個人簡介:
Name :?Umberto
姓名:孔若水
Country of Origin :?Italy
國籍:意大利
Occupation :?Student
職業(yè):學(xué)生
Years in China :?3?years
在華居住時間: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 歲時交到了第一個中國朋友。那時候班上有兩個幾乎不會說意大利語的中國同學(xué),不過那時候語言也沒現(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.
在我讀高中的時候,大約 16 歲,我為熱那亞市中心(我的家鄉(xiāng))的一家中國餐館送貨。說起來好笑,那時候我大部分朋友也送餐,只不過他們都是送披薩,只有我是送壽司。我反而是最特殊的那一個。
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”席卷意大利的時候,很多中餐館(大多是溫州人開的)開始提供壽司自助,但那是后話。和中國人一起工作教會了我如何有效地管理時間,也教會了我金錢的價值,因為這是我的第一份工作。
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鏡商店當(dāng)售貨員。那算得上是我人生的一個轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn),并且把我?guī)У搅藦B門。
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 (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,一對來自臺灣的富有夫婦走進(jìn)我們在威尼斯的商店,我們用中文愉快地交流。我們甚至還聊到了中國傳統(tǒng)文化,最后他們一口氣買了九副品牌眼鏡。之后,這對夫婦邀請我共進(jìn)晚餐,并且給我介紹了一份在中國國際投資貿(mào)易洽談會(簡稱 98 洽談會)做翻譯的工作。一切對我來說都像夢一樣,因為當(dāng)時我就打算來中國進(jìn)修。而且更巧的是,我已經(jīng)申請了廈門大學(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的時候,無疑是我人生中最有趣的時光。我輾轉(zhuǎn)福建各大酒店,觀摩了許多公司,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)在我在廈門大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)新聞學(xué)專業(yè),有時候也覺得挺困難的。不過現(xiàn)在我和中國人生活在一起,共享喜怒哀樂,我開始覺得或許某種程度上,我也能成為中國的一份子。
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,面對地中海。據(jù)說是哥倫布、帕格尼尼等名人的故鄉(xiāng)。
作者:孔若水 翻譯:余欣陽
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