My name is Daniel Esteban Perdomo Rincón and I was born in Bogotá, Colombia 27 years ago. I am currently an English teacher in a high school in Huizhou, China, and I have been in this country for about four years now.
我叫 Daniel Esteban Perdomo Rincón，今年 27 歲，來自哥倫比亞波哥大。我在中國已經(jīng)呆了四年，目前在中國惠州一所高中當(dāng)英語老師。
My city in Colombia offered a degree in English studies, but I chose teaching and set a goal for myself to learn English very well in order to be able to teach others. I have always liked the pedagogy part, sharing knowledge with someone else to help them improve. So during my studies in Colombia, I came to China in 2018 to do an internship in a school, and then I went back immediately for graduation. Back in Colombia, I worked for two months in a private school, but that was the extent of my experience in education there. China gave me the opportunity again in 2019 to develop myself as a teacher.
我在波哥大獲得了英語研究學(xué)位，但我選擇了教育。我為自己定了一個(gè)小目標(biāo)，要把英語學(xué)到出神入化，才能教別人。我一直很喜歡教育學(xué)，傳授知識(shí)，提升素質(zhì)。2018 年，我在哥倫比亞學(xué)習(xí)期間，來到中國，在一所學(xué)校實(shí)習(xí)，但由于即將畢業(yè)，我必須馬上回國?；氐礁鐐惐葋喓?，我在一所私立學(xué)校工作了兩個(gè)月，積累了一些教學(xué)經(jīng)驗(yàn)。2019 年，中國給了我第二次機(jī)會(huì)，讓我成為一名老師，提升自己。
I had always dreamed of doing an international internship, and I heard that some friends had volunteered in Brazil for two months, and that it counted as a degree option. Then, with my desire to travel, I learned through a company that there were many options to go abroad to countries such as India, Turkey, Russia, Brazil…and on the list was China. Chinese culture had always fascinated me, with its long history of dynasties, its culture so different from that of Colombia. For example, Colombia may be different from Brazil, but since we are all Latinos, the essence is similar. But I was curious about China, all the way on the other side of the world.
我一直夢(mèng)想著出國實(shí)習(xí)，聽說一些朋友在巴西做了兩個(gè)月的志愿者，而且這也算作一項(xiàng)學(xué)位選修課。我對(duì)出國旅行充滿渴望，通過一家公司了解到，有很多目的國可供選擇，如印度、土耳其、俄羅斯、巴西……名單上也有中國。中國文化一直令我著迷，中國經(jīng)歷了悠久的王朝更迭，與哥倫比亞文化存在著巨大的差異。哥倫比亞可能與巴西不同，但由于我們都屬于拉丁美洲，所以本質(zhì)是相似的。但世界的另一端中國則完全不同，我對(duì)它充滿了好奇。
I wanted to get to know and explore that culture and that different language. At no time was I afraid; I had a classmate who had a bad experience in China, but that didn’t scare me. I did wonder how I was going to take care of myself without knowing Chinese, but at the same time, that motivated me and pushed me, so it was a great decision.
我想去探尋中國文化和語言。我從來不會(huì)畏懼，有一個(gè)同學(xué)在中國遭遇了不好的事情，但這并沒有嚇到我。我真想知道不懂中文的情況下如何照顧自己，同時(shí)，這也激勵(lì)了我，推動(dòng)我來到中國，這是一個(gè)偉大的決定。
I am very grateful to a Colombian who was here and gave me detailed directions when I first arrived in China. I landed in Hong Kong and I knew exactly which bus I had to take, and how to get to the city of Huizhou.
我非常感謝一位在中國的哥倫比亞人，剛到中國時(shí)，他非常細(xì)致地給我指路。我在香港落地，幸虧有他的幫助，我才知道應(yīng)該乘坐哪輛巴士，如何前往惠州。
After that, I was rather shy. What I would do was write Chinese characters on a piece of paper to show people, or take lots of pictures and print out the names of places to ask for directions.
從那以后，我就相當(dāng)害羞了。我會(huì)在紙上寫漢字與別人交流，旅游時(shí)會(huì)拍很多照片，問路時(shí)會(huì)把地名打印出來。
After my internship in China, I returned to Colombia. I liked it very much and I left very happy. I made my graduation presentation about my experience in China, and the professors loved it. Then, when I was about to graduate, my first boss wrote me to invite me to come back to Huizhou. They provided me with a visa and tickets, and I said yes without thinking. I graduated, and two days later I was back in China with my first job.
在中國的實(shí)習(xí)結(jié)束后，我回到了哥倫比亞。我非常喜歡中國，帶著愉快的心情離開了。我在畢業(yè)典禮上做了一場(chǎng)演講，主題是我在中國的經(jīng)歷，教授們都很喜歡我的演講。即將畢業(yè)的時(shí)候，我第一個(gè)老板發(fā)信息請(qǐng)我回惠州。他們給了我簽證和機(jī)票，我想都沒想就答應(yīng)了。我畢業(yè)兩天后，回到了中國，開始第一份工作。
I love China’s temples, and all those ancient cities and villages. The first time I came here, my big goal was to visit the Great Wall of China. I went to see the Terracotta Army in Xi’an. In Guangzhou I went to see the pandas, which was my big goal. I love the colors of the temples and the colorful animal statues. I also went to Zhangjiajie near Shanghai, and although there were a lot of people and it was cloudy, I enjoyed it just the same. I also went to Yunnan, to Shangri-La and the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike. I really, really loved it! I really like natural places, hiking, and parks, and China has a lot of very beautiful places like that. But my favorites are the ancient villages like Dali and Shangri-La.
我喜歡中國的寺廟，還有那些古城古村。我第一次來中國的時(shí)候，最主要的目標(biāo)就是參觀長(zhǎng)城。我去西安參觀了秦始皇陵兵馬俑，去廣州看了大熊貓，這也是我的主要目標(biāo)。我喜歡寺廟繽紛的色彩，以及五顏六色的動(dòng)物雕像。我還去過張家界，雖然游客很多，而且當(dāng)時(shí)是陰天，但我還是很喜歡那里。我還去了云南，游覽香格里拉，在虎跳峽徒步。我真的真的很愛云南！我真的很喜歡自然，真的很喜歡徒步旅行，還有公園。中國有很多這樣美輪美奐的地方，但我最喜歡的還是大理和香格里拉這樣的古村落。
As a Latino, I have noticed cultural differences in social relationships. Latinos are very affectionate and expressive. Friends hug each other and smile a lot. I realized that in China there is not that much physical contact. My Chinese friends often tell me that I say “thank you” too much. They tell me that here there is no need to express gratitude so much, and they wonder why I am always so happy and smiling. You realize that people here are more introverted.
我是拉美人，我能感受到社會(huì)關(guān)系中的文化差異。拉美人富有激情，很有表現(xiàn)力。朋友之間會(huì)擁抱，互致微笑。而在中國，沒有那么多的身體接觸。我的中國朋友經(jīng)常告訴我，我說“謝謝你”的次數(shù)太多，在中國沒有必要頻繁地表達(dá)感激之情。他們想知道為什么我總是那么開心，那么愛笑。你會(huì)感受到，這里的人更內(nèi)斂。
As for Chinese food, I am faithful to the most basic food: dumplings, noodles, and fried rice “chaofan.” I love hot-pot. I don’t usually eat other dishes. Maybe I tried them and didn’t like them, I don’t know. But I love dumplings and noodles, although they tell me it’s a bit like fast-food in China. I found some Colombian restaurants in other cities, so when I miss the ingredients and seasonings of my country, I like to visit them.
說到中國美食，我忠實(shí)于最簡(jiǎn)單的食物：餃子、面條和炒飯。我愛火鍋。我通常不會(huì)吃其他菜肴，也許我嘗試過，但我卻不喜歡，我不懂為什么。我愛吃餃子和面條，雖然他們告訴我這是中式快餐。我在其他城市發(fā)現(xiàn)了幾家哥倫比亞餐廳，所以每當(dāng)我想念家鄉(xiāng)的味道時(shí)，我就會(huì)去這些餐廳。
?I think we can all divide our lives into pre- and post-pandemic. For me, life in China before the pandemic was very different. I was able to travel to so many other countries like Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. South Korea, the Philippines, Laos, and Japan were on my list of countries to visit. But since the pandemic began, getting around has not been as convenient. In any case, I felt safe here during the pandemic and I felt that I shouldn’t leave. So I think I will stay maybe one or two more years in China to grow professionally as a teacher, and to reach a conversational level of Chinese and be able to take care of myself.
我想我們都可以把生活分為疫情前和疫情后。對(duì)我來說，疫情前在中國的生活是五彩斑斕的。我能到其他國家旅行，如泰國、柬埔寨和越南。我也曾打算到韓國、菲律賓、老撾和日本旅游。但疫情爆發(fā)后，出行就不那么方便了。我覺得疫情期間，中國相當(dāng)安全，我不應(yīng)該離開這里。因此，我也許會(huì)在中國再呆上一兩年，繼續(xù)當(dāng)一名老師，提高我的專業(yè)素養(yǎng)，繼續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)中文，爭(zhēng)取可以流利對(duì)話，能照顧好自己。
I have encountered very kind people in China who have tried to help me even without knowing English. I have also found people who avoid me or are a bit rude to me. But I feel that this is the case everywhere. I’m not saying it’s something that happens only in China. As a Latino, when I first arrived, they asked me why I was black, and I didn’t understand. I explained to them that my skin color makes me who I am, that I am Latino and I love my skin color.
我在中國遇到過非常善良的人，他們即使不懂英語也會(huì)盡力幫助我。我也發(fā)現(xiàn)有些人會(huì)躲著我，或者對(duì)我有點(diǎn)不禮貌。但我覺得這種情況在任何地方都會(huì)發(fā)生，并不是中國才會(huì)有的情況。我作為一個(gè)拉美人，剛到中國時(shí)，他們問我為什么是黑人，我不明白怎么回答。我解釋道，我生來就是這樣的膚色，我是拉美人，我愛我的膚色。
I felt rejected at first, but I realized that it is not about me. In China, they tend to generalize everything. It may be without bad intentions, but they include all foreigners in a group. At first I did feel bad, but it helped me to feel proud of who I am, my skin color, and even my hair. My students used to make fun of my wavy hair and say I had a bird’s nest on my head. Eventually I learned that my wavy hair makes me who I am and I love it.
起初我有一種被排擠的感覺，但我意識(shí)到這與我無關(guān)。中國人喜歡給一切分門別類，他們可能并無惡意，但他們把所有外國人歸為一類，起初我確實(shí)感到很不舒服，但這讓我為自己的身份、膚色、甚至發(fā)型感到自豪。我學(xué)生曾經(jīng)取笑我的卷發(fā)，打趣說我的頭上頂著一個(gè)鳥窩。但我明白，卷發(fā)就是我的標(biāo)志，我愛我的卷發(fā)。
I would encourage anyone in Colombia who has the chance to come to China, because it can dispel many stereotypes. For example, that false myth that everyone eats dog meat. To come here is to learn not to get carried away by everything you hear, to learn for yourself. Whether you are from Asia, Europe, or America, we all have stereotypes about the unknown, so I would encourage people to come and enjoy the ancient culture of China and get to know what the people here are really like.
我鼓勵(lì)哥倫比亞人只要有機(jī)會(huì)，都來中國看一看，這可以消除許多成見。比如，傳說所有中國人都會(huì)吃狗肉，這顯然是謠言。來這里是為了眼見為實(shí)，不要被你聽說的所迷惑，要親自來了解。無論你是來自亞洲、歐洲還是美洲，我們都會(huì)對(duì)未知的事物有成見，所以我鼓勵(lì)人們來感受古老的中國文化，了解中國人到底是什么樣子的。
轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明來源：我在中國的家
