Name :?Vicente Sivera Catalá
姓名：施偉
Country of Origin :?Spain
國籍：西班牙
Occupation :?Board Game Illustrator and graphic designer
職業(yè)：桌游插畫師、平面設計師
Years in China :?8
在華居住時間：8年
“Maybe you were a Chinese person in your past life.”
Over the 8 years that I have been living in China this is the, somewhat corny, jokingly way some of my Chinese friends replied to my enthusiastic accounts of my experiences here. And while I don’t believe in reincarnation, I do think that some of us are blessed with the chance to enjoy a second life, and sometimes if we are lucky, it might be as good a life as the one I enjoy in China.
My adventure however began much earlier…
“也許你前世是個中國人?！?/p>
我生活在中國的 8 年里，一些中國朋友對我的經歷就是這樣描述的，有點老套，打趣的措辭。雖然我不相信輪回，但我確實認為有些人有幸享受第二人生。有時候想想，如果我們足夠幸運的話，就能來中國享受精彩的人生。
然而，我的冒險開始得更早……
I come from Villajoyosa, a small place in the coast of Spain. A cozy seaside town with a long tradition of fishing and chocolate making, the town features traditional beautiful and colorful old buildings by the beach, giving the opportunity to visitors for enjoying lots of local delicacies.
我來自西班牙海濱小鎮(zhèn)比利亞霍約薩。這個小鎮(zhèn)有著悠久的捕魚和巧克力制作傳統(tǒng)，擁有美麗多彩的傳統(tǒng)海灘老建筑，在那里游客可以品嘗到許多當?shù)孛朗场?/p>
那個月，我深受觸動，怎么說都不為過。當時我對中國知之甚少，所以整個旅程充滿了驚喜與激動：中國的語言、名勝古跡、食物！西紅的家人十分熱情地接待了我們，把我們當成了家里的一份子，帶著我們到處轉悠，他們簡直就是最盡職的大使：我和他們在一起的時光證明了中國人是多么熱情好客。所以，我們回到家時，我就知道總有一天我會再來中國。
Fast forward to 2012.
時間來到 2012 年。
I was living in?Barcelona?at the time and, I was less than satisfied with my life. So I took a backpack and came to China with no plan, and no return ticket. I had no work waiting for me, no friends, nothing, just the drive for exploring this big country.
當時我住在巴塞羅那，我對自己的生活不太滿意。于是背上背包，毫無計劃地就來到了中國，也沒有買回程機票。我在中國沒有工作，沒有朋友，什么都沒有，只有探索這個大國的動力。
After some time traveling around?China, I enrolled in university in?Guilin. There I spend two years studying the language, practicing?Taichi?and learning Chinese calligraphy. Then I moved to?Shanghai?where I started working in a manufacturing company for board games. There I came to know about how the modern part of?China?looks like. It was also how I started making contacts in the game industry and what eventually brought me to?Xiamen.
在中國旅行一段時間后，我進入了桂林的一所大學學習。我花了兩年時間學習語言、練習太極拳和中國書法。然后我搬到了上海，我開始在一家桌游生產公司工作。我逐漸領會了當代的中國。從那時起，我開始接觸游戲產業(yè)，也是這個產業(yè)指引我來到廈門。
It took one weekend.
只花了一個周末的時間，我就決定留在廈門。
In nearly 2018 I got a job offer from a company in?Xiamen?and I came for a weekend to learn more about the city. “How had I never heard of this city before?” That was the question repeating in my head as I walked through the small, charming streets of the old city, discovering one secret cafe after another. After the soulless and profit-driven society of Shanghai, Xiamen welcomed me with down to earth people who found joy in drinking tea with friends by the sea, near?Baicheng?beach. After the stress inducing cage of concrete and glass of the big city, the terraces of?Shapowei?promised of nice evenings enjoying a beer with friends. After just two days I decided Xiamen was the place I wanted to stay in.
2018 年初，我收到了廈門一家公司的 offer，周末我就來到廈門，想更深入地了解這座城市?！拔乙郧霸趺磸膩頉]有聽說過這座城市？”當我走過老城區(qū)充滿魅力的小街道，發(fā)現(xiàn)一家又一家的神秘咖啡館時，這個問題在我腦海中反復出現(xiàn)。上海是座沒有靈魂、追名逐利的城市，而廈門則有許多接地氣的人。他們會在白城海灘附近和朋友一起喝茶，度過閑暇快樂的時光。離開由混凝土和玻璃構筑的牢籠般的、充滿壓力的大城市后，我更愿意來沙坡尾與朋友一起享用啤酒，度過美好的夜晚。僅僅兩天，我就決定要留在廈門。
Now it’s been already 3 years in this city. It’s a good place for making friends and to tell stories. Like when me and an American friend I met in Guilin went on a 45-day trip around China. We were staying at the cheapest holes we could find, riding those 24-hour-long trains, and avoiding interaction with anyone who could speak English.
我已經在廈門待了 3 年了。在這里可以結交許多朋友，人們也更愿意講述他們的故事。比如，我和一個美國的朋友，之前在桂林認識的，我們一起在中國玩了 45 天。我們找最便宜的地方住，乘坐長達 24 小時的火車，不與任何會說英語的人互動。
I still remember that old guest house in Harbin, run by an old Chinese couple. It was winter and I can’t imagine what was my face when the lady explained to me that the only available way of “showering” was boiling water in a kettle and do whatever I could in the small room with a squatting toilet. We made things inconvenient for us, sure, but in the process we accumulated enough anecdotes for a lifetime of storytelling.
我還記得哈爾濱的一家老旅館，由一對中國老夫老妻經營。那年冬天，老板娘向我解釋說，如果想要洗澡，只能自己燒水，然后把熱水帶到蹲便式廁所進行“淋浴”。我無法想象當時我的臉色有多難看。當然，是我們自己選擇了如此不便的旅館。但在這個過程中，我們積累了足夠多的軼事，一生都講不完。
So, why am I staying here?
我們?yōu)槭裁匆粼谶@里？
The beauty of giant Chinese characters carved in the side of a mountain half hidden by the fog. Enjoying the simple yet mouth-watering taste of a good plate of Mapo Tofu, while the friendly restaurant owner introduces you to an old Hong Kong movie about a ghost hunter Taoist priest. Ordering virtually any product you can imagine with your phone while riding a next generation electric vehicles with automatic doors. The list of things I like about living in China would fill several pages.
巨大的摩崖石刻在霧蒙蒙的山中若隱若現(xiàn)，麻婆豆腐雖然簡單但令人垂涎，友好的餐廳老板介紹一部關于捉鬼道士的老香港電影。乘坐帶有自動門的新一代電動汽車，用手機訂購任何商品，只要你想得到。我喜歡在中國生活的理由可以寫滿好幾頁。
Now the times of adventure feel a bit far away, but like a young love based on passion, that later transitions to a mature and stable relationship, mine with China has changed too. Things seem to have come full circle with my first published card game,?Hot Pot Hustle!?A project where I could take the passions and interests of my previous life and merge them with the things that are making this second life such a good one.
冒險這個詞感覺已經離我遠去，就像年輕人的愛情剛開始充滿激情，后來過渡到成熟穩(wěn)定，我與中國的關系也發(fā)生了變化。我發(fā)明的第一個卡牌游戲“火鍋俠”似乎又喚起了我的冒險精神！這個游戲融合了我的熱情和興趣，以及我在中國的一切美好。
作者：施偉 翻譯：潘澤彬
If you would like to contribute your story, feel free to contact us.
Email: luz@mts-tech.com
Home away from home?is a collection of the unique stories written by foreigners in China and compiled by MTS. Join us on this journey of exploring 100 different stories showcasing what it truly means to live in China!《家外之家》是一本外國人在中國的獨特故事集，由外國人撰寫，精藝達公司征集匯編。歡迎外國朋友積極參與，和我們一起探尋100個不同的故事，展示生活在中國的真正意義！
It has been?5 months?already since the “Home Away from Home” essay contest began! We appreciate all the foreign friends who have participated writing?55 unique stories?about their experience as expats in China.?On October 31st, the voting system closed, and after thorough counting of likes, reads and votes, today is the time to announce the?5 winners! Drumroll please...感謝大家?5 個月以來對《家外之家》征文比賽的關注！開賽至今，我們一共征集到了?55 篇外國人在華故事，我們非常感謝此次積極參與征文活動的外國朋友。2021 年 10 月 31 日，網站投票通道也已關閉。通過計算社交媒體點贊數(shù)、閱讀數(shù)、以及網站投票數(shù)，經過激烈角逐,?5 名參賽者最終脫穎而出
