齡大小,體育鍛煉貫穿始終。即使他們的專業(yè)與體育無關,學生也必須通過一定水平的體育考試才能升學。體育運動的形式是多樣的,主要是籃球、羽毛球、乒乓球等,而不是板球或自行車等我在南非接觸過的流行項目。有趣的是,我以前在南非參加過龍舟比賽,但我在中國還沒有機會嘗試,集美龍舟比賽是出了名的!希望下次有機會參加。
What fascinated you the most about living in China?
生活在中國,最吸引你的是什么?
What fascinates me currently here is the overall development of the country and how rapid things get done here. The economic development is astounding and the industry is competitive. For instance, the sports company I work for is relatively young but extremely successful and developing at an amazing pace. The other fascinating thing is that Xiamen is practically the hub of Chinese sportswear companies. Most people are unaware of the fact that sports equipment factories are located in the neighboring city of Quanzhou, so for me, coming here to apply my sports research and knowledge to the actual development of the industry was undoubtedly the right decision.
我對這個國家的整體發(fā)展情況以及快速的辦事效率印象深刻。中國的經濟發(fā)展取得了驚人的成就,各行各業(yè)競爭激烈。我所在的體育公司是個新興企業(yè),但卻非常成功,而且發(fā)展速度驚人。另一個吸引我的點:廈門是中國運動服裝公司的中心。很多人都不知道,運動裝備廠都建在泉州附近,所以對我來說,在這里我可以把體育研究和相關知識應用到實際的發(fā)展中,來這里生活無疑是一個正確的決定。
What is your unique China story?
你在中國有什么獨特的經歷?
The first time that I actually participated in off-road trail running was in China. In my own experience, the unique thing that happened to me was that the distance advertised at the competition poster is never the real one, as it usually turns out to be longer! The longest distance I’ve done was 43 km and it was advertised as 42 km, and I thought it was a marathon on road but it turned out to be off-road and rough. Another time, I participated in a race near Sanming that was advertised as a 25 km run and ended up being 32 km! The organizers decided last minute that they wanted us to run next to the newly-built river promenade, making the race longer. It was a real challenge but totally worth the view and picturesque landscape.As a sports researcher and an Olympic Games fan, I look forward to the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics where China will certainly display the great infrastructure, sports equipment and hosting skills they showed in the past.
我第一次真正參加越野跑是在中國。以我個人經驗而言,越野跑比賽海報上宣傳的距離都不是實際距離,實際距離更長!我跑過的最長距離是43公里,而海報上說是42公里,我以為是公路馬拉松,結果卻是崎嶇的越野跑。還有一次,我在三明附近參加了一場比賽,宣傳只有25公里,結果跑了32公里!賽事組織者在最后一刻決定讓我們在新建的河濱長廊旁邊跑步,從而延長比賽時間。這真是一個巨大的挑戰(zhàn),但看到路上如畫的風景時,你會感覺一切都是值得的。作為一名體育研究者和奧運迷,我期待即將到來的北京冬奧會,屆時,中國一定會向世界展示先進的基礎設施、體育器材和豐富的辦賽經驗。
作者:譚志忠 翻譯:潘澤彬
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