Steven(England) With 18 years of ‘China Time’ between I and my wife Malou,both our children we’re born in China. We arrived in Ningbo on the 10th of February 2010 after spending many years in Guangdong.We’ve made a home here,We were full of excitement to be-gin our Ningbo adventure, our new jobs, new apartment, exploring a new city and meeting new friends. Our eldest son Benjamin joined a Crèche class and we quickly got busy getting up to speed with our own jobs, keeping up with deadlines, lesson prep, teaching, e-valuation and the hundred other things you find yourself doing as a teacher. Now it’s safe to say we’ve grown fond of the place. 2012,we decided to try for a second baby. We got pregnant and slightly less than 9 months later, we welcomed baby William into our lives. We were so happy to have another one in the house. Everything seemed complete, so right with our family in our little corner of the world. Coming up to 6 months old, we took him to see a Doctor at the local Woman and Children’s Hospital during Chinese New Year break. Nothing can prepare you for getting told that your child has a serious congenital heart condition and without surgery, will die. Hearing the news about William felt like our own personal end of days, a still and complete shock, the earth stops turning. It’s at times,the support, well wishes and prayers we’ve received have been most welcome and the response from the school community, parents, students and teachers has been breath-taking. Every year MEA celebrates Spirit Week, a time where the school community joins together to raise funds and awareness towards a worthy cause, a time to recognize our commonality and interdependence and to praise human ingenuity and spirit. The money raised this year has been pledged towards the costs of Williams Heart operation and together with the donations we have already received, will aid us greatly and are much appreciated, as are the offers of physical support like helping with meals, shopping and babysitting, all of which mean so much to us. It’s difficult to imagine life ever going back to normal but one thing is for sure, though we always appreciated the blessings in our lives and the love of our family, life now will surely be richer, more meaningful and precious. Now,we know what the best course of action for William is and now have a plan. We’re taking it step by step and are now much more positive than we were this time last month and we know we’re not alone. Ningbo is really very good to us. 译文: 我和我的太太Malou一起度过了18年的“中国时光”,我们的两个孩子都出生在中国。 在广东生活了多年后,2010年2月10日,我们把家安在了宁波,我们无比兴奋地开始了我们的宁波生活。我们有了新的工作,新的公寓,开始探索一个新的城市,结交新的朋友。大儿子本杰明,就入托在了(我们工作的华茂外国语学校的)幼儿园,我们很快就投入了各自快节奏的工作中,备课,教学,考试……你会发现,如果自己作为一个教师,要做的事情可真多。 现在,我们可以很肯定地说,我们越来越喜欢这个地方。 2012年,我们决定尝试要第二个孩子。9个月不到,我们的小宝宝威廉进入了我们的生活。家里有了一个新成员,我们的兴奋自不用说。我们这个安在世界的一个小角落的家,一切都显得很完美。 威廉6个月大的时候,春节期间,我们带他去宁波妇儿医院进行了检查。 没有任何的(心理)准备,我们被告知孩子患有严重的先天性心脏病,只有动手术,才能挽救他的生命。 在得知威廉的病情(如此严重)的时候,我感觉自己面临末日,彻底的打击让我呆若木鸡,(我的世界)地球停止了转动。 在这个时候,我们收到来自学校社区的老师、家长、学生们最真诚的祝福和祈祷,这让我们深受感动。华茂外国语学校每年都会举办“多元文化教育中心心灵周”,这是学校社区聚合所有的力量筹集资金,从而实现某个有价值的目标的活动。这活动能让我们意识到人类社会存在的价值和人与人之间相互依存的意义,颂扬人类的聪明才智和社会美德。 今年“心灵周”的主题是为威廉心脏手术筹集资金,现在,我们已经收到了这笔捐款,对我们来说,这笔钱是雪中送炭,我们非常感激,(学校社区)在其他很多方面都提供了实际的帮助,比如在(威廉住院的时候)帮助送饭,帮助购物和帮我们照看孩子,所有一切,对于我们来说是非常有意义的。 现在我们已经知道关于威廉心脏的最佳手术方案,也有了具体的实施计划,并一步一步地进行着,比起上个月这个时候,现在的我们更积极了,因为我们知道我们并不孤单。 很难想象生活能回到从前,但有一点是肯定的,我们非常感激人们给予我们生活的祝福,感激人们给予我们这个家庭的爱。这些,一定会让(我们的)生活更丰富,更有意义,更显珍贵。 宁波,厚待我们的城市。 作者 Steven(英国) 编译 龚维琳
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