My China journey began in the year 2015 when I came to China for the first time with a tentative plan to spend one semester here, and then decide if I wanted to stay longer. I had come to China on CSC scholarship for my PhD, but at that time I also had another scholarship offer from a university in another country. The semester there, however, would have started in the year 2016 in February. So, what initially started out as a one semester plan, turned into almost 7 years and counting.
2015 年，我的中國之旅正式起航。那是我第一次來中國，暫定呆一個(gè)學(xué)期，然后再?zèng)Q定是否要繼續(xù)留在中國。我是拿著中國留學(xué)基金委 (CSC) 的獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金來華讀博士的，當(dāng)時(shí)也有另一個(gè)國家的大學(xué)給我提供獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金。然而，那個(gè)國家新學(xué)期是 2016 年 2 月開始的。因此，最初只打算在中國呆一個(gè)學(xué)期，但如今已過了將近 7 年。
If I were to pen down one single reason of why I chose to stay, it would not be possible. Was it the people, the opportunities, the city itself, I could not pinpoint, but what I can say for sure is that it was definitely more than one reason that extended the China chapter of my life. One big reason was me having another home away from home in Shanghai as my sister also had started her PhD at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. And oh, did I mention I also met my now husband in China, for that this country will always have a special place in my heart.
如果要我只寫一個(gè)留在中國的理由，那是不可能的。是這里的人民、機(jī)遇還是城市本身，讓我選擇留下來，我無法確定。但我可以肯定的是，一定不止一個(gè)原因讓我續(xù)寫了生命中的中國篇章。其中一個(gè)重要的原因是我在上海有個(gè)家，因?yàn)槊妹迷谏虾＝煌ù髮W(xué)攻讀博士學(xué)位。哦！我在中國遇到了我現(xiàn)在的丈夫，所以中國在我心中永遠(yuǎn)占有一個(gè)特殊的位置。
I got enrolled at University of International Business and Economics for the International PhD program. I went through all the emotional highs and lows that come with moving your life to another country altogether. I already had done it one time at the age of 16, when my family made the move from UAE to Pakistan, but nothing could have prepared me for how different the life in China is compared to the other two countries I had experience of. Little did I know that the differences would become the reason for me wanting to extend my stay.
我被對外經(jīng)濟(jì)貿(mào)易大學(xué)國際博士項(xiàng)目錄取了。我必須來到另一個(gè)國家，經(jīng)歷在異國他鄉(xiāng)生活帶來的所有情緒上的高潮和低谷。我 16 歲的時(shí)候就經(jīng)歷過一次了，當(dāng)時(shí)全家從阿聯(lián)酋搬到了巴基斯坦。但中國與阿聯(lián)酋、巴基斯坦相比，存在著巨大的差異，我沒有做好充足的準(zhǔn)備來面對這些差異。萬萬沒想到，這些差異竟然成了我想留在中國的理由。
Upon arrival, I immediately found myself caught in the whirlwind of the crazy Beijinger life as a Laowai. I was not familiar with the culture, hardly spoke a work of the language, got lost every single time I went out. Consequence: the very third day in China which happened to be my birthday I sat in front of my dormitory building and cried because I was feeling overwhelmed. I got a call from my mum, and she gave me all the courage that I needed to take this as a challenge and enjoy every second of it. I took the advice to heart and from the very next day I started immersing myself in the life around me as much as I could. I would randomly take a bus and get off at any station and try to navigate my way back with the help of people on the street. I joined all the student activities that were happening on campus. I still have very fond memories of the first big competition called “hanyu qiao” I took part in. In the competition you compete against 9 other teams comprising of one Chinese and one foreign team member. Me and my teammate ranked second in the competition and won the title of the most popular team.?
一到北京，我這個(gè)老外就被卷入北京人瘋狂的生活中。我不熟悉中國文化，幾乎不懂中文，每次出門都會(huì)迷路。結(jié)果，來到中國的第三天，正好是我生日，我坐在宿舍樓前哭泣，因?yàn)槲腋械揭环N挫敗感。我接到了媽媽的電話，她給予我勇氣，讓我把這當(dāng)成一種挑戰(zhàn)，享受每一分每一秒。她的話我牢記在心。第二天，我就開始盡可能地融入周圍的生活。我會(huì)隨機(jī)搭上一輛公交車，在任意一站下車，然后詢問路人，嘗試自己走回去。我積極參加學(xué)校舉行的所有學(xué)生活動(dòng)。我還記得我參加的第一個(gè)大型比賽“漢語橋”。比賽中，我與其他 9 個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)競爭，每個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)包括一名中國隊(duì)員和一名外國隊(duì)員。我們團(tuán)隊(duì)在比賽中獲得了第二名，并榮獲“最受歡迎團(tuán)隊(duì)”稱號(hào)。
The second year in China I joined multiple student associations. I joined the Publicity Department of International Student Union (ISU), which next year I became the head of department and ultimately, got elected as the vice president of the whole ISU. The second association I joined was the International Alumni Association (IAA). I started out as member in the Branch Management Center (BMC) and handled the 5 country branches that were assigned to me, later I got promoted as the Director of the BMC overseeing the work of the 27 country branches under the IAA. Currently I am linked with the association as an advisor. I also joined International Volunteer Association through which I got a chance to further immerse in the Chinese culture, as some of the volunteer program would allow us to visit old home, schools in small towns, this gave me a chance to get a glimpse of not only how the life worked for the people my age but to also see how the old and young generation are living their life in China. It is with the help of these association that I was able to experience Beijing, forge lifelong friendships and carve my little home in the crazy big city.
來中國的第二年，我加入了許多學(xué)生社團(tuán)，比如國際學(xué)生會(huì) (ISU)?的宣傳部，第二年成為該部門的負(fù)責(zé)人，最終被選為 ISU 的副主席。我加入的第二個(gè)協(xié)會(huì)是國際校友會(huì) (IAA)，一開始是分會(huì)管理中心的成員，負(fù)責(zé)管理 5 個(gè)國家的分會(huì)，后來晉升為分會(huì)管理中心的主任，監(jiān)督國際校友會(huì)下 27 個(gè)國家分會(huì)的工作。目前，我以顧問的身份與校友會(huì)保持聯(lián)絡(luò)。我還加入了國際志愿者協(xié)會(huì)，進(jìn)一步沉浸在中國文化中，因?yàn)槲覀兺ㄟ^一些志愿項(xiàng)目，參觀老房子和小鎮(zhèn)上的學(xué)校，讓我有機(jī)會(huì)了解同齡人是如何生活的，還能看到中國的老一代和年輕一代是如何生活的。通過這些協(xié)會(huì)，我才得以體驗(yàn)北京，建立起終生的友誼，在這個(gè)瘋狂的大城市里建立自己的小家。
In my third year I wanted to extend my reach to youth lead and youth leadership association existing outside of my university. That is when interviewed to join the SCOLAR Network. The reason I had chosen to associate myself with SCOLAR was based on having attended one of the events organized by them. After joining I got the opportunity to attend/organize multiple events.
第三年，我想接觸大學(xué)之外的青年領(lǐng)導(dǎo)和青年領(lǐng)導(dǎo)協(xié)會(huì)。我通過面試加入了上合國家青年平臺(tái) (SCOLAR Network)。我加入這個(gè)平臺(tái)的原因，是因?yàn)槲覅⒓恿怂麄兘M織的一次活動(dòng)。加入后，我有機(jī)會(huì)參加并組織多場活動(dòng)。
?2019 was the year which put a hold on the life of so many people. I went back to Pakistan at the end of the year to spend my semester break, little did I know that I will not get a chance to return back to campus to attend my graduation. This time was the hardest in my China journey, as I had to coordinate all the details of my final thesis online, attend my graduation online and even pack the whole content of my life in Beijing: my dorm room all the way from Pakistan via video call. It was a sad thing to be robbed of the chance to wear the red gown and be at the front of the graduation ceremony, but like the rest of the world all I could do was to sit and wait for the situation to get better. As I had intention to continue my life in China even after graduation, so I started applying for jobs online instead of just waiting. I was very fortunate because after only two interviews I landed my current job. Returning however was another struggle because embassies were closed and there weren’t any flights. It took me half year to process my visa and relevant documents to be able to fly back. Currently, I am working as a process manager in Shanghai and awaiting the next adventures in my new home away from home. To sum it all up it sure was one hell of a ride with multiple ups and downs, crazy adventures, and lifelong friendships.
2019年，許多人生活停滯。年底我回巴基斯坦度假，沒想到我再也沒有機(jī)會(huì)回到校園，參加畢業(yè)典禮。那時(shí)是我中國之旅中最艱難的一段時(shí)光，因?yàn)槲乙诰€上協(xié)調(diào)畢業(yè)論文的細(xì)節(jié)，還要在線上參加畢業(yè)典禮，甚至還要通過視頻電話，讓遠(yuǎn)在北京的朋友幫我打包宿舍的物品。我還失去了穿紅色博士服，坐在前排參加在畢業(yè)典禮的機(jī)會(huì)，真是令人沮喪，但和世界上其他人一樣，我能做的就是等待形勢好轉(zhuǎn)。我打算畢業(yè)后繼續(xù)在中國生活，所以開始在網(wǎng)上求職，而不是坐等機(jī)會(huì)到來。我非常幸運(yùn)，只經(jīng)過兩輪面試，就得到了現(xiàn)在的工作。然而，返回中國又是一項(xiàng)艱難的挑戰(zhàn)，大使館關(guān)閉，沒有任何航班飛往中國。我花了半年的時(shí)間來處理簽證和相關(guān)文件，才有機(jī)會(huì)回來。目前，我在上海做流程管理工作，期待著在上?！碌闹袊募遥_啟另一段冒險(xiǎn)之旅。總而言之，這是一段充滿起伏、充滿冒險(xiǎn)、建立終生友誼的旅程。
Thank you China for all the memories!
感謝中國帶給我的美好記憶！
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