Barbara Ptak刘思怡(Poland) I came to Ningbo a little more than two years ago, to be honest, by accident. I have applied for a one-year Chinese course scholarship and together with my friend had to choose three places where I want to study. Other students have recommended to us many good universities and cities, which made our decision really hard, so at one point he said: “You know, why don’t we choose a place none of our friends went to? Com-pletely randomly.” So we took a map, and, without much thinking, pointed our fin-gers at Ningbo. A couple months later that was exactly where I showed up. I was quite surprised by Ningbo in the beginning. It was my first time in China and a second Chinese city I saw, after Beijing, which we had visited for a week before the start of the semester. Ningbo was cleaner that the capital, and without the smog, which made me happy, however, it wasn’t exactly what I pictured from the descriptions found online. To be honest, it wasn’t even what the pictures I saw have pictured. Before coming, I checked a lot of websites to see where I will be living for another year, and I saw Tianyi Square at night, which mesmerized me with its lights, old, traditional buildings with a real “Chinese”character,temples and parks that made me anxious to just pack my things and go. However, after arriving, I couldn’t find any of those things, only roads,and plain buildings with an occasional green space popping out. My first expe-rience at the university was also confusing, because I came a long time before the start of the semester and most of the students were not there,school offices were closed. I had a hard time to adapt to hot and humid weather,which made people pant and sweat,fishy smell, which would sometimes come from the direction of the port, and the constant star-ing, touching and picture-taking,all because I was a foreigner. Needless to say, begin-nings were tough. But then it all changed. I started my classes, met new people, went out to explore the city and enjoy the nightlife. And in a blink of an eye, Ningbo has changed into a vi-tal, fascinating place with so much to offer, the place that I have read about before com-ing to China. I finally saw those beautiful parks,with older people doing Taichi or danc-ing, or the city center all lit up at night. I saw a combination of modern and traditional buildings, a mix of Chinese and Western culture, not only in the architecture, but also in the cuisine or, most importantly, in people. Ningbo gave me an opportunity to meet and befriend people from all around the world. Not just Chinese, but Brazilian,Moroc-cans, Indians, Nigerians, Indonesians,Mexicans and so many more. I could observe and experience their cultures,traditions,languages, which allowed me to learn and grow. All those encounters didn’t just change my perception about China, about Ningbo, they changed me. And my Chinese course changed into a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that I would never forget. The whole city provides foreigners with great treats and experiences. For those, who miss some Western food,there are many restaurants offering Italian, Greek, American or Indi-an cuisine, as well as supermarkets importing almost every product that we could wish for. However, it is a sin to live in China and not enjoy Chinese food, and for that we don’t have to look far – there are countless big and small restaurants on every corner that prepare both traditional and innovative Chinese dishes from all regions,not only Zhejiang, giving us, foreigners, some amazing and often surprising taste sensations. For those who enjoy big parties and club music, or a beer with a good company, what better place to go than Laowaitan? It doesn’t matter if it’s New Year, Hal-loween, or just another Friday evening,foreigners and Chinese from the whole city gather there at night to dance,talk,meet new people and just relax. With clubs, pubs and restaurants filling in the whole area, we can choose what to do in a spur of a mo-ment and with so many possibilities, we will never be bored. One more element worth mentioning is an incredible development of the city, which has changed so much in those two years I have spent here. I witnessed building and roads being built in a matter of a few months,opening of the subway, which made the transport across the city a lot more convenient, and a number of businesses and invest-ments increasing year by year. It is obvious that Ningbo is becoming a “star” city not only for Chinese nationals, but is being recognized across the world, with more and more people wanting to work here,study here, live here. 译文: 我两年多前来到宁波,说实话,这只是一个偶然。我已经申请了为期一年的中国课程的奖学金并且和我的朋友们一起选择了三个我想去学习的地方。其他学生都向我们推荐了许多好的大学和城市,导致我们很难做决定,所以在这一点上他说:“我们为什么不选择去一个没有朋友的地方?完全是随机的。”所以我们带了一张地图,没有太多思考就指向了宁波。两个月后,我就到了这里。 我一开始对宁波感到很惊异,这是我第一次来中国,看到的在北京之后的第二个中国城市(在学期之前我们去北京参观了一个星期)。宁波比首都干净,我们也感到很高兴因为宁波没有烟尘。但是,这和我在网上找到的描述完全不一样。说实话,这并不像我看到过的照片。在来之前,我在许多网站上看了这个我即将生活一年的城市,我也看到了夜晚的天一广场,让我被它的灯光,复古,真正有中国风格的传统的建筑,寺庙,公园所迷住,也让我迫不及待的想收拾行李赶紧去参观。然而,抵达后,我找不到任何的东西,只有道路和偶尔在绿色带中的建筑。我在大学的第一次经历也很困惑,因为我在学期开始前已经到了很长一段时间,但是大多数同学仍然没来,老师的办公室也都关着门。我经过了一段艰难的时间去适应潮湿和炎热的气候,使人不停的喘气和出汗,有时会从港口方向传来鱼腥味,我会不断的凝视,触摸和拍照,因为我是一个外国人。不用说,开始都是艰难的。 但是这一切都改变了。我开始了我的课程,认识了新的朋友,去了解这个城市和享受夜生活。在一眨眼的功夫,宁波已经变成一个重要的,迷人的地方,这是我来中国前查阅过的地方。我终于看到了那些漂亮的公园,老年人在打太极拳或跳舞,城市的夜晚闪烁着灯光。我看到了一个现代与传统相结合的建筑,事实上不仅仅是建筑,而且还有烹饪,或者更重要的还有这里的人,融合着中西文化。宁波给了我一个机会认识和结交来自世界各地的人们,不只是中国,还有巴西、摩洛哥、印度、尼日利亚、印尼,墨西哥甚至更多。我观察和体验他们的文化,传统,语言,这让我学习和成长。所有这些体验改变了我对中国,对宁波的看法。这些改变了我。我的中国课程变为一年一次的冒险,我永远不会忘记。 整个宁波为外国人提供了很好的待遇和经历。对于那些想念吃西方食品的人,这里有很多餐馆提供意大利、希腊、美国和印度美食,超市几乎有所有我们需要的进口食品。然而,生活在中国却不喜欢中国菜其实是一种罪,不过我们不必看得太远,有无数的大、小餐厅在每一个角落,准备着传统和创新的来自不同地区的中国菜,不仅是浙江,给我们这些外国人的还有一些惊人的味道。 对那些喜欢大聚会和俱乐部音乐,或喜欢和朋友喝啤酒的人,还有什么比老外滩更好的地方呢?这里不管是新年,万圣节,或只是一个星期五的晚上,外国人和中国人从整个城市聚集在此,跳舞,聊天,交新的朋友,或放松一下自己。这个地方到处都是俱乐部,酒吧和餐厅,在这些选择中我们可以选择去干嘛,永远也不会感到无聊。 值得一提的是这座城市在以一个难以置信的速度发展,至少在我呆在这里的两年里它改变了很多。我目睹了建筑和道路在短短的几个月建成,地铁的开通使整个城市的交通更加方便,一些投资和商业年年增加。很明显,宁波不仅在中国成为一个星级城市,甚至正在被全球认可,越来越多的人想在这生活、工作、学习。 作者Barbara Ptak(波兰) 编译 龚维琳
|