《我在中国的家》比赛征文 1 | Alain: Journey to the Center of Myself

01

Just as I have always preferred mixtures and alloys: mixing flavors in cooking or alloying materials in general, I have always felt a little cramped in my culture. So, in order to add a little salt to the caramel of my life in Belgium, I felt like going "elsewhere".

我一直对融合菜和混合菜情有独钟：味道的融合或者多种材料的混合，我感觉自己一直局限在民族文化的小小角落里。因此，为了在我比利时生活的焦糖里面加少许盐，我有了到“别处”游历的想法。

After having visited many countries I realized that the best place to live was China, and this after having walked the length and breadth of the country for three months at the end of the last century.

在游历了许多国家之后，我意识到，对我而言，最理想的居住地是中国，这是上世纪末的三个月里，我从东到西、从南到北考察之后得出的结论。

Back in my flat homeland, I made the decision to learn Mandarin. It was the best idea of my life, because although I didn't manage to learn this language, it allowed me to meet the woman of my life: my Chinese teacher.

回到地势平坦的故乡之后，我决定学习普通话。这是我一生中最绝妙的想法，因为虽然我没有能学会这门语言，但却让我邂逅了我生命中的女人：我的中文老师。

A year later we were married and jumped over the Great Wall hand in hand. We landed in Xiamen, because it was in this charming city that her mother lived.

结婚一年后，我们携手爬上了长城。随后我们在厦门落地，因为我的岳母就居住在这座魅力之城。

02

After spending a few years in the art business between Belgium and China, I was offered to teach French. I was surprised by this proposal because I had no teaching background, but on further reflection I thought it might be an experience worth trying.

在经历了比利时和中国之间数个寒来暑往的商业贸易之后，有人建议我去教授法语课程。完全没有教学背景的我，对此感到惊讶。但考虑之后，我对自己说，这或许值得一试。

I was right to do so, because I quickly realized that this interaction of brain to brain, very different, was exciting. Having said that, I had already realized how enriching these intercultural exchanges of ideas were during the discussions I had, and still have, with my wife.

在这个过程中，我很快意识到，这种思想与思想的碰撞，因人而异，是非常激动人心的。我这样说，是因为我已然了解，这种跨文化的思想交流是如何丰富我的头脑，我一直在这么做，特别是与我的妻子交流。

Another major advantage of "face-to-face" teaching is the fact that you can communicate with a real person, whereas the vast majority of people today, with their eyes permanently glued to their phones, are busy scrolling through nonsense. But hey, that's called progress and I think it should be universal.

面对面授课另一大优势是：你可以和一个人真正地交流。如今，绝大多数人眼睛长期盯着手机，忙着浏览废话。但是，嘿，这就叫进步，我认为这种现象很普遍。

03

As I am used to walking with my nose in the air (paying attention to the motorbikes of the deliverymen who are the kings of the sidewalks), I could see how beautiful the city of Xiamen was, how clean it was and how it gave off a feeling of well-being and security; all these qualities that are cruelly lacking in many cities around the world today.

由于我习惯逍遥自在地散步，观察人行道上送货员的摩托车，我发现，厦门是多么美丽与干净的一座城市啊，给人一种幸福感和安全感；所有这些都是当今世界许多城市极度缺乏的。

Of course, my grumpy old character is sometimes spurred on by certain traits of my hosts.

当然，我这个爱抱怨的性格有时会被我主人的某些特征所刺激。

Whether it's sneezing, renovating a home or business, or talking on the phone, it has to be done loudly so that everyone is aware of what's going on. On the other hand, this has the advantage of drowning out the noise of (preferably large) car horns. As far as the administrative procedures are concerned, which are sometimes as complicated as in all administrations of the world, the lack of knowledge of the Chinese language is not an asset. But fortunately since the people of the community of Guanren "one world" are pleased to take me by the hand, these steps are no longer a problem.

不论是打喷嚏，翻新一所房子或者一家商铺，或者打电话，声音要大，这样才能让所有人知道发生了什么事。另一方面，这样做的好处是可以盖过汽车喇叭的噪音（最好是强制性地）。说起办理行政手续，有时候和世界上其他行政部门一样繁琐。这时候，不懂中文实在不算是什么长处。好在官任社区“同一个世界”的人善意向我伸出援手，这些手续就不再是个问题了。

To conclude, I would say that the outcome of my expatriate experience in China, in spite of these minor inconveniences, which have the advantage of spicing up my life a bit, is very positive.

作为结语，我说，盘点完我在中国身为外来人的经历后，尽管有一些大大小小的不便，像是在生活中加了点辣椒，我的意见是人们可以更积极一点。

Already, meeting someone else is very enriching because this person sees us and considers us as we appear, something we are unable to do, even in front of a mirror. And if this "other" has a different culture from ours, it's all the better. 

是的，遇见另一个人是十分充实的，因为当我们出现，这个人看见我们，打量我们，这样的事情我们自己做不到，即使在镜子前。如果这个“其他人”所属的文化与我不同，那就更妙了。

It is through the "other" that I can truly grasp my existence and access a true knowledge of myself. Not to mention the fact that all cultural progress is a function of a coalition between cultures; a coalition that is all the more fertile, as it is established between more diversified cultures.

从“其他人”那里，我能够真实地把握自我的存在，并获得正确的自我认知。更不用说，所有的文化进步是文化联合的结果，一个更加丰富的联合，是建立在更多元化文化基础之上。

Well, I'm going to stop here, because my neighbor decided to try out his brand new jackhammer tonight.

好，就此歇笔。因为我的邻居决定今晚要试一下他的全新电钻。