Hello! My name is Holly Ann, I am from England in the United Kingdom (UK). Today, I am going to talk to you about my home away from home in Zengcheng, Guangzhou. In 2015, I met a guy in Manchester, who was moving to China four weeks later. I was fascinated by this. I had travelled to Hong Kong before, but I had never been to the mainland. Fast forward a few years and we have both been living here together in Guangzhou for four years, this is our fifth year in China.
大家好！我叫張荷莉，來(lái)自英格蘭。今天，我要向你介紹我在廣州增城的中國(guó)的家。2015 年，我在曼徹斯特遇到一個(gè)人，相識(shí)四周后他要去中國(guó)，這是我心馳神往的地方。我去過(guò)中國(guó)香港，但我從來(lái)沒(méi)有去過(guò)中國(guó)其他地方。幾年時(shí)光轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝，我們倆一起在廣州生活了四年，今年是我們?cè)谥袊?guó)的第五年。
What I love about my home in China is the kindness of the people. As a foreigner with limited Chinese, people are patient with me and make efforts to understand me. I have made so many good friends during my time living here who are keen to show me around and have adventures. My local friend even said I can use her family name, which is ‘張’, so my Chinese name is 張荷莉?(荷莉?sounds like my English name ‘Holly’). We call each other 姐姐?(big sister) and 妹妹?(little sister). That is another thing I love about China, how friends become family.
我喜歡待在中國(guó)，因?yàn)檫@里的人非常善良。我是外國(guó)人，中文水平有限，人們都非常耐心地嘗試?yán)斫馕艺f(shuō)的每句話。我在廣州結(jié)識(shí)了許多好朋友，他們喜歡帶我到處游玩，四處探險(xiǎn)。有個(gè)朋友甚至允許我使用她的姓氏“張”，所以我的中文名叫張荷莉（荷莉聽(tīng)起來(lái)像我的英文名 “Holly”）。我們互稱姐妹，這是我喜歡中國(guó)的另一個(gè)原因，朋友成為了我的家人。
I have also been lucky enough to spend Chinese New Year with a local family here in Guangzhou and to learn about their local traditions. We made dumplings, folded and burned the lucky money, and played with fireworks and firecrackers. We also celebrated by cooking and eating together, I have learned that food is a very important part of the culture here. I love that fruit is given and gratefully received as a gift here. I also enjoy trying different local foods. One of my friends in Guangzhou has been giving me a food tour of the traditional places which has been a real treat. Her father is a chef, so they know some of the best restaurants in the city. Since living here I have also learned about some traditional crafts and arts in Guangzhou, including calligraphy, olive stone carving and ink painting. Though a local community group called Global Friendship, I have been able to make connections with local people and foreigners and participate in cultural activities. They believe in community and helping others and through them I have been able to join in with local charity work, specifically with children living in the mountains in Qingyuan.
我有幸與廣州當(dāng)?shù)氐囊粋€(gè)家庭一起過(guò)春節(jié)，了解當(dāng)?shù)貍鹘y(tǒng)。我們包餃子、疊壓歲錢(qián)、放煙花爆竹。我們還一起下廚、吃團(tuán)圓飯，美食是當(dāng)?shù)匚幕蟹浅Ｖ匾牟糠?。人們?huì)贈(zèng)送水果作為禮物，也會(huì)欣然接受，我喜歡這樣的習(xí)俗。我還喜歡品嘗當(dāng)?shù)馗鞣N美食，廣州的一個(gè)朋友一直帶我探訪老店，這真是一種享受。她的父親是一名廚師，所以知道這座城市哪些餐館最好吃。住在這里，我還感受到廣州的一些傳統(tǒng)工藝和藝術(shù)，包括書(shū)法、橄欖石雕刻和水墨畫(huà)。我加入了一個(gè)名為 “全球友誼” 的當(dāng)?shù)厣缛?，與當(dāng)?shù)厝撕屯鈬?guó)人建立聯(lián)系，參與各種文化活動(dòng)。他們信任社區(qū)，樂(lè)于助人，引薦我參加當(dāng)?shù)氐拇壬乒ぷ?，幫助生活在清遠(yuǎn)山區(qū)的兒童。
I was also a bridesmaid or ‘sister’ for a work friend who got married last year. This was an amazing experience as I was able to learn about a traditional，Cantonese wedding. I felt very privileged to see two families coming together and witness the love between them. I enjoyed watching the tea ceremony and felt very emotional when the bride was given away by her family. There were some parallels with western weddings, but also some very different traditions. It was fantastic to see the beautiful clothes and jewelry, they were also an important part of the day. As bridesmaids, we had two dress changes and the bride had at least three.?
去年，我當(dāng)了同事的伴娘，或者說(shuō)“姐妹”。這是一個(gè)神奇的經(jīng)歷，我體會(huì)到了傳統(tǒng)廣東婚禮?？吹絻蓚€(gè)家庭聯(lián)姻，見(jiàn)證新人之間的愛(ài)情，我感到非常榮幸。我喜歡看敬茶儀式，看到娘家人送別新娘的時(shí)候，我非常感動(dòng)。中式婚禮與西方婚禮有相似的地方，但也有一些截然不同的傳統(tǒng)。華美婚服、璀璨的珠寶，可真是太棒了！它們也是婚禮當(dāng)天的一大亮點(diǎn)。我們作為伴娘換了兩次衣服，新娘至少換了三次。
I have also explored our local area and experienced beautiful scenery on an unimaginable scale. I love walking and hiking and feel lucky to have so many beauty spots on our doorstep. In one of the attached photographs, I am at a waterfall in Zengcheng. The power of the water was phenomenal and we felt close to nature as we were surrounded by trees and flowers. One of the best things about living near Zengcheng is that it is famous for lychees. At this time of year, they are growing everywhere and they smell and taste so delicious.?
我還游覽了我們居住的地區(qū)，領(lǐng)略了難以形容的美景。我喜歡散步和徒步旅行，家門(mén)口就有這么多美麗的景點(diǎn)，我感到非常幸運(yùn)。有張照片是在增城的一個(gè)瀑布邊拍的。我們感受到了水的威力，周?chē)际腔ú輼?shù)木，那時(shí)我們與自然是如此親近。增城以荔枝聞名，住在這里真是太棒了。每年這個(gè)時(shí)候，荔枝隨處可見(jiàn)，聞起來(lái)香，吃起來(lái)甜。
I work as an EAL (English as an additional language) teacher and this has been a valuable experience for me. I feel that through my job and chatting to my students, I get a deeper insight into daily life, culture and traditions. I enjoy eating in the school canteen with them and learning more about their opinions on food. They often berate me for not eating meat, but they approve of me eating tofu as it is healthy. Even though they are quite young (in grade 1), they have very strong ideas about how to stay healthy and believe in looking after their bodies and exercising regularly. I think that this is something which should be mirrored in the UK as there are concerns over health and childhood obesity.?
我是一名 EAL（英語(yǔ)作為附加語(yǔ)言）教師，這是一個(gè)寶貴的經(jīng)歷。通過(guò)日常工作、與學(xué)生聊天，我對(duì)日常生活、文化和傳統(tǒng)有了更深入的了解。我喜歡和學(xué)生一起在學(xué)校食堂吃飯，了解他們對(duì)食物的看法。他們經(jīng)常責(zé)備我不吃肉，但他們認(rèn)同我吃豆腐，因?yàn)槎垢芙】?。他們雖然還很小（一年級(jí)），但他們懂得如何養(yǎng)生，相信要照顧好自己的身體，定期鍛煉。這點(diǎn)值得英國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)，健康和兒童肥胖問(wèn)題在英國(guó)也同樣受到關(guān)注。
I am from the midlands in the UK, but I lived in Manchester for 12 years before I travelled to China. Manchester is an amazing, global city and it prepared me well for living and working abroad. Being away from home is difficult and I miss my family and friends, but I am well supported here and the experiences I have had have shaped me as a person. The more I travel and the more people I meet, I have learned to celebrate the similarities and the differences. I notice that in the media there are lots of negative news reports about China. I think that this is worrying as it creates stereotypes and prejudice. I would urge people to be open-minded and if you have an opportunity to speak to and learn from people from a different culture, grab it with both hands as it will be an enriching experience which will broaden your mind and help you to think more globally.
我來(lái)自英國(guó)中部地區(qū)，來(lái)中國(guó)之前，在曼徹斯特生活了 12 年。曼徹斯特是一個(gè)繁華的國(guó)際都市，它為我提供一切條件，讓我有能力在國(guó)外生活和工作。海外游子非常艱難，我時(shí)常想念家人朋友，但這里有許多人關(guān)愛(ài)我，各種經(jīng)歷也成就了我。走得越多，遇到的人就越多，我已經(jīng)學(xué)會(huì)求同存異。媒體上有許多關(guān)于中國(guó)的負(fù)面新聞，這令我憂心，因?yàn)檫@些報(bào)道造成了對(duì)中國(guó)的刻板印象和偏見(jiàn)。我希望人們保持開(kāi)放的心態(tài)，如果你有機(jī)會(huì)與來(lái)自不同文化的人交流和學(xué)習(xí)，請(qǐng)好好把握，因?yàn)檫@將是一個(gè)豐富的經(jīng)歷，將拓寬你的思想，幫助你以全球視野考慮問(wèn)題。
