作者：Alain Thirion
翻譯：Ouattara Nanfro (fr_en)、何羽婷(fr_zh)
校對：Luz、Joanne
It is always by chance that we fulfill our destiny.
總是在不期然之中成就自己的命運。
Just as I have always preferred mixtures and alloys: mixing flavors in cooking or alloying materials in general, I have always felt a little cramped in my culture. So, in order to add a little salt to the caramel of my life in Belgium, I felt like going “elsewhere”.
我一直對融合菜和混合菜情有獨鐘：味道的融合或者多種材料的混合，我感覺自己一直局限在民族文化的小小角落里。因此，為了在我比利時生活的焦糖里面加少許鹽，我有了到“別處”游歷的想法。
After having visited many countries I realized that the best place to live was China, and this after having walked the length and breadth of the country for three months at the end of the last century.
在游歷了許多國家之后，我意識到，對我而言，最理想的居住地是中國，這是上世紀(jì)末的三個月里，我從東到西、從南到北考察之后得出的結(jié)論。
Back in my flat homeland, I made the decision to learn Mandarin. It was the best idea of my life, because although I didn’t manage to learn this language, it allowed me to meet the woman of my life: my Chinese teacher.
回到地勢平坦的故鄉(xiāng)之后，我決定學(xué)習(xí)普通話。這是我一生中最絕妙的想法，因為雖然我沒有能學(xué)會這門語言，但卻讓我邂逅了我生命中的女人：我的中文老師。
A year later we were married and jumped over the Great Wall hand in hand. We landed in Xiamen, because it was in this charming city that her mother lived.
結(jié)婚一年后，我們攜手爬上了長城。隨后我們在廈門落地，因為我的岳母就居住在這座魅力之城。
Lasting happiness does not come from the acquired, but from perpetual change.
長久的幸福并不來自于所擁有的，而來自于不斷求變。
After spending a few years in the art business between Belgium and China, I was offered to teach French. I was surprised by this proposal because I had no teaching background, but on further reflection I thought it might be an experience worth trying.
在經(jīng)歷了比利時和中國之間數(shù)個寒來暑往的商業(yè)貿(mào)易之后，有人建議我去教授法語課程。完全沒有教學(xué)背景的我，對此感到驚訝。但考慮之后，我對自己說，這或許值得一試。
I was right to do so, because I quickly realized that this interaction of brain to brain, very different, was exciting. Having said that, I had already realized how enriching these intercultural exchanges of ideas were during the discussions I had, and still have, with my wife.
在這個過程中，我很快意識到，這種思想與思想的碰撞，因人而異，是非常激動人心的。我這樣說，是因為我已然了解，這種跨文化的思想交流是如何豐富我的頭腦，我一直在這么做，特別是與我的妻子交流。
Another major advantage of “face-to-face” teaching is the fact that you can communicate with a real person, whereas the vast majority of people today, with their eyes permanently glued to their phones, are busy scrolling through nonsense. But hey, that’s called progress and I think it should be universal.
面對面授課另一大優(yōu)勢是：你可以和一個人真正地交流。如今，絕大多數(shù)人眼睛長期盯著手機，忙著瀏覽廢話。但是，嘿，這就叫進步，我認(rèn)為這種現(xiàn)象很普遍。
All the Diversity, all the Charm, all the Beauty of Life is made of Shadow and Light (Leo Tolstoy)
生命當(dāng)中的一切多元化、一切魅力、一切美好都由光和影組成（引述自萊昂?托爾斯泰）
As I am used to walking with my nose in the air (paying attention to the motorbikes of the deliverymen who are the kings of the sidewalks), I could see how beautiful the city of Xiamen was, how clean it was and how it gave off a feeling of well-being and security; all these qualities that are cruelly lacking in many cities around the world today.
由于我習(xí)慣逍遙自在地散步，觀察人行道上送貨員的摩托車，我發(fā)現(xiàn)，廈門是多么美麗與干凈的一座城市啊，給人一種幸福感和安全感；所有這些都是當(dāng)今世界許多城市極度缺乏的。
Of course, my grumpy old character is sometimes spurred on by certain traits of my hosts.
當(dāng)然，我這個愛抱怨的性格有時會被我主人的某些特征所刺激。
Whether it’s sneezing, renovating a home or business, or talking on the phone, it has to be done loudly so that everyone is aware of what’s going on. On the other hand, this has the advantage of drowning out the noise of (preferably large) car horns. As far as the administrative procedures are concerned, which are sometimes as complicated as in all administrations of the world, the lack of knowledge of the Chinese language is not an asset. But fortunately since the people of the community of Guanren “one world” are pleased to take me by the hand, these steps are no longer a problem.
不論是打噴嚏，翻新一所房子或者一家商鋪，或者打電話，聲音要大，這樣才能讓所有人知道發(fā)生了什么事。另一方面，這樣做的好處是可以蓋過汽車?yán)鹊脑胍簦ㄗ詈檬菑娭菩缘兀?。說起辦理行政手續(xù)，有時候和世界上其他行政部門一樣繁瑣。這時候，不懂中文實在不算是什么長處。好在官任社區(qū)“同一個世界”的人善意向我伸出援手，這些手續(xù)就不再是個問題了。[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
To conclude, I would say that the outcome of my expatriate experience in China, in spite of these minor inconveniences, which have the advantage of spicing up my life a bit, is very positive.
作為結(jié)語，我說，盤點完我在中國身為外來人的經(jīng)歷后，盡管有一些大大小小的不便，像是在生活中加了點辣椒，我的意見是人們可以更積極一點。
Already, meeting someone else is very enriching because this person sees us and considers us as we appear, something we are unable to do, even in front of a mirror. And if this “other” has a different culture from ours, it’s all the better.
是的，遇見另一個人是十分充實的，因為當(dāng)我們出現(xiàn)，這個人看見我們，打量我們，這樣的事情我們自己做不到，即使在鏡子前。如果這個“其他人”所屬的文化與我不同，那就更妙了。
It is through the “other” that I can truly grasp my existence and access a true knowledge of myself. Not to mention the fact that all cultural progress is a function of a coalition between cultures; a coalition that is all the more fertile, as it is established between more diversified cultures.
從“其他人”那里，我能夠真實地把握自我的存在，并獲得正確的自我認(rèn)知。更不用說，所有的文化進步是文化聯(lián)合的結(jié)果，一個更加豐富的聯(lián)合，是建立在更多元化文化基礎(chǔ)之上。
Well, I’m going to stop here, because my neighbor decided to try out his brand new jackhammer tonight.
好，就此歇筆。因為我的鄰居決定今晚要試一下他的全新電鉆。
