衢州二中之行，我一生明智的選擇

能夠游歷世界上不少的國家讓我深知自己是一名幸運兒。當能去中國衢州二中任教的機會擺在我面前時，我滿懷憧憬，激動萬分，但同時心生畏懼:長達三個月的中國行將會是一次與眾不同卻又十分不易的經歷。我會對我在美國明尼蘇達州雷德溫市那幸福美滿的家庭萬分牽掛;我對中國文化了解甚少，對漢語一竅不通;我對自己能否應對文化差異、能否適應飲食習慣，以及能否被別人接受很是擔憂。但我實在找不出一個更好的機會來結識地球另一端的人們了，所以當這份任教邀請函到來時，我欣然接受。而這個決定是我這一生中最明智的選擇之一。

當我剛飛抵中國時，我就意識到這是一個與我離開的地方完全不同的世界。我首先碰到了我的導師(譯者注:此處“導師”為生活上的指導、關照者)，她是一位比我小好幾歲、親切和善的女士，她堅持要為我提行李。在美國沒有女士為男士提行李的道理，但是她堅持要幫我提。她真的堅持這么做。我差點就為了行李和她爭起來了，但是我想，這恐怕不是我中國之旅的良好開端，所以我就恭敬不如從命了。從那刻起，我就走上了一段崇山峻嶺般的學習道路，這一路一直走到我離開的那天。

回想我第一次帶著些許緊張走進教室，那份焦慮與不安很快就被學生們的熱情打得煙消云散。他們很樂意接受這位美國來的新老師。我向他們介紹我的家庭、我來自的社區和我的國家。學生們常常不愿意開口對話，所以我保證自己在食堂吃飯，在那里我可以和他們有更多接觸。令我開心的是，學生們會和我一起吃飯，大家一起聊得很盡興。不僅僅在課堂上，還可以在樓道里、操場上這樣坦誠隨意的氛圍中和學生交流，這實為一件樂事。我很感激他們能大膽地上前和我說話。我也希望能和他們建立起長久的友誼。

中國式的教與學和美國式相當不同。在中國，老師更多地講課，學生更多地記憶。在美國，課堂里則有更多的討論。這種差異的原因也許可以歸結為不同的文化背景、不同的語言要求和實際可操作性。中文很復雜，且比起英文，它對記憶的要求更高，所以學生從很小就開始背誦。在一個多達五十幾位學生的教室里，很難實現師生之間的互動。很多人想要對“哪個教育體系更好”討論出個結果，我想這是徒勞無益的事情。為了迎合不同社會的需要，這兩種教育體系都隨著時代的變化而不斷改進。努力改革使得各自的體系更加完善或許才是更有意義的任務。

對我來說，中國學生學習量之大且管教之嚴格是一個顯著差異。為了爭取更高的分數，學生們投入大量的時間用于學習。這種爭得高分的壓力從孩子很小的時候就形成了。由于能進名牌學校的名額有限，在初等教育時期學生們就受到激勵，要在每個環節做到最好。這種連續不斷的壓力到了中學時期尤為明顯。衢州二中憑借很高的聲譽，成為學生們的理想選擇。而這讓學生們要上這所學校的壓力更大。

在課堂里，我和學生討論了西方學生享有的自由以及享有這樣的自由所需承擔的責任。中國的學生向往這樣的自由，但是他們明白這需要加倍學習。他們認識到自己要挑起一個家庭的重任，也認識到良好的教育對實現這一目標有多重要。他們成熟的理解、并且接受自己的社會角色不斷打動著我。我被這些孩子們深深觸動。不僅僅因為他們投入學習，也因為他們投入與我的互動交流。確實，在與我的交流中他們很熱情很友善。他們使得我的衢州之旅更難忘。

俗話說得好:四海皆兄弟。我就想，在一個13億人口的中國，能交到朋友的機會一定很多。我所遇見的老師們個個有趣、勤勉。雖然教職任務重，他們仍十分樂意在任何看似我需要幫助的時候伸出援手。除此之外，他們用友誼款待我，向我介紹餐館里色香味俱全的美食，為我在家里做美味可口的菜肴。我很快就驗證了那句話:四海皆兄弟。

我和那里的所有人一起度過了美好的時光，但最令我記憶深刻的應該是老師們。我相信我們之間的友誼是一輩子的。他們承擔起讓我這個新來的短期教師適應環境的重任，對我關照有加。他們對我的到來敞開大門，這讓我永懷感激。起先，我還不確定我們是不是樂意一起相處，我們是不是有相同的興趣愛好，是不是會為同一個笑話開懷大笑。后來我慢慢發現，我們之間有很多相似之處，而幽默就是其中之一。我們互講故事，分享笑話，編織回憶。

我回美國時，內心滿是失落感，因為很多在中國的美好過往已經開始占據了我心里的這一席之地。我愛中國，我愛我遇見的中國人。感謝我的朋友們，感謝中國給予我美好的回憶。□

(本文照片由譯者提供)

(注:作者勞倫斯·索尼克是來自衢州市的姐妹城市—美國明尼蘇達州雷德溫市的第十一輪中美互派交流教師。)

Quzhou No.2 High School， One of the Better Choices in My Life

Lorrence Sonnek

I have had the good fortune to have traveled to a number of countries around the world. When the opportunity arose for me to teach English at No.2 High School in Quzhou， China， I was excited by the prospect but apprehensive at the same time. An extended stay of three months would be a very different and difficult experience. I had a wonderful family in Red Wing， Minnesota that I would miss very much. I knew very little of the Chinese culture and none of the language. I was concerned about the differences in cultures， about the food， and about being accepted but there was nothing that I could think of that would offer me a better chance to learn about people half a world away - so when the offer to teach came， I accepted. That decision was one of the better choices I’ve made in my life.

Immediately on my arrival， I realized I was in a world different than the one I left. I was initially met by my mentor， a lovely lady many years my junior， who insisted on carrying my luggage. There is no way that a woman would carry the bags for a man in the United States but she insisted. And I mean INSISTED. I would have had to fight her for the bags and I didn’t think that would have been a good way to start my stay in China so I relented. This was the beginning of a steep learning curve that carried through until the day I left.

I was a bit nervous when I stepped into my first classroom. That anxiety soon dissipated as I was warmly accepted by the students. They were so very accepting of this new teacher from America. I tried to tell them about my family， my community and my country. Students were often reluctant to speak up in the classroom so I made sure to eat in the cafeteria where I would have more contact. To my delight， students would eat with me and we would get into wonderful discussions. It was such a joy being able to interact with students in such a candid manner not only in the classroom but also in the halls and on the playground. I am indebted to all of them for being bold enough to come forward and talk to me. I hope we established some friendships that will endure.

The Chinese style of teaching and learning is considerably different than that in America. Teachers lecture more and students memorize more in China. In America， there are more discussions. The reasons for some of these differences seem to be tied to culture， language and practicality. The Chinese language is complex and requires a great deal more memorization than does the English language so students begin to memorize at an early age. With more than fifty students in a classroom， it is difficult to get useful teacher-student exchanges. Many people want to discuss which system is better. I think that may be a fool’s errand. The systems have evolved over time because they seem to meet the needs of the societies. The better effort might be in trying to reform each system to make it better.

One of the striking differences to me is the study regiment of the students. In an effort to attain superior scores， students put in a tremendous amount of time studying. This pressure to perform well begins at a very young age. With competition for limited spots in more prestigious school even at the primary level， students are prodded to do well at every level. The pressure is unrelenting and becomes particularly acute at the high school level. Quzhou No.2 High School is a school of choice with a reputation for excellence. This only makes the pressure for students attending this school all the more intense.

In class， we discussed the freedoms allowed students in the West and what responsibilities should accompany those freedoms. Chinese students would like similar freedoms， but they understand the need for more dedicated studies. They realize their role in supporting their families and how critical a good education is in reaching that goal. This mature understanding of their role in society and the acceptance of that role continually impresses me. In general， I am extremely impressed with the students. Not only for their dedication to their school studies， but also because of their interactions with me. Indeed， they were very warm and friendly in our interactions. They made my stay in Quzhou an outstanding experience.

I’ve heard it said that strangers are just friends you haven’t meet yet. With nearly 1.4 billion people in China， I figured there were a lot of opportunities to meet new friends. I met the teachers and found them to be delightful， diligent and very hard working. Despite the demands of their teaching， they were very ready to offer assistance whenever I looked like I needed help. Beyond that， they welcomed me with friendship. They introduced me to some of the amazingly delectable foods in restaurants and by cooking some savory meals in their homes. I soon found that these strangers were some of the friends I just hadn’t met yet.

Although I also had wonderful experiences with people from the community， my most lasting memories will be of the teachers. I believe we have friendships， which will last as long as I live. They took on the burden of orienting this new， short-time teacher with care and kindness. They opened their lives to me and for that I will be forever grateful. Initially， I didn’t know if we would be interested in being together， if we would have the same interests， if we would laugh at the same kind of jokes. I soon realized that we shared many similarities and that humor was one of them. We shared stories， we shared jokes and we made memories.

I have an empty space in my life on my return to America. Many of the wonderful experiences of my trip to China are now memories that are trying to fill the void in my heart. I love China and the people I’ve met. Thank you my friends and thank you China for the memories.