作者：Adam Loomis
翻譯：潘澤彬
校對(duì)：Luz、Joanne、James
My name is Adam Loomis and I come from a small farm town in the United States of America. I’ve been living in Xiamen for seven years and working as an English teacher. Let me tell you how I got here and why I’ve stayed.
我叫Adam Loomis，來(lái)自美國(guó)的一個(gè)小農(nóng)村。我的職業(yè)是英語(yǔ)老師，在廈門生活了七年。我想與大家分享我來(lái)到中國(guó)的歷程以及留在中國(guó)的原因。
My first glance of Xiamen was out the plane window as it flew over the island. Outside, the city looked like a neon beacon of new possibilities in the inky blackness of the night below. It wasn’t only my first view of Xiamen, it was my first of China and little did I know, my first view of a place that would become my new home.?
飛機(jī)飛過(guò)廈門島，我從舷窗俯瞰廈門全景。這座城市看起來(lái)就像一座霓虹燈，墨黑的夜色中閃爍著新的可能。飛機(jī)上的這一次俯瞰，這不僅是對(duì)廈門的初見，也是對(duì)中國(guó)的初見。我當(dāng)時(shí)并不知道，這個(gè)地方將成為我新的家鄉(xiāng)。
That was seven years ago. I had never lived away from the U.S. before moving here. So when the time came to make the decision to move to a country so vastly different from my own, on the other side of the world, that I had never even visited, it was a scary decision. I still remember my parents seeing me off at JFK airport and the immense feelings of trepidation, doubt and fear swirling around in my mind. At the same time though, being filled with so much hope, excitement and wonderment at this new stage of my journey in life.
時(shí)間回到七年前。搬到中國(guó)之前，我從未在國(guó)外生活過(guò)。我做出了一個(gè)可怕的決定：搬到一個(gè)我從未去過(guò)的國(guó)家，它位于地球另一端，與美國(guó)有著天壤之別。我仍然記得離開當(dāng)天，父母在肯尼迪機(jī)場(chǎng)為我送行，巨大的不安、恐懼和疑慮在我腦中翻騰。但同時(shí)，踏上新的人生旅途，我心中又充滿了希望、興奮和好奇。
I was living in Brooklyn, New York at the time and got an offer to teach English here in Xiamen. The city seemed a perfect fit. I grew up living close to the ocean and spent every summer at the beach and as such the idea of moving to a beautiful sub-tropical island surrounded by sand, surf and sun was too good to pass up. I accepted the job and three months later I was landing on the tarmac at Xiamen airport.?
來(lái)中國(guó)前，我住在紐約的布魯克林。我得到了一個(gè)工作機(jī)會(huì)，到廈門教英語(yǔ)。廈門似乎是一個(gè)完美的選擇。我從小生活在海邊，每年夏天都在海邊度過(guò)。因此，我無(wú)法抗拒搬到陽(yáng)光、沙灘和海浪包圍的亞熱帶島嶼。我接受了這份工作，三個(gè)月后我搭乘的飛機(jī)降落在廈門機(jī)場(chǎng)的停機(jī)坪上。
My new foreign friends were very quick to enlighten me on the “island life” culture here in Xiamen. Moving from a crowded, fast-paced city like New York to the more relaxed atmosphere of a tier-two city like Xiamen was a very big relief. I immediately liked how the people here kind of moved a little slower and were more relaxed. The palm trees and blue skies just make everything seem so much more laid back and peaceful. That’s one of the biggest attractions of Xiamen for me, the intermixing of modern life and nature. Even on busy transit lines like the BRT, vines and flowers and plants grow alongside of it. There are palm tress outside of my window. There are thirty story apartment buildings and modern architecture right next to beaches and traditional Chinese architecture, hundreds of years old. Xiamen feels very traditional while still mixing in enough international influence.
我的外國(guó)新朋友向我介紹了廈門的“島嶼生活”文化。從像紐約這樣擁擠、快節(jié)奏的城市搬到像廈門這樣悠閑的二線城市，心情頓時(shí)舒暢。我很快喜歡上了這里的人們，他們慢悠悠的，安逸閑適。棕櫚樹和藍(lán)天更添一份悠閑和平靜。這就是廈門最大的魅力之一，現(xiàn)代生活和自然環(huán)境相互交融。即使在 BRT 繁忙的線路上，也能看見藤蔓和花草在路邊生長(zhǎng)。我的窗外有棕櫚樹。海灘和有幾百年歷史的中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)建筑旁邊，矗立著 30?層的公寓樓和現(xiàn)代建筑。廈門給人的感覺是非常傳統(tǒng)的，同時(shí)又是一座國(guó)際化都市。
I quickly came to love Chinese food. One of my favorite tourist spots here is Zengcuo’an. I love all the different options for Chinese street food. Living in New York for five years I was a huge fan of food trucks and street carts so when I found so many options here I was very excited to try everything. My first day here, my boss took me to Coyote for lunch, the best Mexican restaurant in the city. I was blown away that there even was a Mexican restaurant in Xiamen let alone one that was authentic. One of the biggest worries I had about moving here was the food. I was really worried about missing a lot of the foods I loved. It was a huge relief to find that Xiamen had plenty of Western restaurants.
我很快就喜歡上了中國(guó)的美食。我最喜歡的旅游景點(diǎn)之一是曾厝垵，喜歡各式各樣的街頭美食。在紐約生活的五年里，我是小吃車和路邊攤的超級(jí)粉絲。我發(fā)現(xiàn)廈門也有如此多的美食，感到非常興奮，想嘗遍各種美味。來(lái)到廈門的第一天，老板帶我去了 Coyote 吃午飯，這是廈門最棒的墨西哥餐廳。我十分震驚，不敢相信廈門竟然有墨西哥餐廳，而且非常正宗。來(lái)到廈門最大的擔(dān)憂就是“吃”，我真的很擔(dān)心會(huì)錯(cuò)過(guò)很多喜歡的美食。但令我欣慰的是，廈門有很多西餐廳。
The biggest thing that makes Xiamen my home away from home is the diverse group of friends i’ve made. I’ve met people from the U.K., Australia, Russia, Ghana and countless other countries. That’s why I love living here so much. I’m getting so much experience and knowledge I would never have gotten back home. I’ve become a citizen of the world as a whole just from living here in China.?
廈門已經(jīng)成為我的家，最主要原因是我結(jié)識(shí)了一群不同的朋友。他們來(lái)自英國(guó)、澳大利亞、俄羅斯、加納等國(guó)家。這就是我這么喜歡住在廈門的原因。我獲得了很多在家鄉(xiāng)永遠(yuǎn)也得不到的經(jīng)驗(yàn)和知識(shí)。生活在中國(guó)，我已經(jīng)體驗(yàn)到全世界的文化。
I’ve visited as many different cities in China as I could to learn more about the culture and life here. I think one of the biggest stereotypes that has been broken for me is the sheer diversity of Chinese culture and people. Every province, district and city has completely different cultural traditions, foods, customs and languages. I always knew China was a big country but as a person who never traveled much before I was blown away by the sheer massiveness of China. Not just the actual land, but it’s people, culture and history. In Xiamen I can order the latest fusion cuisine lunch from a robot ordered on an iPad and later buy dinner from a woman on the side of the street who has been making the same dish for forty years in the traditional Minnan style. My 中文 has gotten pretty good but the fact that in parts of Xiamen I can’t even understand what people are saying because they speak a different dialect is fascinating. Let alone the next city over. Again, the sheer diversity of China is mind- blowing.
我拜訪了中國(guó)的許多城市，了解每個(gè)城市的文化和生活。來(lái)到中國(guó)以后，深藏在我腦海里的傳統(tǒng)觀念被打破了，中國(guó)文化的確擁有巨大的多樣性。每個(gè)省、區(qū)、市都有完全不同的文化傳統(tǒng)、美食、習(xí)俗和方言。我知道中國(guó)是一個(gè)大國(guó)，但我從來(lái)沒有去過(guò)這么多地方，中國(guó)確實(shí)幅員遼闊，人口眾多，擁有厚重的文化和歷史，令人震驚。在廈門，我可以使用 iPad 訂購(gòu)世界各國(guó)的料理，也可以吃路邊攤，大姐堅(jiān)持 40?年做同一道閩南風(fēng)味的菜肴。我的中文已經(jīng)很好了，但在廈門一些地方，我甚至聽不懂人們?cè)谡f(shuō)什么，更不用說(shuō)周邊城市了，因?yàn)樗麄冋f(shuō)的是不同的方言，這一點(diǎn)很吸引人。同樣，中國(guó)的多樣性也是令人驚詫的。
My longterm goal is to eventually settle down here in China, start a family and maybe open my own language school or similar business. I want to contribute to the future of China in whatever way I can. I love living here. China has become my home away from home and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am eternally grateful to everyone who has made this experience so amazing and especially the people and friends who have welcomed me into their home and showed me why I want to make it my home too. 我愛中國(guó)！
我的長(zhǎng)期目標(biāo)是在中國(guó)定居，組建家庭，開辦自己的語(yǔ)言學(xué)校，或者從事類似的工作。我想為中國(guó)的未來(lái)作出力所能及的貢獻(xiàn)。我喜歡生活在這里，中國(guó)已經(jīng)成為我的異國(guó)之鄉(xiāng)。我想感謝為這段經(jīng)歷錦上添花的每個(gè)人，特別是那些請(qǐng)我到家里做客的朋友，因?yàn)橛心銈?，我才想在這里安家。我愛中國(guó)！
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