Name :?Mitchel Africa
姓名:Mitchel Africa
Hometown :?San Pedro, Philippines
家鄉(xiāng):菲律賓圣佩特羅
Occupation :?Educator
職業(yè):教師
Years in China :?9?years
在華居住時間:9年
How did your journey in China begin?
你的中國之旅是怎樣開始的?
My initial journey to China is in fact a remarkable story. Back in The Philippines, I am a registered nurse and it was actually my mom who was initially supposed to come to Xiamen to teach. However, since she was settled in her occupation for a long time, she instead recommended me to take up the offer. At that time I, was waiting on my nursing certification so it seemed like a great idea. I already was teaching at a Korean institution and had my TOEFL certification so they offered me the job in her place. I didn’t know Xiamen at that time, I had only heard about major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and the metropolitan cities you would see in the media,?so Xiamen was a completely new city for me. So, in 2012 I became a Science teacher at Manila Xiamen International School. I am grateful that I took the job because working at an international school could be said to be one of the best decisions I ever made. My colleagues and students feel like a family and Xiamen now feels like home.
我的中國之旅意義非凡。我在菲律賓是一名注冊護士,實際上最初應該是我母親來廈門教書的。但是,因為她干這行太久了,不想改變現(xiàn)狀,就推薦我去廈門教書。我當時正在等待我的護理證書,所以這似乎是一個很棒的機會。我曾在一家韓國機構(gòu)當過老師,也獲得了托福證書,所以我才能代替母親來廈門教書。那時我還不知道廈門,只聽說過北京、上海和媒體上看到的大城市,所以廈門對我來說很陌生。2012 年,我成為馬尼拉廈門國際學校的一名科學老師。我很慶幸接受了這份工作,因為這可以說是我做過最好的決定之一。我的同事和學生就像一個大家庭,廈門也有種家的感覺。
What do you like most about your city and China as a whole?
你所在的城市,哪一點最吸引你?你最喜歡中國的什么呢?
I am an adventurous person who loves to try new things and Xiamen offers plenty of activities to choose from such as surfing, badminton, hiking amongst others. What I like about living here, specifically the area I currently live in, is that it’s between the mountain and the sea so it feels extremely relaxing and picturesque. The city lets me explore new places and I love discovering new stuff. My students often ask me to join them in different activities such as biking, hiking, sports tournaments, etc. The city never gets redundant and I always get to try new outdoor activities, watersports, going to the beach to name a few. Additionally, all areas of Xiamen feel extremely safe and people are super easy-going here, making it a foreign-friendly space, even if you don’t speak Chinese.
我是一個喜歡冒險的人,喜歡嘗試新事物。在廈門可以做很多事情,沖浪、羽毛球、徒步旅行等。我喜歡住在這里,特別是我現(xiàn)在居住的地方,在山海之間,風景如畫,感覺非常愜意。這座城市有許多新地方等著我去探索,有許多新事物等著我去發(fā)現(xiàn)。我的學生經(jīng)常邀請我參加各種活動,騎自行車、徒步旅行、體育比賽等。這座城市永遠不會變得無趣,我總是可以嘗試新的戶外活動、水上運動、海灘玩耍等等。此外,廈門的所有地區(qū)都非常安全,這里的人超級隨和。即便你不會說中文,廈門也是一個適合外國人居住的城市。
What fascinated you the most about living in China?
生活在中國,最吸引你的是什么?
I love exploring the Chinese culture, which I would say is very rich. The lifestyle that Chinese people live is extremely easy going. Additionally, the architectural design is amazing. It feels like every Chinese city gives you a completely different feel. The futuristic skyline in Shanghai vs. The Great Wall and intricate hutong lanes in Beijing are only one example of this contrast between cities. Thanks to the international school I work at I was able to explore not only China but other countries around the world. Being in The Philippines I mainly stayed there in my bubble. However, here I was able to travel with my students and their parents and explore different cultures. I never knew that I would have this kind of life.
我喜歡探索豐富多彩的中國文化。中國人的生活方式極其閑適。此外,建筑設計令人驚嘆。每個中國城市給你的感覺都完全不同。上海極具未來主義的天際線與北京長城以及縱橫交錯的胡同,形成了強烈的對比。因為我是在國際學校工作,所以我不僅可以探索中國,還可以探索世界其他國家。在菲律賓,我的社交圈子非常局限。然而,在這里我能和學生以及他們的父母一起旅行,探索不同的文化。我從來沒想過我會過上這樣的生活。
What is your unique China story?
關(guān)于你獨特的中國故事是什么呢?
The fact that I work here unlocks a lot of possibilities for me. In my time here, I got to travel around China. Because of rugby and school, I was able to go to more than 10 different cities. When I travel, I want to have a purpose, I hardly travel only for leisure and I want to make it purposeful for not only me but my students as well. I’m not only a teacher by trade, teaching is also a passion and my life. That’s what the experience in Xiamen and China have brought to me, it let me discover myself. It let me discover if I really wanted to be a nurse or a teacher and I discovered my passion for teaching. Everything I do is all about learning. Additionally, I get to volunteer with the Guanren community center, in their rooftop garden, summer camp and other charity events. I even got to do a lecture there about sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals.
這份工作給我?guī)砹嗽S多可能。在這段時間里,我走遍了中國。因為參加橄欖球比賽以及學?;顒?,我得以游覽十多個城市。我想讓我的旅行充滿意義,不只是為了放松,我想讓它成為一個對我和學生都有意義的旅行。教師不僅是我的職業(yè),也是我的熱情所在,生命所在。這就是在廈門和中國的經(jīng)歷帶給我的財富,它讓我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己。它讓我明白自己真正想做的,是護士還是老師,也挖掘了我對教學的熱情。我所做的一切都是為了學習。此外,我還在官任社區(qū)中心、官任社區(qū)陽臺菜園、夏令營和其他慈善活動中做志愿者。我甚至做過一個關(guān)于可持續(xù)性和可持續(xù)發(fā)展目標的講座。
Fun fact about his hometown:
介紹一下Mitchel Africa的故鄉(xiāng):
San Pedro is a small town in The Philippines and the fun fact is: Xiamen is represented by egrets and in San Pedro, our mascot is a chicken. There’s a huge statue of a chicken with an egg under it. When I left San Pedro, I was like the chicken and now I’ve evolved to become an egret.
圣佩特羅是菲律賓的一個小鎮(zhèn)。有趣的是,廈門以白鷺為代表,而在圣佩德羅,我們的吉祥物是一只雞。有一座巨大的雕像,是一只雞,下面有一顆雞蛋。我離開圣佩德羅時,我就像一只小雞,現(xiàn)在我已經(jīng)進化成一只白鷺了。
作者:Mitchel Africa 翻譯:潘澤彬
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