作者：Fahad Javaid
翻譯：潘澤彬
校對(duì)：Luz、Joanne、James
It seems impossible to sum up 9 years in a few paragraphs, but I will give it a try. My name is “Fahad Javaid” and I belong to the country of Pakistan. This fact alone gives China a special place in my heart due to brotherly ties between both nations.
9 年的時(shí)光，用幾段文字概括，似乎是天方夜譚，但我仍要講述這段故事。我叫 Fahad Javaid，來自巴基斯坦。中巴兩國(guó)是“鐵桿兄弟”，因此中國(guó)在我心中占據(jù)了特殊的地位。
My journey started in 2013, when I was doing my bachelor’s in Business Administration in Pakistan. I was a top-ranking student in my class. I was provided with the opportunity to visit China as an exchange student at Guilin University of Technology. At that time, my only exposure to China was those old traditional Chinese movies that I used to watch, and I got very fascinated with the culture.
我的中國(guó)之旅始于 2013 年，當(dāng)時(shí)我正在巴基斯坦攻讀工商管理學(xué)士。我在班里還算優(yōu)秀，獲得了去桂林理工大學(xué)交換的機(jī)會(huì)，所以我來到了中國(guó)。我經(jīng)?？粗袊?guó)的老電影，這也是我當(dāng)時(shí)唯一接觸到的中國(guó)文化，它深深地吸引了我。
The first city I arrived in was Guilin. It was heaven on earth; those mountains, the cold breeze, lush green grasslands, the countryside. It was everything I loved and those five months were a blast. To learn about the culture more deeply, I always avoided the touristy places, and visited small streets, back alleys, the nooks and corners where everyday life can be seen. I got to meet many people from all around the world in Guilin and develop new friendships.?
我到達(dá)的第一個(gè)城市是桂林。桂林簡(jiǎn)直是人間天堂：山脈綿延，涼風(fēng)徐徐，草原郁郁蔥蔥，鄉(xiāng)村民風(fēng)淳樸。這里有我熱愛的一切，五個(gè)月的時(shí)光每天都充滿欣喜。為了更深入地了解文化，我總是避開旅游景點(diǎn)，而是探訪小街小巷，還有每天目之所及的角落。我在桂林認(rèn)識(shí)了許多來自世界各地的人，結(jié)交了許多朋友。
?This experience taught me that someone speaking a different language and coming from a different culture can still connect with another person from a totally different part of the world. The way of life I saw in China, was something I always admired personally, so it was very easy for me to connect and make a lot of Chinese friends. There will always be culture shock, but I never had any issues in getting myself accommodated to Chinese culture. As a Microsoft Certified Professional, I started to help the whole dormitory with laptop repairs and Windows installation for free, and that’s how I made hundreds of friends.
我在中國(guó)的經(jīng)歷證明，文化不同、語言不通并不是障礙，仍然可以建立親密的關(guān)系。我非常欽佩中國(guó)人的處世之道，與他們相處非常舒服，所以我交了許多中國(guó)朋友。文化沖擊固然存在，但我適應(yīng)中國(guó)文化過程中沒遇到任何問題。我是一名微軟認(rèn)證專家，免費(fèi)幫舍友修理筆記本，安裝 Windows 系統(tǒng)，結(jié)識(shí)了好幾百位朋友。
I represented my country in various events in Guilin, from singing to sports, from speech contests to dancing. For me it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I wanted to make full use of it. I was also appointed to be the International Education Advisor by the University’s President and helped them to market their university programs to international students. I traveled and learned about the international trade industry and how China was excelling in it day by day, and I knew that this was what I wanted to pursue in the future.
我代表巴基斯坦參加了在桂林舉辦的各種活動(dòng)，包括唱歌、體育、演講比賽、跳舞。這是一個(gè)千載難逢的機(jī)會(huì)，我想好好把握。桂林理工大學(xué)校長(zhǎng)任命我為國(guó)際教育顧問，幫助他們向國(guó)際學(xué)生推介大學(xué)課程。我經(jīng)常旅行，學(xué)習(xí)國(guó)際貿(mào)易的知識(shí)，了解了中國(guó)是如何在國(guó)際貿(mào)易舞臺(tái)上綻放異彩的，國(guó)際貿(mào)易這是我未來想要追求的職業(yè)方向。
?Those five months passed, and I had to return to Pakistan to finish my bachelor’s. The last day before leaving the country, I kept wondering if I would ever be able to return.
五個(gè)月的時(shí)間轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝，我必須回到巴基斯坦完成本科學(xué)業(yè)?；貒?guó)前一天，我一直思索，我是否還能回到中國(guó)。
Fast forward to 2014, I started to search for MBA (marketing) programs, and since my goal was to work in international trade, the city I selected was Guangzhou. I chose it for one sole reason: Canton Fair (the world’s biggest trade fair).?
時(shí)間來到 2014 年，我開始尋找 MBA（市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷）留學(xué)項(xiàng)目。我的目標(biāo)是從事國(guó)際貿(mào)易領(lǐng)域的工作，目標(biāo)城市是廣州。我選擇這個(gè)專業(yè)的原因只有一個(gè)：廣交會(huì)（世界上最大的貿(mào)易展覽會(huì)）。
I was accepted to the prestigious Jinan University, which was also visited by President Xi Jinping in 2018. My program was Sino-international MBA (SiMBA) which allowed me to learn international and Chinese business strategies with 18 other nationalities, including Chinese, in one class. This supported me in establishing my own business in the near future.
中國(guó)著名大學(xué)暨南大學(xué)錄取了我，習(xí)近平主席在 2018 年曾蒞臨暨大。我的專業(yè)是華商 MBA（SiMBA），與來自 18 個(gè)國(guó)家（包括中國(guó)）的同學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)國(guó)內(nèi)外的商業(yè)戰(zhàn)略。這為我將來開創(chuàng)自己的企業(yè)奠定了基礎(chǔ)。
During the two years of my MBA, I was able to achieve the following:
· Became the first ever foreign Class Representative in the history of the program.
· Was awarded the first prize of scholarship in both years.
· Represented the MBA class in a New Year program and sang a Chinese song.
· Was selected by Jinan University to study in Europe on a scholarship as an exchange student.
· Was awarded the first position for thesis defenses.
· Was awarded the prestigious two-year “entrepreneurship visa” by Guangzhou immigration upon graduation.
· Shot a small documentary film on “A Foreigner’s Life in China” in collaboration with “China Radio International” (CRI).
· Represented my country and introduced the culture and life of Pakistan at various forums and events.
兩年的 MBA 學(xué)習(xí)生涯，我取得了以下成績(jī)：
· 成為該項(xiàng)目歷史上第一個(gè)外籍班級(jí)代表。
· 兩年都獲得了一等獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金。
· 代表 MBA 班級(jí)參加新年活動(dòng)，演唱了中國(guó)歌曲。
·?被暨南大學(xué)公派到歐洲進(jìn)行交換生學(xué)習(xí)。
· 論文答辯第一名。
· 畢業(yè)時(shí)榮獲廣州移民局頒發(fā)的兩年期“創(chuàng)業(yè)簽證”。
· 與“中國(guó)國(guó)際廣播電臺(tái)”（CRI）合作，拍攝了“外國(guó)人在中國(guó)”小型記錄片。
·?代表巴基斯坦參加各種論壇和活動(dòng)，介紹巴基斯坦的文化和生活。
During my free time I was always visiting wholesale markets and factories in Guangdong Province. I created a database of suppliers, markets, shops, and factories, and collected data on 400 suppliers in two years. I started to provide consultancy on importing products from China to various companies globally and kept learning everything about international trade.?
空閑時(shí)間，我喜歡參觀廣東的批發(fā)市場(chǎng)和工廠。我建立了一個(gè)由供應(yīng)商、市場(chǎng)、商店和工廠組成的數(shù)據(jù)庫，在兩年內(nèi)收集了 400?家供應(yīng)商的數(shù)據(jù)。我開始為全球各公司提供從中國(guó)進(jìn)口產(chǎn)品的咨詢，不斷學(xué)習(xí)國(guó)際貿(mào)易的相關(guān)知識(shí)。
I remember those days carrying boxes loaded with products all alone in the streets of Guangzhou from markets to delivery companies. It was a dream come true, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I attended Canton Fair over ten times and traveled extensively to places like Shenzhen (the Silicon Valley of China), Yiwu (the world’s largest wholesale market), and over forty other cities all around China either visiting factories and markets or traveling to relax.
那些日子里，我扛著裝滿產(chǎn)品的箱子，在廣州的街道上奔走，從市場(chǎng)到快遞公司。這是夢(mèng)想照進(jìn)現(xiàn)實(shí)的過程，我很享受路上的每一步。我參加了十多屆廣交會(huì)，到深圳（中國(guó)的硅谷）、義烏（世界上最大的批發(fā)市場(chǎng)）等地考察，參觀中國(guó)四十多個(gè)城市的工廠和市場(chǎng)，閑暇時(shí)旅行放松。
?In Guangzhou, I joined a group called “IDEA EXCHANGE” and was a member of their organizing committee. This group introduced me to a lot of foreign friends from all around the world, and we used to have weekly events consisting of discussions on various topics. At the same time, I also started training Chinese students and adults for the IELTS exam using my experience of working with the British Council as an IELTS Brand Ambassador.
在廣州，我加入了一個(gè)名為?“IDEA EXCHANGE”?的團(tuán)體，成為其組織委員會(huì)的成員。這個(gè)團(tuán)體讓我認(rèn)識(shí)了很多來自世界各地的外國(guó)朋友，我們每周都會(huì)舉辦各種主題的討論會(huì)。同時(shí)，我曾擔(dān)任英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)雅思品牌大使，利用這一經(jīng)驗(yàn)，我為中國(guó)學(xué)生和成人提供雅思考試培訓(xùn)服務(wù)。
I graduated in 2017 and established my own business with a small team, and started to provide various services to export products from China to wholesalers, retailers, Amazon sellers, and other online sellers all around the world.
2017 年畢業(yè)后，我?guī)ьI(lǐng)一個(gè)小團(tuán)隊(duì)建立了自己的企業(yè)，提供各種服務(wù)，將產(chǎn)品從中國(guó)出口到世界各地的批發(fā)商、零售商、亞馬遜賣家和其他網(wǎng)上賣家。
I left China in 2020 during the Chinese New Year holiday for a visit back home. Who knew that COVID-19 was right around the corner and would change the whole world? After spending a month in my home country, I decided to go back. I was lucky to enter China only three days before the government started quarantine regulations for new arrivals. This decision to come back turned out to be the best decision of my life.
2020?年春節(jié)假期，我離開中國(guó)，回國(guó)探親。誰能預(yù)料到新冠疫情爆發(fā)，會(huì)影響整個(gè)世界？回國(guó)呆了一個(gè)月后，我決定回到中國(guó)。我很幸運(yùn)，入境人員隔離政策施行的前三天，我回到了中國(guó)。這是我人生中所做的最佳決定。
I started working as a marketing manager at a company providing legal consultancy to foreigners regarding visas, company formation, etc., and carrying on with my trading business in the meantime. After a year, I decided to move on to my next goal, which was to work in a large Chinese import/export company to further extend my skills and knowledge. I have been serving here for last 2 years as Marketing Manager and Strategic Sourcing Consultant.?
我開始在一家為外國(guó)人提供簽證、成立公司等方面法律咨詢的公司擔(dān)任市場(chǎng)經(jīng)理，同時(shí)繼續(xù)做我的國(guó)際貿(mào)易。一年后，我決定為下一個(gè)目標(biāo)而努力：在一家大型中國(guó)進(jìn)出口公司工作，進(jìn)一步擴(kuò)展我的技能和知識(shí)。過去的兩年里，我一直擔(dān)任市場(chǎng)經(jīng)理和戰(zhàn)略采購(gòu)顧問。
I feel blessed to experience life in this amazing country and hope to make many more memories in the coming years.
能夠在這個(gè)偉大的國(guó)家生活，我感到非常幸運(yùn)，希望未來的日子能留下更多的回憶。
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