邂逅中國，收獲成長(cháng)

［泰國］ 傅啟閏 北京外國語(yǔ)大學(xué)

說(shuō)起中國，你首先會(huì )想到什么？是山河蒼茫，還是歷史悠長(cháng)？是禮儀之邦，還是美食之鄉？也許你的心中有屬于自己的答案，但我的答案很簡(jiǎn)單——漢語(yǔ)。正是漢語(yǔ)讓我與中國結緣，讓我邂逅了這樣一個(gè)美麗的國家，也讓我成為更好的自己。

我與漢語(yǔ)其實(shí)在孩童時(shí)代就已經(jīng)結下了深厚的情緣，透過(guò)漢語(yǔ)，我看見(jiàn)了一個(gè)美麗的中國、浪漫的中國。在父母的支持下，幼兒園時(shí)，我進(jìn)入華文學(xué)校學(xué)習。在那里，我第一次見(jiàn)到來(lái)自中國的漢語(yǔ)老師，他們帶著(zhù)我一起唱兒歌、做游戲、講故事，還教我說(shuō)漢語(yǔ)。也是從那時(shí)起，我才知道原來(lái)這個(gè)世界上，有一個(gè)國家叫中國，他們說(shuō)的語(yǔ)言叫漢語(yǔ)。在我進(jìn)入小學(xué)時(shí)，學(xué)校里的漢語(yǔ)老師就開(kāi)始教我們學(xué)習漢語(yǔ)拼音了。“b，p，m，f……”聽(tīng)上去就像動(dòng)聽(tīng)的音樂(lè )，在我的心中久久回蕩著(zhù)。老師還教我們練習寫(xiě)漢字，我在“高”字里看到了雄偉的城樓，在“莫”字里看到了夕陽(yáng)漸漸隱沒(méi)在草地中的浪漫，在“采”字里看到了辛勤勞作的場(chǎng)景……那一個(gè)個(gè)方塊字簡(jiǎn)直就像一幅幅美麗的圖畫(huà)，描繪著(zhù)詩(shī)情畫(huà)意的人生。但即使是面對這么美麗的漢字，剛開(kāi)始學(xué)習寫(xiě)漢字的時(shí)候，真的覺(jué)得好難好辛苦，字音難讀，字形難認，字義難辨……我曾經(jīng)想退卻，甚至想放棄。不過(guò)在熱愛(ài)與鼓勵之下，我迎難而上。慢慢地，我不僅掌握了漢字的寫(xiě)法，也發(fā)現了漢字的奇妙。比如“吃”字，混得好叫“吃得開(kāi)”，受人歡迎叫“吃香”，不顧他人叫“吃獨食”，負擔太重叫“吃不消”……簡(jiǎn)單一個(gè)字，就可以用在這么多地方，可見(jiàn)中國的漢字文化有多么的博大精深。

北京外國語(yǔ)大學(xué) ／ 傅啟閏提供

雖然我已經(jīng)掌握了很多的漢字和詞語(yǔ)，但真正運用到生活當中，也鬧過(guò)一些笑話(huà)，這讓我明白了“慎言”的重要性。記得有一次，我在辦公室里和我的中文老師聊天，聊著(zhù)聊著(zhù)，老師說(shuō)她要出去買(mǎi)些東西，我就禮貌地對老師說(shuō)：“老師您一路走好！”老師當時(shí)就撲哧一笑。在我不明所以的時(shí)候，老師笑著(zhù)跟我解釋說(shuō)，這句話(huà)是對去世的人說(shuō)的，并不能表示我想表達的意思。為了表示我的歉意，我想陪老師一起去買(mǎi)東西，所以我又開(kāi)口對她說(shuō)：“老師，我送您上路吧！”結果老師又笑得不能自已，我也很茫然，難道我又說(shuō)了什么奇怪的話(huà)？老師很慈愛(ài)地拉著(zhù)我的手，給我解釋了“上路”的真實(shí)含義。現在回想起當時(shí)的場(chǎng)景，我還是會(huì )覺(jué)得尷尬和歉疚，可是我的老師并沒(méi)有責怪我，反而讓我記住了這些實(shí)際意思與字面意思不同的用法。這也提醒了我，真的是要謹言慎行啊！

因為學(xué)習漢語(yǔ)，我也逐漸成長(cháng)起來(lái)，逐漸找到了自己的使命感。學(xué)漢語(yǔ)的時(shí)間越長(cháng)，對“學(xué)好漢語(yǔ)，走遍天下”這句話(huà)的領(lǐng)悟就越深刻。學(xué)會(huì )了漢語(yǔ)，不僅對我有幫助，我還能幫助別人。去年，新冠肺炎疫情在全球暴發(fā)，泰緬邊境很多華人來(lái)醫院做檢查，但醫院里沒(méi)有會(huì )講漢語(yǔ)的醫生，華人也不會(huì )講英語(yǔ)，所以他們雞同鴨講，驢唇不對馬嘴，雙方又著(zhù)急又無(wú)奈地僵持了很久。那時(shí)，我剛巧在那里做體檢，看到了他們所遇到的困難，我就毅然當起了志愿者，陪在醫生的身邊做貼身翻譯。在我的幫助下，他們終于能做檢查了，醫生們也不再愁眉苦臉了，我很為他們感到高興。當他們一一對我道謝的時(shí)候，我的心情很奇妙，所學(xué)能有所用，幫助別人的感覺(jué)真的既開(kāi)心又溫暖。

這便是我與漢語(yǔ)的故事。漢語(yǔ)讓我學(xué)習到了很多中國的知識，也讓我成長(cháng)為更好的自己。其實(shí)我從小就有一個(gè)夢(mèng)想，就是真正到中國留學(xué)。我想去親眼看看古裝電視劇里的建筑是不是真的那么華麗，想去聽(tīng)聽(tīng)傳統相聲，感受地道的中國文化，更想去體驗中國的“三美”——美食、美景、美人。可是，目前疫情尚未結束，我去不了中國，只能通過(guò)網(wǎng)課學(xué)習。雖然有些遺憾，不過(guò)我也不會(huì )氣餒，我相信疫情終究會(huì )過(guò)去，美好一定會(huì )如期到來(lái)！我與中國的美麗邂逅，才剛剛開(kāi)始！

Get Growth in China

［Thailand］ Serichai Tatiya， Beijing Foreign Studies University

When it comes to China， what comes to your mind first？ Is it the vast territory， the long history， the reputation as the state of ceremonies and decorum， or the renown as a home of delicious cuisine？ You may have your own answer， but mine is very simple – Chinese language， because it is Chinese that makes me get to know this beautiful country and be a better self．

I got to know the Chinese language when I was a child． I was amazed to see a beautiful and poetical country through its language． With the encouragement of my parents， I had an experience to be in a Chinese－speaking kindergarten where I first met my Chinese teachers． They led us to sing songs and play games． They told us stories and taught us Chinese． Since then， I have known that there is a country called China and there is a language called Chinese． In primary school， our Chinese teachers began to teach us Chinesepinyin （a Romanized system of the Chinese pronunciation）． “b， p， m， f…” it sounded like melodious music， echoing in my heart． We were also taught to write Chinese characters： I could see the magnificent gate towers from the character “高” （tall）； I could appreciate the romantic scenery of the gradual sunset behind the grassland from the character “莫” （with original meaning of “sunset” in ancient Chinese）； I could see the hardworking in the field from the character “采” （gathering）… Each character was like a beautiful picture， depicting the poetic life． Beautiful as the characters are， it was really difficult for me to learn them at the beginning． The characters were hard to pronounce， difficult to recognize， challenging to understand… In awe of this difficult language， I had even had the idea of giving it up， but at last， with my passions and my parents’ encouragement， I rose to the challenge． Gradually， I not only had a good grasp of the Chinese writing but also discovered the marvellousness of Chinese characters． The character “吃” （with original meaning of “eat”）， for instance， can be used in many phrases but with the completely different meanings． For example， “吃得開(kāi)” （being popular or being sought after）， “吃香” （being in great demand or being valued）， “吃獨食” （taking the benefit by oneself without sharing with the others）， “吃不消” （being unable to bear）… The way that a single character can be used in various ways illustrates the extensiveness and profoundness of the culture of Chinese characters．

Although I thought I had had a good grasp of many Chinese characters and phrases， in real contexts I still made some comical mistakes， from which I realized the importance of “cautiousness in speaking”． There was one time when I was chatting with my Chinese teacher in her office． She said she was going to buy something． I politely said to her “老師您一路走好” （which literally means “take care on your way， my teacher”）． She chuckled and I was in great confusion． She then explained to me with a smile that this expression was normally used for the dead （with meaning of “rest in peace”）， not what I had supposed it to be． To express my apology， I wanted to help her with her shopping． I said “老師，我送您上路吧” （with literal meaning of “Let me send you on your way， my teacher”）． This time she could not help laughing out loud and once again I felt puzzled． Did I say anything ridiculous again？ She put my hand in hers amiably and explained to me the true meaning of “上路” （with a literal meaning of “set out on the way” but actually it means “to go towards death”）． Now I still feel embarrassed and apologetic when thinking back on that moment． However， my teacher was so kind not to blame me， which helped me to memorize how to use expressions with actual meanings different from their literal ones． This also reminds me that it is really important to be cautious when speaking a new language！

Because of learning Chinese， I have gradually grown up and found my sense of mission． The longer I learn Chinese， the deeper my understanding of the saying “A good learning of Chinese will facilitate your travel around the world．” Learning Chinese not only benefits myself but also makes me be able to help other． When the COVID－19 pandemic hit the world last year， many Chinese people on the Thailand－Myanmar border came to the hospitals for checkups． The doctors there were not Chinese－speaking and the Chinese people did not know how to speak English． The ineffective communications and misunderstanding led to anxiousness and helplessness． I happened to do my physical examination there at that time and I volunteered to be the interpreter． I was very happy to see that with my assistance， the Chinese patients were able to get checkups and the doctors were no longer worried． It was a wonderful feeling when they thanked me， as what I had learned was applicable． I felt happy and warm to help others．

This is my story with Chinese language， which helps me learn a lot of knowledge about China and lets me be a better self． In fact， it has been my dream to study in China since I was a child． I want to see by myself whether the architectures are as magnificent as those in the costume dramas． I want to listen to traditional crosstalk and feel the authentic Chinese culture． It is also my great hope to experience the “three excellences” of China： excellent food， excellent scenery and excellent people． However， I am not able to come to China as the pandemic is not over yet． I can only learn through online classes． Although there are imperfections， I will not be discouraged． I believe that the pandemic will eventually end and happiness will come as expected！ My beautiful meeting with China， has just begun！