【编者按】： 衢州市与姐妹城市——美国明尼苏达州雷德温市自1995年开始教师互派交流活动。艾丽莎(Alyssa)女士作为雷德温市派出的第七轮交流教师，于2006年2月至8月在衢州二中执教，与该校师生及衢州市当地的市民结下了深厚的友谊。时光匆匆，半年时间一晃而过，Alyssa 顿觉意犹未尽，眷恋不舍。2007年8月，经过一番努力她终于成为第八轮交流教师，重返衢州二中，开始为期一年的友谊之旅、情感之旅。

生活在中国的腹地

作者：美籍交流教师  艾丽莎·卡尔松（Alyssa Carlson）

翻译：衢州二中教师  谢富进

2006年2月对我来说可谓一个全新的开始。我居然来到了中国——衢州。在这个全新的国度里，我即将做一份以前未曾做过的工作，同时也渴望交上新的朋友。考虑到对完全陌生环境的适应问题，当初我只同意在这待上半年而不是一整年。要知道我从未有过这样的经历，所以我有些紧张和担心。即将独自去面对所有的一切让我尤为焦虑不安。此前，我倒是到过北京，但那是完全不同的情况：那时我是学生，又是和一大帮美国伙伴一起生活的，可一年半后的今天呢，衢州，一个小小的城市；我，独自一人还得担任英语老师教别人英语。

来到衢州，我发现这里的一切与家乡（Red Wing，位于美国明尼苏达州）迥然不同：第一，最明显的要数天气了，这里感觉很暖和，也不见下雪（这一点要不了多久我就适应了）；第二就是食物了，这里的菜都很辣（不过我觉得还不赖），然而最使我惊讶的还是这里的学校。在二中，绝大多数学生都住校，还有我真不敢相信一个中学就有这么大，而我在美国时就读的大学也不过如此啊！这下子我肯定会在校园里迷路的；最后一点就是当我进教室开始上课时，更不可思议的是，这里一个普通班竟有差不多60位学生，要知道在美国高中，再大的班级也就30人，一下子有这么多人涌入教室，我不禁有点慌了手脚。

基于这些差异的存在，我开始偷偷怀疑，我可能永远都无法适应这里的生活，可是仅过了几星期，这些疑虑便不复存在，我也开始觉得这里的一切是如此的理所当然。我也没在校园里迷路过，也开始喜欢上一日三餐吃米饭，也去串串门，最重要的是，我交了不少朋友。

来之前，我想衢州这样一个小地方，应该没有人会讲得好英语，自己又不会说汉语，除了自己可能没有第二个外国人，所以那时真担心自己会没有朋友而在这孤独生活6个月。

事实上，我几乎马上就有了自己的朋友，他们是学校里的英语老师，其中有2位也不是中国籍的。慢慢的衢州不再让我感到不适，我也经常出去走走，在我接触到的众人中，其中有商人、警察、其他学校的老师和被称之为“老外”的朋友，他们当中许多人能讲一口流利的英语，或者正在努力学习英语，这一点让我感到非常幸运。

今年重返衢州，朋友间的友谊是众多原因中最重要的一点。随着时间的推移，我与周遭的人越来越融洽。其中与某些朋友间的情感之深甚至超过了在美国早就认识的朋友。真让人难以置信，这么快我就和他们打成一片难分难舍了。虽然我们在极不相同的环境下长大，但我们还是有非常多的共同点。像和美国的伙伴一样，我们可以闲聊电影，侃谈音乐，高论政治，纷议宗教。然而，总的来说，我们对事物的看法并没有太多的不同。

那时候，我的朋友设法让我体验接近真实的中国文化。因为我不会说汉语，所以与不会讲英语朋友的交流非常有限。不过我有懂英语的朋友，他们都乐意当我的翻译。他们领我去小饭馆，让我品尝到本不可能吃到的美味佳肴；他们领我去乡下，体验新鲜的生活方式；从朴实的人们那里听到一些迷人的故事。另外，在购物时朋友帮我讨价还价，否则我非被宰不可。朋友们为我打开了一个全新的世界，为我免去了独自畅游其中的麻烦。

我逐渐习惯目前的生活方式，依恋这里的人们，所以离开是件很为难的事。我不能想象回国后再不能看到这一切。当在衢州满6个月而要回美国时，一开始我心情很是复杂。与家人和朋友团聚并重温旧时弥补我不在时候的空白，固然令我兴奋，然而想到离开在中国的朋友，不知道以后会不会再见面时，我很不安。同样，我为自己言语的笨拙不能很好表达这段体验而沮丧。

当再次被邀请去衢州时，我不由欢呼雀跃。我当机立断，这次我要待一整年。我已经回到衢州2个月了，时间如梭，我坚信我会一直待下去直到离开的那天。

中国一直在变化。这就使得一切很有趣，时时可以尝试，接触，看到一些新事物。然而，当你刚喜欢上一个地方，却在一周后发现它已荡然无存被另外的建筑取代时，真是有点令人恼火。我在美国的一年间，衢州就发生了这么大的变化，又多了些的新商店和饭馆。然而，不管街道有多大的改变，我和当地朋友们的友情长存。我来自一个人口约16000的城市，然而衢州虽是个小城市，人口却是它的好几十倍。开始我还为有这么多的人口而吃惊，但是随着时间的流逝，我开始真正接受这是个小城市。我从不同方面可证实这个事实。我是一些商店，饭馆的常客，那里的人都认识我。几乎每次我出去时我都看到一些熟人。这使我觉得我是衢州人的一员，而不是一个长期驻扎于此的过客。

中国一度闭关锁国，现如今，无数的外国人可以来中国旅游。不过旅游是短暂而粗线条的，比如：游客在北京会登长城，参观紫禁城；在西安会去观赏兵马俑；在上海会去逛外滩。也可以住进中国的豪华酒店，享用中国高级饭店的美味。但是他们是随团出入，没有独自的机会去经历什么。所谓真正深入中国的探索也无非是匆匆穿过了几条北京的老胡同罢了。他们回家可以向家人和朋友炫耀的也只是些在中国的所见所闻而远非原汁原味的中国。

中国是个地大物博的文明古国，这里独具一格的文化特色永远不是你坐着观光车，透过车玻璃能够看懂的。只有深在其中方能细品其味：食其所食，劳其所劳，买其所买，聊其所聊。这些正是那些匆匆的过客所没做过的

对于祖国，我有太多的想念，我想念我的家人和朋友，在美国我非常的随性，我可以每天晚上去吃不同国家的食物，可以随时去图书馆借书来打发无聊的时间，可以自由自在地走在大街上（而在这里，只要一上街，自己就仿佛走在聚光灯下，但是，我从未觉得这是一件多么烦人的大事。）第一次来衢州我觉得不会有第二次了，可是当我看到这里的人时，我又觉得我不可能就这样离开。我深信我会再次来到这里。而重返这里也将不是我的最后告别。所以我认定了衢州是我的第二故乡，从而我也会在不同的时期一次又一次地来看我的故乡。毫无疑问，这里将会不停地变化着，但有一点我更确信不疑，那就是衢州之魂——衢州人民永远不变！

原文：

Living in the Heart of China

February 2006 was a new beginning for me. I had just arrived in Quzhou. I was in a new country, about to begin a new job, and eager to make new friends. I had agreed to stay for six months rather than for a year because I wasn’t sure how I would adapt to all this newness. I had never done something like this before, and I was nervous. It was especially nerve-wracking to embark on this adventure all by myself. I had been to China before, but that had been a completely different situation: then, I had been a student in Beijing, living with a large group of fellow Americans. A year and a half later, there I was, alone in tiny Quzhou, teaching English.

Arriving in Quzhou, I found that almost nothing was the same as it was in my hometown, Red Wing. The first, most obvious thing that struck me was the weather. It seemed so warm, and there was no snow on the ground. (This was a difference I got used to immediately.) Then there was the food: everything was so spicy! (I liked this, too.) Most shocking to me was the school. Most of the students at No. 2 Middle School board at school. Also, I couldn’t believe how big the school was. It was close to the size of my university! I was sure I’d get lost. And I was in for an even bigger surprise once I started teaching. In most American high schools, a big class has 30 students, so I felt slightly overwhelmed when nearly 60 kids crowded into my classroom.

With all these differences, a part of me thought I would never get used to living here. However, after just a few weeks this part was silenced, and I began to take for granted all the things that had shocked me before. It turned out that I actually could find my way around my school. I liked eating rice so often. I met my neighbors, and most importantly, I made lots of friends.

Making friends was what I was most worried about before I left for China. I don’t speak Chinese, and in a city as small as Quzhou, I thought that nobody would be able to speak much English. I also thought that I would be the only foreigner here. I was afraid that I was in for a very lonely six months.

In fact, I ended up making friends almost immediately. The first friends I made were other English teachers at my school, including two other foreign teachers. As I became more comfortable in Quzhou, though, and started going out more, I met businessmen, policemen, other teachers, more foreigners, and other assorted friends-of-friends. And I was very pleased to discover that many people here really did speak English well, or were trying very hard to learn.

There are many reasons I came back to Quzhou this year, but those people—my friends—are the biggest. As my time in Quzhou went by, I grew closer and closer to the people I met; some of them I considered closer friends than some in America whom I’d known for years. I was amazed at how quickly I became attached to my friends. Even though we’d grown up in extremely different circumstances, we had so much in common. We could talk about the same things as I talked about with my friends at home: silly topics like music and films, and serious ones like religion and politics. There were some things we disagreed upon, and a few topics we wouldn’t discuss at all, but overall, our views on the world really weren’t so different.

My friends also made “real” China accessible to me. By not speaking Chinese, my ability to interact with most people was limited. But through my friends (and their willingness to act as my interpreter), I was introduced to tiny restaurants, with delicious foods I never would have discovered on my own; I traveled to small villages in the countryside to experience a whole new way of life; I heard fascinating stories from equally fascinating people; and, just as important to me, I paid far less at shops than I would have had I been left alone with my poor bargaining skills. A whole new world was opened up to me, one that I would have had trouble seeing by myself.

I grew very attached to my lifestyle, as well as the people in it. So, leaving was very difficult for me. I couldn’t bear the idea that maybe I would never see this again. When I returned to America after my six months were up, I had a lot of conflicting feelings at first. It was great to reunite with my friends and family and do all the things I’d missed while, I was away, but I was also really depressed about leaving all my other friends in China, not sure when I’d get the chance to see them again. I was also somewhat frustrated at not being able to truly convey what I’d experienced here.

When I was invited to return to Quzhou, I jumped at the chance. I decided without hesitation that this time, I’d stay a whole year. I’ve already been back for over two months, and the time has flown by, as I’m sure it will continue to do until I leave.

China is always changing. This keeps it interesting, as there is always something new to do or try or see. In the same regard, it can be annoying when you grow to love a place, and a week later, it’s gone and is already being replaced by something else. In the year I stayed in America, Quzhou changed so much. There are so many new shops and restaurants. But however much the streets have changed, the friendliness of the people has remained. I come from a city of approximately 16,000 people. While Quzhou’s population is many times that number, it is also a small town, at least by Chinese standards. At first I was overwhelmed by how many people there were here, but as time has passed I really have begun to feel like this is a small town. It is a fact that I appreciate in many ways. I’m a regular visitor at several shops and restaurants, and I’m known there. And nearly every time I go out, I see someone I know. This makes me feel like I really live in Quzhou, that I’m not just a long-term visitor.

Once, China was almost entirely closed to the outside world. Today, millions of foreigners visit each year. But coming to China on vacation is an entirely different experience. A tourist will see the major sights in the major cities: the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Terra-Cotta Warriors in Xi’an, and the Bund in Shanghai. They stay in fancy hotels and eat in shiny, clean restaurants. They will stay with their tour group, and won’t venture out to try anything else. Exposure to the “real” China might be limited to a quick tour of some of Beijing’s hutongs. Then, when they go home, they tell their friends that they’ve seen China. Well, this may be true, but they haven’t really experienced it.

China is a very big, very old country with a culture very different from Western culture. It is not a culture you can understand just by looking at it from the windows of a tour bus. Chinese culture is best seen by living it: eating where the locals eat (and eating what they eat), doing what the locals do, and shopping where the locals shop. It’s most important to talk to and interact with these locals. That is what most tourists miss.

There are definitely some things that I miss about America. I miss my friends and family, of course, but I also miss the diversity, and being able to eat a different country’s food every night, and going to the library to get a book whenever I’m bored. I really miss walking down the street without being stared at, and not feeling like I’m constantly being watched. But overall, these are just minor annoyances. When I came to Quzhou the first time, I felt I was given a once in a lifetime opportunity. But when I met the people here, I couldn’t stand to let it be that way. I knew that I had to get back somehow. Coming back has really been a once in a lifetime chance. But again, I think I won’t be able to stay away once I leave. I will always consider Quzhou a second home, and I hope I will be back again and again over the years. I know that Quzhou will continue to change, to grow and develop, but I’m sure that the heart of Quzhou—its people—will stay the same.